Tomorrow There Will be Apricots by Jessica Soffer
| Tomorrow There Will be Apricots by Jessica Soffer | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: The plot seems a little on the thin side but if you're prepared to persevere then you will find that there is more to it than you think. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: May 2013 |
| Publisher: Hutchinson | |
| ISBN: 978-0091943974 | |
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Lorca is in her early teens and struggling to get attention from her mother. She's resorted to self-harming and even her obvious abilities in the kitchen don't seem to be enough to merit some of her chef mother's time. Her last chance to make an impact before she's sent away to boarding school seems to be to find a way to make Masgouf - an Iraqi fish dish - which her mother has described as her favourite meal. Along with her only friend - a young man who goes by the name of Blot - they discover that some Iraqi Jewish cooking classes are being offered by a chef.
The chef is Victoria. It's only a matter of days since her husband, Joseph, died and at eighty the idea of offering cooking classes in these circumstances seems unusual but then Victoria has never been conventional. She and Joseph were both from Baghdad but over the years had become New Yorkers. But Victoria is struggling with another, deeper grief. Back in the fifties she and Joseph had a daughter and Victoria was adamant that they should not keep the child despite all Joseph's pleading that they should. Now she wishes that she could know her daughter, that she had a family.
You cannot help but feel for Lorca. Her parents are no longer together and until she meets Victoria there isn't an adult to whom she can readily turn for even the most basic attention. She's very vulnerable, but then so is Victoria. The fact that her loneliness is, she feels, of her own making is neither here nor there. When your only company is the rather unbalanced old lady from the apartment upstairs you're not in a good state to make decisions. The bond between Victoria and Lorca seems unlikely but they both wonder if there might be some closer connection between them. After all, Lorca's mother was adopted and there are some physical resemblances. Then there's the food and the way that they cook together. (If you've any liking for Middle Eastern food then I promise you that your mouth will water).
The plot is a rather thin and as you read seems rather predictable. There were several occasions when I could easily have put the book down and forgotten about it: I felt sorry for Lorca but never really warmed to Victoria. It wasn't until the final fifty or so pages that the plot proved to be more substantial, more tightly knitted, than I first thought, but I can't honestly say that it balanced out the earlier part of the book. It is Jessica Soffer's debut and there are obvious talents which I hope she'll build on for her next book.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also enjoy The Innocents by Francesca Segal.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Tomorrow There Will be Apricots by Jessica Soffer at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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