Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Book Review - Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food and Love; Kim Fay

 

Penguin Random House Audio - (2022) 3 hours 46 min
Narrated by Kim Fay, Kimberly Farr, Cassandra Campbell, Mark Bramhall
 and Maggi-Meg Reed - all very good

I saw this book mentioned on Mary and JoAnn's Blogs and thought it sounded like a book I needed after a few so so reads. My library had the audio immediately available so I downloaded it. It was delightful.

Set in the 1960's Love & Saffron is an epistolary novel that felt like non-fiction.  Joan Bergstrom is a 27 year old woman and food writer living in LosAngeles. Imogene Fortier is a 59 year old magazine columnist who lives with her husband near Seattle.  On a whim Joan sends Imogene a letter with a package of saffron enclosed and an unexpected friendship develops.

This was an ode to strong women. It was a great escape book to listen to and, the large cast of narrators for a relatively short audiobook, kept me engaged from beginning to end. I loved the references to 1960s events like the Beatles, the Kennedy assassination, civil rights, and feminist authors like Helen Gurley Brown.  This is one of the books that would make a great gift for a friend or relative who enjoys food and cooking.  Try it!

Rating - 4.5/5 stars
(library download)

12 comments:

  1. I've been intrigued by this book ever since I saw it on JoAnn's blog. It sounds like my kind of book! I'll probably get a print edition since I have a feeling it will be one I'll want to read more than once. Glad to know you enjoyed it, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You will enjoy it - if you can audio free download, you might want to try that as well - so well done.

      Delete
  2. I'm so glad you enjoyed this, too, Diane! My library had the ebook available but, with a cast of narrators like that, I'd have been tempted to go the audio route.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, the audio was delightful but, I did miss the details about recipes so I may get the print at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think epistolary novels are fun to read. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I recall enjoying 84 Charring Cross Road and Guernsey Potato ........

      Delete
  5. I just started listening to this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hope you are enjoying it. I liked all the narrators.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I’m very excited, I figured out how to comment on Blogger blogs on my iPad! There’s been a sign in issue. I love the sound of this book! I haven’t read an epistolary novel in a long time, but I enjoy them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diana, what is your secret - commenting using iPad on Blogger?

      Delete
  8. This is on my tbr and it sounds fantastic. I love this style of novel and I'm really looking forward to reading this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's an easy story to fall into and just enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to visit and double thanks for any comments. If you ask a question in your comments, I will try to reply to it here, or by email if your settings allow me to do so. Thanks again for visiting.