Customer Reviews

Bread Alone: A Novel

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm glad this little book found me, as I was hungry to read something of quality.

Wynter Morrison is a woman adrift. She's been cut loose from her secure mooring by a wayward husband (a jerk of the first water) and she's unsure what comes next. Forced from her home in an upscale LA neighborhood, Wynter finds herself on a plane to Seattle to visit her childhood friend, CM.

On her trip, Wynter discovers a small neighborhood bakery complete with an odd cast of characters. When the bottom drops out from her LA world, she relocates to Seattle and starts to work at the bakery. The routine of bread making in the middle of the night soothes her and gives her direction.

It's been a long time since I've read such a well crafted first novel. I loved the characters...flaws and all...and I loved Hendricks' detailed description of the process of bread making...

This is an author to watch...

Enjoy!

When Wynter's smarmy husband unexpectedly suggests that they separate, she is floored. She has little job experience and has drifted in an unfulfilling marriage and life in LA for years. Wyn soon finds solace in baking bread, despite her crusty co-worker, Linda. Relocating to Seattle, she establishes a place for herself in a small bakery and starts a new life. She moves from a desire to get revenge to a search for fulfillment.

Hendricks has taken a modern-day romance and populated it with some really memorable and well-developed characters. The story and the characters ring true and the novel moves along quickly as we follow Wyn on her journey of self-discovery.

All kinds of relationships are explored in this book and the author looks at them with honesty and humor. While a bit predictable, it is never pedestrian. And the bread-baking tips were a welcome extra.

In recent years, many fiction titles written by women authors focus on female relationships featuring a particular location or occupation. In the past these relationships have taken place in a beauty parlor as was described in Lorna Landvik's book Patty Jane's House of Curl or the Hollers as in Big Stone Gap by Adriani Trigiani and even a friendship group as in The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney and now a bakery as in Bread Alone, the first book by Judith Ryan Hendricks. And while the topic isn't entirely new the author did a fairly good job of conveying the plot in an enjoyable manner using an interesting location and city.

Wyn Morrison is an unfulfilled woman. Married to a succesful man with a poor job record before her and no encouragement from her husband, she is a familiar face on the ladies luncheon circuit, tennis courts and charity events. In every sense of the word Wyn is David's wife, dressing up for him when they go out and smiling at dinners with clients. Somehow, though, Wyn becomes rather complacent about her life which can't be said for her husband. Suddenly Wyn finds herself with a husband who is seeking a divorce from her so he can marry another woman. While Wyn is somewhat adrift at first, as we read on we sense that now Wyn has the opportunity to strike out on her own and find her way alone. And all the while we are the witnesses as she stumbles into a bakery while visiting a friend in Seattle. Finding out that extra hands are needed at the bakery, Wyn finds herself suggesting that she become part of the satff. And within days she has flour up to her elbows as this job brings back a flood of memories about her student days when she apprenticed to a baker with a small shop in a town near Paris. As Wyn bakes bread she also tries to figure out why her life turned out the way it did and what she can now do to make it better. In no time at all Wyn becomes ingrained in the life of the Seattle bakery making friends with other workers as well as neighbors eager for her company and Wyn knows she ia at home finally.

If this book is somewhat reminiscent of other titles where a newly divorced woman first alone and lonely, finds a job, grows up and begins to lead a productive life, it is Judith Ryan Hendricks pleasant writing and attention to emotions which does set this book apart. And as an added bonus the author manages to capture the vibrancy, sights, sounds and smells of the wonderful city of Seattle.

Judi Hendrick's Bread Alone is a wonderful read. When Wynter is left by her yuppie husband, she travels to Seattle to bunk with a friend and nurse her wounds, but ends up finding a life. Much of the action takes place in a bakery run by an eclectic group of women who throw themselves into their work to heal their hearts. That's story enough for this reader, but Hendricks takes things further by introducing great men who add another layer to the women's lives. What I loved most about this book is that the women's friendships are the core of the story. Hendricks shows us them warts and all, and gives the reader a rich, chewy story to enjoy even after the last page is turned. I look forward to her next book.

