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Cooking for Harry: A Novel
 
 
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Cooking for Harry: A Novel [Paperback]

Kay-Marie James (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 28, 2004
Harry became a fabulous cook. It began with a simple indulgence: secret bowls of buttery popcorn that he and his wife, Francie, would share after the children were tucked into bed. The aroma of melting butter, the hot kernels on their tongues, the salt crystals sticking to their lips—it was their own private romantic feast, imbuing their marriage with a new kind of passion. Soon, Harry began to dazzle Francie with luscious bisques and brioches, delectable soufflés, rich risottos, and classic versions of coq au vin that left her breathless.

Their family life came to revolve around the dinner table, where each night Harry’s cooking brought Francie and their four children together for an awe-inspiring and mouthwatering meal. But inevitably the years slip by, and when all but one child has left the house, Harry wins a digital scale in his company’s Holiday Raffle and their happy bubble bursts in a single instant. Harry’s cooking has finally caught up with him. His doctor confirms it: He desperately needs to lose weight.

Terrified of losing him, Francie puts Harry on a strict diet, leaving him eternally frustrated at the table and in the kitchen. When they both realize that he has to take a break from his culinary passions if this diet is to work, Francie begins to cook. Eventually a younger-looking, leaner, and more driven Harry emerges—one so newly committed to his job and his low-carb support group that not only is he no longer in the kitchen, he’s hardly ever at home. Feeling confused by the dynamics of their new relationship, Francie must contend with her need to keep Harry on his diet, and also with the women who have suddenly begun to eye her truly attractive husband. The question now becomes: Will love be enough to keep this marriage together, or will the Atkins Diet ultimately tear Harry and Francie apart?

Pop a pan of cookies into the oven and put up your feet. Cooking for Harry is a deliciously good time.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

James takes one part battle of the sexes and one part diet wars and, along with a soupcon of humor, whips up a treat with this cheeky romantic comedy. Pittsburgh physical therapist Francie Kligler has a rewarding career, a small herd of quirky but charming adult children, and a loving, quarter-century marriage to Harry, a shy computer programmer who also happens to be a brilliant chef ("He candied his own ginger, blanched his own almonds. He braised, he sauteed, he caramelized"). Unfortunately, Harry also eats too much of what he cooks: his doctor tells him that thanks to his eating habits, healthwise he's a "ticking bomb." Eschewing a life of salads, good ol' "I can't live without butter" Harry joins a nutritional study of low-carb diets, while Francine gamely (and slightly ineptly) takes over the cooking. But Harry's Atkins-style transformation from whale to near-whippet brings a host of ancillary problems, including a personality transformation that means more success at work but also opportunities for infidelity. James's warm way of chronicling the quirks of family life makes for a quick, engaging read, and she hits the mark with her lightly comic take on the support groups each partner joins to deal with the food dilemma. The ending that resolves the dalliances of both partners is formulaic and sappy, and James also stumbles into Erma Bombeck style suburban cliches in several chapters. Beneath the light comedy, though, this novel offers some telling, sly commentary on our contemporary obsession with food and how it permeates, and sometimes dominates, our lives.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

This brief, lighthearted novel describes the surprising changes wrought in a middle-class Pittsburgh family when, after many years of overeating, one of them decides to go on a diet. Harry and Francie Kligler have settled into a comfortable routine after nearly 25 years of marriage. Harry, who hates his day job as an office functionary, devotes all of his spare time to his real passion, gourmet cooking. Francie, who has always encouraged her husband's hobby, is quite content with their lifestyle. Both of their lives change forever after a visit to a doctor scares Harry into dieting. He stops cooking altogether and begins exercising. Although all of these changes are good for him, they aren't really working out for his wife and family. Francie, who has had to take over the cooking and shopping chores, is beginning to feel neglected by Harry and left out of his new activities. The plot thickens when Francie, who suspects Harry of conducting an affair, almost embarks on one herself. Casual readers will enjoy this fast-reading, breezy book. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (December 28, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345453719
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345453716
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,372,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly charming book - but one big flaw, March 15, 2004
By A Customer
This book is clever, witty, and breezy, and I enjoyed it completely. The description of poor Harry and how he ends up on his low-carb diet, and all the changes it causes in his life is very funny, and the book moves along very quickly, so you pretty much laugh for a couple of hours, and then you are done. However, this book will make you hungry, and it is most unfair of the author to refer to PeanutBetter ButterBurst cookies and a terrific cauliflower salad and not provide recipes!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Mediocre, Meaningless Novel, July 16, 2006
This review is from: Cooking for Harry: A Novel (Paperback)
I bought this book when I saw it at a store and thought it looked interesting as I was on a similar diet at the time.

"Cooking for Harry" was not terrible but for the most part the book was just plain meaningless and offered nothing of any interest or real importance.

If you have a lot of time to read you might not mind it. If reading time is harder to come by for you look for something more substancial elsewhere.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The reading equivalent of a light, fluffy no-carb snack, March 19, 2004
By 
Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
Francie delights in her cozy marriage. She and her husband, Harry, are content as they approach their 25th wedding anniversary. They are big-time foodies: Harry is a master gourmet cook and Francie is his adoring fan. The two of them host neighborhood dinner parties, family get-togethers and other calorie-driven fests. When Harry wants to show his love for Francie, he cooks her luscious tidbits.

Their life is shaken when Harry wins a digital scale in a raffle --- and actually weighs himself. He and Francie are aghast to discover that he is one hundred pounds overweight. At his doctor's they hear terrifying news about his cholesterol, triglycerides and his chances of developing diabetes and heart disease. When the doctor discusses diet, all Harry can say is, "Is there any diet where I could still have butter?"

Harry cheats on his low-fat, low-calorie diet. Francie, horrified that her beloved husband will eat himself into an early grave, offers to do all the cooking. She also talks him into joining a university hospital diet study.

Luckily for Harry, the diet study program lets him have butter --- and steaks, cheese, sour cream and so on. It's a low-carbohydrate program, and Harry thrives on it. Fat begins melting off of him faster than grease from frying bacon.

Francie is so happy. Or is she? Sure, her husband is getting slimmer, but he's also gone all the time. He's constantly off at work or at the gym or getting together with his diet group. At home he's distracted. Francie doesn't want to believe it of her adorable husband, but now that he's looking so tasty, is his love life sizzling elsewhere?

I adored witty, down-to-earth Francie. I initially loved Harry, but as I read further I felt that I didn't know him very well (no doubt mirroring his wife's feelings). The author draws us in to the family dynamics in a realistic, humorous way. However, while two of the couple's children were truly people to me, the brief appearance of two other less-realized children served no discernible purpose. I also had some quibbles with the relationships toward the end of the book. Two cardboardish characters, Krys and Tommy, appear to be devices invented for the plot's convenience. I had a similar reaction to a rather contrived cruise scene and felt the ending to be just a bit too pat. These problems after the midway point of the story weakened a wonderfully original premise and a great voice.

However, despite my disappointments with the last half of the book, COOKING FOR HARRY is a quick, fun story. I recommend it to anyone looking for the reading equivalent of a light, fluffy no-carb snack.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I did not attend Harry's company's annual Holiday Raffle. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mary Elizabeth, New Year's Day, Harry Senior, Pittsburgh Family Medical, Robert Frost, Tommy Choi, Holiday Raffle, Penn State, Krys Placek, Protein Power
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