Customer Reviews

How to Cook a Tart

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Tired of the same old canned book plots? Tired of "low fat", watered down characters who are as interesting as day old bread and tepid water? Well here's your cure - Nina Killham's hilarious new novel! This book was great - it was exactly what I was looking for - it continually kept me guessing as to what in God's name Jasmine March was thinking up in that culinary genius mind of hers!
The character dynamics were insane! Daughter versus father, mother versus daughter, mother versus father, husband and mistress, etc... The food itself is a character that is wonderful to actually watch as it pushes and pulls the characters in a multitude of directions!
One must read this book to experience the true decadent feeling that comes from "consuming" such a wonderful first novel!

Numerous exciting and unusual suggestions for relationship enriching activities with food, batterie de cuisine, and leftovers. Don't let your mother read it or share it with her book club. It won't make Oprah's list but it tops mine for escape reading. Readers who enjoy Janet Evanovich will find "To cook a tart" appealing.

This is a book meant to be savored. Hold the rich raspberry, satin paper covered book in your hand and study the title. "How to Cook a Tart." ::What kind of a tart?:: Well, in the first sentence, we have a dead floozy on Jasmine's kitchen floor. ::Oh, THAT kind of tart.::

If you pay attention, every page has wonderful culinary wit and sly references to both the title and ending. Poor Jasmine is caught in a comedic web that doesn't have her so much cooking the tart, as, well--gee, it just isn't her fault!

This is not a Chianti moment. I definitely recommend a robust Pinot Noir with this book!

As a major foodie, food, food tv, kitchen stores, cookbooks I ate this book right up. And it all concludes with a twisted deliciously evil ending.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time, a perfectly great book to pick up after reading something intense. I could not put this book down, and found it suprisingly easy to get into. I thought the author was right on target with her witty analysis of certain people. Highly recommend this! AAAAAA++++++++++ Read!

Bought this at the Salvation Army for about 80 cents, so I feel I got my money's worth, at least. "How to Cook a Tart" sets itself up as a satiric murder mystery- the dead body on the kitchen floor, the reaction more exasperated than upset- but then it goes back in time and becomes something absolutely different. It's a food book, and Jasmine, our somewhat sympathetic main character, is in love with food, especially fat. She believes we should eat what we want, not what we're told to, which is a good point and I'm with her so far. But she overlooks the part where fatty food causes clogged arteries and heart attacks, neither of which are especially tempting. Her family is rather ridiculously unfeeling. Selfish and self-absorbed, both of them- Daniel, the philandering husband, and Careme, the anorexic teenager. It's hard to know why you're reading this book. I thought it was for the murder mystery, but the murder doesn't get referenced again until the book's almost over, when it goes off the deep end. Seriously, how did any editor let this get past him/her? It's bizarre, unsettling, and gross. It's not satiric any more, it's just insane.

I will say this book inspired me to want to cook and bake more. I like how Jasmine has the well-stocked larder and ability to just whip something up whenever she feels like it. I wish this book had been more about food and less about pretty much anything else.

I was enjoying this book until it took a turn for the worst. While everyone raves on and on about the food element of it, I found I couldn't get past the disgusting ending of it. I guess I was hoping that the characters and all their wacky food issues (which were quite entertaining) would somehow blend into a wonderful sauce at the end. Maybe I was just hungry by the time it was over.

There is not much to say about this book- it was completely boring. The only good thing about it was Jasmine March's food descriptions. That is it and even those weren't enough to carry me through the story. And if you do start out partially enjoying it... the end will just ruin it for you anyway. Don't waste your time OR your money.

I was enjoying the book, the descriptions of food are good. However, the ending is too much and hard to stomach. I regret reading this book and now my head is filled with terrible thoughts. I hope I forget this book very soon.

This book got off to a strong start and was definitely believable. In the beginning, I found it to be witty, funny and well written. For an epicure, the descriptions of dishes prepared by the main character were tantalizing; but alas, something happened about 80% of the way through the book - it took a crazy and unbelievable turn for the worst. It was almost as if another writer stepped in to finish off the job. I would still recommend it as a light vacation read....but I was disappointed in the ending.