A love of food and the warmth of Italy shine out of this story. Told in alternating chapters between a young, hurt and lost English girl and an Italian mama, this involving family drama is a joy. Full of incident and great characters, it is a lovely read. You will also enjoy Summer at the Villa Rosa by the same author.
Comparison: Adriana Trigiani, Joanne Harris, Christobel Kent.
April 2010 Good Housekeeping selection.
The Good Housekeeping view...
Recipe For Life is a slice of sunshine from Nicky Pellegrino. Traumatised chef Alice flees London and heads to the coast of Italy, where she bonds with ageing local Babetta, discovers the joys of Italian food, and finds out what she really wants out of life.
Dear Reader,
I’m writing this on a damp autumn day in London, but thanks to the book you’re looking at now, I feel like I’ve just stepped inside from the Mediterranean sun.
Half the pleasure of reading comes from being transported to a different place or time, and meeting a string of new people there. And with Recipe for Life, it’s an incredibly welcome journey.
The story of two women, at either ends of their lives, who meet at a crumbling Italian villa tucked into the cliffs above the pounding sea, it’s a novel about what we run from, and the places that make us stop and reconsider. Drenched in sunshine, it’s about friendship and growing up, food and love.
If you’ve read one of Nicky’s novels before, you’ll know her deftness of touch, vivid atmospheric writing and dangerously mouthwatering descriptions of food. They’re all here in abundance. If you’ve not read one before, I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
So if you’re in need of an escape, you’re invited to a place under a pomegranate tree in southern Italy where secrets spill out and the nights are warm. All you need to remember is that, like all the best recipes, sometimes the best things happen when you don’t follow the instructions…
Happy reading,
Genevieve Pegg
Senior Commissioning Editor
Orion Fiction
| Primary Genre | Family Drama |
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