Customer Reviews

Recipes for a Perfect Marriage

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

 

 

This novel is a gem, exploring the mysteries of marriage in sections which touch upon some of the traits that help maintain commitment (Chemistry, compromise, sacrifice, endurance, shared joy, etc). Don't fear that this book will be "preachy" - it is not. Instead, it is a very penetrating, realistic look at marriage through the eyes of two women, Tressa and Bernadine.Tressa lives in today's world. Bernadine "speaks" to her only through journal entries but that is enough to reveal the marriage she had, a marriage Tressa mistakenly believed was perfect.
Although the two women are generations apart - but shared a similar dilemna, learning to love their husbands after marrying them.
Tressa is newly married and already wondering what she has gotten herself into. As Tressa continues to struggle with her own doubts, she starts to read her grandmother's journal and glimpes the truth behind the facade of perfection in her grandmother's marriage.
Both of the women's lives in this book are believable and the author doesn't shy away from hard truths - that love, even in the best of marriages, can wax and wane, that it may have to grow over time and that commitment and hanging on through times of deep, deep doubt and stress may be what separates those who stay married from those who do not. Enduring some periods of lovelessness and animosity may even be normal.
What I like best about this book (besides the wonderful writing) is the point that the author returns to time and again...that there is no one formula for success in building a successful marriage - but there ARE goalposts along the way, characteristics that temper youthful romance and build a mature union.
In showing the growth of these two women as they struggle with doubt about whether they truly love their husbands or not, the author, Morag Prunty, reveals how the deepest love may come from LEARNING how to love as a marriage goes along and in turning away from romantic fantasies to the hard reality of the work it takes to maintain commitment and build a history.
This is the world of real love, not fantasy, not formula romance - and it should be required reading for many couples, married or single. It raises so many questions: what IS the basis of a good marriage? How important is just "hanging in there" when all seems hopeless? When is it time to walk away? How is one's personal growth affected by learning to tolerate someone with habits which may be very different from one's own?

Rarely does an author know how to write a book about love and commitment in a way that is palatable for both sexes. But Morag Prunty had both my boyfriend and me reading Recipes for a Perfect Marriage from cover to cover - with no desire to put it down. And that is rare. Perhaps because Prunty articulates what men and women from all generations can so easily relate to: the fear of commitment and the challenges of relationships. And perhaps because it is refreshingly more pro-male than most books about love. Recipes delivers honest, beautiful messages. It will surely hit an emotional chord with anyone who has ever been in a relationship, or afraid to take the plunge. Both serious and funny at times, I would highly recommend Recipes for both male and female audiences.

I LOVED this novel! Anyone who's married will enjoy this! The story is about Tressa, a newly married professional woman who is thinking that her marriage was a mistake from the beginning. All she can see are the imperfections in her new husband and their relationship. The story is mixed with letters from her grandmother that recount her own marriage. Then, there are recipes throughout that seem to perfectly advise or depict the aspects of marriage just by the directions or ingredients! The author hooks you from the beginning, then you will want to devour it in one sitting! I found myself anxiously wanting to get back to the story of Tressa's grandmother's marriage while reading Tressa's story. (The chapters mostly alternated between the two.)

You'll be thinking about your own marital relationship while reading this story. I think we get so busy comparing, analyzing and gauging what we've got and wanting it to look identical to the fairytale that we too often don't allow ourselves to realize or enjoy what a prize we really do have. Isn't it really about what you make of it anyway?

I loved the language in this book. There were many times I wanted to stop reading and go write down an excerpt from the book.

I don't buy many novels because I am not usually that interested in re-reading them, so I usually check them out from the library. This is one I would definately want to read again, and I want to try out the recipes! Buy the book, it's money well spent!

This is a great read!

I am not the type of reader that will sit down and read a whole book in one evening, but I could not put it down. I am not married yet, but this book taught me that love is not just what marriages are made of. A marriage is made of commitment, loyalty and the willingness to be there no matter what. This book made me cried and touched me in ways that not often books do. Read it, have some kleenex available and enjoy it. And when you are done, give your husband or boyfriend a big hug and tell them how much you love them.

I read this book and agree it is a terrific
book about relationships filled with old style wisdom,
and enticing messages portrayed through real life recipes.
It is easy to relate to and for anyone in a relationship;
this book is a must read.
It is hard to put down and great for a Book Club.

I loved this book....couldn't put it down. I am an Irish American grandmother, and I totally relate to the dynamics of the men and women in this book. Having been married (happily) for 44 years, I could see the wisdom on every page. Highly recommend it for all couples "trying to figure out what's going on in their marriages". Commitment is the key word here. I am sending a copy to everyone I know.

I'm a forty-something ex-romantic who has pretty much sworn off fiction. I picked this up on a whim at the library and read it in a day and a half. I was a little worried when it started out a bit copy cat of Sex and the City but it quickly evolved into its own. It is artfully organized and written, intelligent, insightful and..... romantic!

Morag Prunty shows not only great insight into the workings of marriage, but an honesty that is often quite raw. Both main characters are women whose stories are told in the first person. Their thoughts and attitudes can be quite disturbing, making them seem very harsh, self absorbed and unlikable at times, but reflecting what goes through the minds of people in an honest way... thoughts we would never want actually heard by others! At the same time with all this psychology going on, it's pretty light and enjoyable reading. I recommend this book to anyone, but especially those newly married who may be going through their own feelings of let down and disillusionment because the stories of it's women characters not only express how common these feelings can be, but, as in the grandmother's character, it shows us where it can lead if those feelings are held on to grudgingly for a lifetime. Having said all this I must add that at book's end I felt very inspired by this novel.

I sat and read this book in one quiet weekend - after my husband finished it and recommended it to me. I cried at the end, as it reminded me of my mother's care for my father during his final illness; heart rending, to say the least.

It would make a dynamite gift to couples engaged to be married. Buy up all the decent used copies you can find listed and give them out to your loved ones. You won't be sorry.

Extremely well-written; it feels like you are sitting with your best friend and confessing over a cup of good coffee, and something tasty to go with it.

I'm cerain this plot has been used multiple times in women's fiction - a female ancestor "speaks" to a modern woman via her diary.

I can't say it was easy to warm up to any of the main characters because they were all such a bunch of pills. Everyone was settling for less than what they really wanted. When the women spoke up for themselves, the milquetoast men suddenly got nasty. They all spent way too much time tiptoeing around each other in unhappy lives.

At the end there was a sort-of tying up of the loose ends and love-conquers-all, which I guess was to be expected given the genre. Some good points were made about the day-to-dayness of marriage and relationships, but overall I thought this book was kind of a bore.