Blue Jelly: Love Lost & the Lessons of Canning [Paperback]

Debby Bull (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1998

In a fresh and funny literary voice that ranks her alongside Nora Ephron, former "Rolling Stone" writer Debby Bull searches the world for a cure to the depression she finds herself in when a relationship ends. Checking out psychics, gurus, shrinks, and channels, she tackles all that the new cultural landscape has to offer--always coming back to her jam-making. Includes 15 real canning recipes. Line art.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Irreverent and very funny, a former Rolling Stone writer takes readers on a not so metaphorical journey, during which, in the process of canning, she apparently discovers important truths. Having fled New York for Montana (and another abode in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, her childhood home), she found that the method to Bull's madness, or rather the way to relieve the depression following a boyfriend's sudden departure, was through the practice of canning. Individuals deal with breakups in disparate ways, however; thus Bull also elects to sample various New Age workshops and therapies. Quite a few actual recipes are included in this comical, colorful tale of relationship woes; and as Bull reveals enlightening bits of wisdom that occur to her, the engaging story entertains readers with the Zen of canning. Alice Joyce --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Enchanting, funny, and perceptive reflections on recovering from a disastrous love affair, woven together with recipes for making jams, jellies, and pickles. Bull literally preserved herself from despair after her lover called in news of his new affair during a dinner party they were both supposed to be hosting. Ridding herself of everything that belonged to him, she found a bag of wild huckleberries he had picked and turned them into jam. String beans from his garden became dill beans in her grandmother's old blue Ball jars. Why canning and not baking bread? Canning is ``a Zen thing,'' requiring total attention to a ``world in which things turn out the way you thought they would.'' But Bull doesn't simply lock herself in her kitchen watching fruit boil. She takes off into the wider world in search of healing. Her trips range from hiking in Utah to scuba diving in the Bahamas to seeking in India, where palm leaves are read and guru Sai Baba speaks to her through another. She also tries, and skewers, the kind of therapy workshops that give healing a bad name. After every adventure she returns home to ruminate on what she's learned and can whatever is in season. Each chapter ends with a recipe, ranging from classic raspberry jam to Mexican hot pickled vegetables to dandelion jelly (the blue jelly of the title--she was out of yellow food coloring). Don't skip the recipes: Tucked between directions for sterilizing the Ball jars and boiling the fruit juice are delicious anecdotes, many about the celebrities she's interviewed for magazines such as Rolling Stone and Interview. Warm, funny, plump with insight, a book that readers will pass on to friends and friends of friends, whether they're recovering from broken hearts or in need of a recipe for blueberry butter. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (April 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786883200
• ISBN-13: 978-0786883202
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,994,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Recipe for Mending, April 9, 2003

By 

Alyssa Lynne Baum (Atlantic City, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Jelly: Love Lost and Lessons of Canning (Hardcover)

Simply stated, one of the best books for healing and growth (and humor) I've ever read...well, to be specific, I've ever read 5 times! It's a simple read, yet keeps your eyes glued to its pages; its voice strikes you right to your core and makes you wonder if it wasn't written solely for you! I've loaned it to friends a million times over, and it's never been received with anything less than pure excitement, relief, pleasure, and appreciation. Great writing, great book, great lessons. It's both practical and spiritual, humorous and poignant, insightful and memorable. It's a book you won't soon forget.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and upbeat!, October 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Jelly: Love Lost & the Lessons of Canning (Paperback)

I loved the book. Thought Ms.Bull did a great job of telling us the story combined with the recipes. She can write more along this vein and have a faithful following waiting in the wings. I found her humor along the lines of Erma Bombeck. The only reason I could figure out for this other "reviewer" to say that the book was "whining" is because they just don't "get it." If they did, they'd see how funny the book actually is. The recipes are funny, the way she'd write the ingredients and instructions and then had a quirky comment that related to the lost love. Very cute idea.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous, gorgeous book, June 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Jelly: Love Lost and Lessons of Canning (Hardcover)

This little book offers so much: beautiful packaging of the hardcover (worth the extra dollars), punchy writing, wry sense of humor and canning recipes even! I love this book. It's the cutest-looking book I own. I wasn't going through heartbreak when I read it, but if I was, it would have given me a lift. Support this wonderful writer, and buy her book.

Barbara DeMarco Barrett, writer and host of "Writers on Writing"