I wasn't sure what to expect with "Bread Alone." Was it going to be a funny romantic romp? A serious character study? A slow-moving read? No, it was just a delightful story, pleasant to read, satisfying to finish. I actually kind of miss the character of Wynter, now that I've finished the book and have moved on to another one. I really enjoyed the friendship she has with CM; I thought it was a very realistic portrayal of adult female friendships. I was frustrated with every scene in which David made an appearance. In short, I felt I was learning and growing along with Wynter as she matured through the course of the story. It is a fantastic book. I cannot wait for Hendricks' next novel to become available in paperback.

If you're looking for a light, frothy novel, with stereotypical characters and predictable plotlines, this is not for you. It's better than that. If you want to learn more about a wonderful character, and maybe a little bit about baking bread, this is a wonderful choice.

This book is a warm, wonderful slice of life. The characters are people I'd like to spend time with. There are so many stories out there of women who have been "done wrong" by a man (and I've read them all!), but something about this book touched me deeply. I envy Wynter's courage in moving on and making a great new life for herself - even though she was as uncertain about her decisions as the rest of us are about ours. The descriptions of the bread made my mouth water and made me want to be Wyn's friend - and a lucky recipient of some of her bread experiments. I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you're looking for a book to truly lose yourself in. It left me wanting more!

Wyn Morrison is feisty, funny and at-large. This is a woman who's strong and vulnerable, witty and morose, self-aware and clueless. In other words -real!

Judith Hendricks has set her down in a vivid landscape with a cast of characters that ring true with every word. People that you'll recognize (but no stock characters these - distinct and conflicted with secrets of their own) and the ones you've never met, you kinda wish you had (well, maybe with the exception of Linda, Wyn's belligerent, cantankerous co-worker).

She explores the prism of relationships from familial to romantic to platonic to collegial with honesty and wit. But Hendricks is not only witty, she's plenty smart, too. I learned about the art of baking (besides all the tempting recipes), Seattle (did you know the skyscrapers have nicknames?), music (in a special way you'll have to find out for yourself) and the innards of cars (well, I guess I didn't learn enough on that subject).

Her prose is fluid and seamless and when it was over, I wanted more. Judith Hendricks goes on my list of writers whose books I look forward to reading.

I enjoyed every bite of Bread Alone.

In French, « bread alone » became « le pain de lamour », i.e. the bread of love, and I think its a gorgeous translation. Love refers to the life of Wynter (and just to Life) as well as to the bread (and its baking). In this marvellous book, everything is sweetness and poetry. Rain and fog drenching Seattle, the little house without any comfort rented and improved and loved by the heroine, the attaching women draw a veil of tenderness along the book. Wynter still loves the husband who threw her out of his life, and this love of bread is a way for her to try and forget him, but its probably not enough to make a success of her new life. The reader really hopes shell find a man to love her and give another sense to her life. No preciousness, no violence, in this gorgeous book, tinted with grey but also with so much hope and sweetness, a book youll read and savour with a huge pleasure, just like a very good bread.

I want Wyn's life--not the one in LA with the sleazy husband, but the lovely,lyrical quiet life in Seattle, baking bread and living in a cozy cottage. Well, ok, I want central heating instead of a wood stove but still... This is a wonderful book. You may want to [bring] Wyn into consciousness of her husband's manipulative behavior but you'll applaud her growing sense of self. I highly recommend this book and look forward to Ms. Hendricks next novel.

This was an enjoyable book to read. Pour yourself some hot tea and relax in your favorite chair as you dive into the world of Winnie. This is a story about surviving and THRIVING after a divorce. This is a story about following dreams and finding out that you can survive difficult circumstances. Check out this author's website too!