Tarte Tatin [Paperback]

Susan Loomis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2003

Further adventures on life in a small French town from Susan Loomis, cookery book writer and author of 'On Rue Tatin'. 'On Rue Tatin' was a delightful discovery, and every reader asked for more. The life on Rue Tatin seemed like a dream fulfilled. Now in 'Tarte Tatin', Susan Loomis shares with us how she, her husband and two children settled into life in a small French town, learnt about their neighbours and how to be accepted as inhabitants of the town. With her son going to a French school and her husband finding work in the town, Susan Loomis discovers the joys of the French lifestyle -- the markets and the food in particular -- but also some of the difficulties, particularly for those who are not born French. The creation of the long dreamt-of cookery school is a story of great appeal -- everyone who has ever thought of starting their own small business will enjoy the ups and downs of their enterprise, and long to go to Rue Tatin.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for 'Tarte Tatin': 'Enchanting escapism -- Nigella Lawson in Peter Mayle-land.' Daily Mail 'Where many writers merely love France, Susan Loomis knows it -- its smells, people and manners!she shows that she is as natural a writer as she is a chef.' New York Times 'Slips down a treat, like Normandy cream -- smooth and sweet with a touch of acidity. A pleasure from start to finish.' Daily Mail

About the Author

Susan Loomis was born in Orlando, Florida. Her childhood was spent moving around the USA and from country to country with her military father. She met and married Michael Loomis, a sculptor, in 1983. They now live on Rue Tatin in Louviers with their two young children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Pb (July 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007143516
• ISBN-13: 978-0007143511
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,355,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I liked the first one better, August 22, 2007

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Cate (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tarte Tatin (Paperback)

In "On Rue Tatin" Susan Loomis talks about what she doesn't quite describe as her love affair with France: how she studied cooking in Paris, how she worked there, how she and her husband bought and refurbished a house in the northern part of the country. In "Tarte Tatin," she sets up her own cooking school at home, and continues the story of her life as an expatriate. For some reason this volume read a little long to me, and I think perhaps it's because there wasn't much new in it: I would have loved to hear more about the vagaries of setting up her own business -- and in a foreign country yet -- and less about, say, the smelly dog the family didn't keep, or her toddler daughter announcing that she was "going to Pehwis (Paris)." Baby talk should be spoken only by babies; it should never be duplicated! And what's understandably cute for parents isn't always as entertaining for the rest of us. I probably would have enjoyed hearing less about Ms. Loomis' family and more about dealing with her customers, or her experiences in the kitchen.

Still, there's a lot of charm and just pure enjoyable escapism in reading about life in a French village, and as always, the recipes included at the end of each chapter are a real bonus. The book is definitely worth a look, although it's not as enchanting as its prequel.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not about a cooking school, December 17, 2006

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B. A. Balmaseda (Lancaster, uk) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarte Tatin (Paperback)

Very disappointing, the only good thing in it is the food. It's terribly condescending and author's ego is all over the place. But the most annoying part is that while it claims on the back that this is a book about a cooking school and anyone about to open a small business should read it, this is not the case at all. She only talks about the school a bit at the beginning and then we are just left with her life, her view of the French, which is not very exciting, and an awful lot of adjectives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing follow-up, November 22, 2010

By 

jwood - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tarte Tatin (Paperback)

I've read and own a couple of Susan Loomis' books, including "On Rue Tatin" and her "Great American Farm Cookbook." I really like both a lot. "On Rue Tatin" paints an interesting look at how she and her husband embark on a new life in France. I expected that "Tarte Tatin" would be a sequel to this story and in some ways it is but there's an edge to this book that I don't thin is in her first book about moving to France. This book repeats a lot of what's in the first book but without the same spirit. This book also seems to leave out some information. For instance, her husband is a sculptor and yet she doesn't mention this until almost the end of the book (she makes references to his work but never identifies what it is). Although she writes kindly about him, there's an edge her that makes him seem marginalized, secondary to her. I read last night that they are now divorced and after reading this book I wasn't surprised. In fact, I wonder if that doesn't explain some of the edge here. At some points this book seems to devolve into lists and some of her comments about her neighbors and vendors at the farmer's market just seem unkind and maybe unfounded. For instance, she suggests that French men aren't manly enough since the own small dogs instead of Huskies. If she'd pointed out that this was probably because she was a US American, I don't think I'd have a problem but the way she writes sounds judgmental and ethnocentric. I do think the second half of the book is better than the first and she writes movingly of what is was like to experience 9/11 in France. However, my advice is to stick with "On Rue Tatin." It's a better book and you will like her better (I think...I guess I will see what I think if I reread it someday).