Customer Reviews

Tomato Rhapsody: A Fable of Love, Lust & Forbidden Fruit

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I received an advanced copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program. I chose it after a number of other reviews had already been written--some good, some bad. It sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a chance.

When I first started the book, I wasn't sure what to think. It has lots of flowery and wordy descriptive passages. There is a narrator who appears regularly throughout the book to explain why some things are the way they are and what is going on in the story. It also includes footnotes to explain many historical facts. These are all things that are not usually in the books I read. I began to wonder if I would really like this book.

I am so glad I got this book. It is a truly romantic book--not in the sense of a man and woman, but in the sense of the time, place, and food. The book description speaks of the romance between Davido and Mari, but that is only a small part of the book. The story is about love, greed, secrets, prejudices, and so much more.

Now, there are some things about this book that can turn readers off. The first of those are what I previously mentioned--a narrator and footnotes. In addition, the book is crude and a bit vulgar. There are quite a few references to the male genitalia and sexual innuendo. For some, this can be a real turn-off to continuing the read. For me, it wasn't...it added to the depth of the characters. They were vulgar and crude. Be forewarned, though, if you don't like vulgar characters, this isn't the book for you.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It took about a third of the way through the book to really get into it and understand all that was going on in the story. Though it is not a book I would normally pick up, it was definitely worth my time. At some point it gets a little over the top (the sobbing and laughing seemed extreme), but still enjoyable.

This charming tale would make a lovely adult fairy-tale movie, along the lines of Princess Bride. I really enjoyed the read and could visualize the lovely 16th Century Tuscan setting and could almost taste the delicious recipes.

When you've got a novel subtitled, "A Fable of Love, Lust & Forbidden Fruit," what's not to like? Well, a few things, actually, but overall this debut novel is a charmer. It is being marketed as a comic romance between Jewish tomato farmer Davido and Catholic olive farmer Mari. And it is--but the star-crossed lovers don't even lay eyes upon each other for nearly 100 pages. Their story is one of many taking place in an unnamed 16th century Tuscan village.

There we meet Davido's Nonno (grandfather), who was introduced to the exotic tomato during his travels with Christopher Columbus in the new world. We meet Mari's disabled mother and villainous stepfather, Giuseppe and Giuseppe's conflicted henchman, Benito. Much of village life revolves around the church, and the Good Padre of this church is truly unique--from his all-embracing heart right down to his purple skin! We meet many other residents of the town: an outspoken housewife, a tolerant cheese maker, an intolerant butcher, a one-testicled tavern owner, and a very wise fool. To this cast of characters add Cosimo di Pucci de Meducci, III, grand Duke of Tuscany, and his chef, Luigi, who find their way to this back water town separately, and who each discover that this little village meets needs in themselves they never knew existed.

Beyond being a mere comedy or romance, this is a story of ignorance and anti-Semitism and of the struggle of good people for tolerance. And it is the story of the comfort and peace found in the Catholic Church. It is a story of village life, and a love song to the joys of Mediterranean food. I defy you to get through this novel without, at the very least, ordering in a pizza.

I found myself smiling throughout this quirky comic novel, but I will acknowledge that Tomato Rhapsody is not without its flaws, and will not be appreciated by all readers. It is Adam Schell's debut, and he is still learning to use the tools of his craft: exposition, character development, plotting, etc. He's experimenting a bit wildly with other tools: foreshadowing, flashbacks, direct address, symbolism, archetypes, footnotes, etc. I didn't agree with all of his choices, but most of the faults were forgivable.

The bigger problems are that this novel is told in archaic-sounding language. Large sections of the dialogue are spoken in rhyme. (A sort of medieval rap, if you will.) And parts of this comic novel are crude or downright lewd. Many readers will find one or more of these elements extremely off-putting. Simply put, this novel is NOT for everyone.

I would suggest as a litmus test that you ask yourself how likely you would be to sit down and read a Shakespearian comedy? That, of course, refers only to style, and isn't meant to suggest in any way that Schell's work is in the same ballpark. No, it's strange, and quirky, and flawed. But I liked it. And I smiled while I read it. I'm being a little generous with my four-star review, but I think there will be critics aplenty. I just wanted to applaud an author going out on a limb. I may never look at a tomato the same way again.

Three stars is a bit generous, and yet. I didn't HATE this book. Realistically, Tomato Rhapsody is a Screenplay In Search Of A Director. And it would be best if the director is Italian, or perhaps French. Honestly, this is a book that will probably not be a best seller in the US for several reasons. Though labeled "A Fable of Love, Lust & Forbidden Fruit" it is too meandering, convoluted, and unwieldy to qualify as chick lit or as literature taking its cue from vintage tales either told in a straightfoward fashion or otherwise.
If you are easily distracted, Adam Schell's story of a man and his tomato plants is not going to grab, let alone hold, your attention. If, on the other hand, you appreciate tales which wander down every lane in search of their outcome, rely on semi-historical facts and supposition as their GPS, you may love it. And yet.
This is probably NOT a book to take to the beach, where neither easy entertainment nor real literary treasure require so much hard work to love.

Set in 16th century Italy, 'Tomato Rhapsody' is a story you won't soon forget. The strange cast of charaters includes Davido and his grandfather (two Jews in the minority amongst a country of Catholics), Mari and her evil stepfather and cripled mother, a massively large Good Padre whose skin has been dyed the color of an eggplant, Bobo the jester and his puppet Bobolito, a man whose left testicle was eaten by a goose, and the Duke of Tuscany and his son Gian who wears a dress.

As we learn about each of the character, we read tales of how the tomato came to Italy from the New World, how the first tomato sauce was made (what they do with it is hysterical), and the oddest customs you've ever heard of surrounding the Feast in their little village.

A very sweet romance is at the heart of this story, a comedy that would have Shakespeare laughing his butt off.

Wow. Just - wow. I really wasn't sure when I started ... but I loved it.

I'll never look at tomato sauce the same way again.

It was an extraordinary book. It's a fable about how the tomato came to Europe, and how it overcame the strange, popular prejudice that it was extremely and immediately poisonous, to become inseparable from Italian cuisine. It's also about a wicked stepfather, the oppression of Jews in early Renaissance Europe, the curing of olives, Christopher Columbus, Catholic missionaries in Africa, sanitation, copulation, and celebration. It's a romance (not a love story), basically Romeo and Juliet if the lovers had been older and there had been someone sensible in Fair Verona. Everything in the story has meaning and significance: a donkey's bray, a shaft of sunlight, a drop of holy water. The story is earthy - sometimes downright crude - as well as golden, rapturous, euphoric - and yes, rhapsodic. It is both sprawling and intimate, with a good-sized cast of characters who do not come across as "characters"; these are people, wildly individual and altogether real.

Some might find the rhyming dialogue cloying, or indeed find it no better than annoying. But I find that the couplets to my inner ear became as natural and simple as, dare I say, Shakespeare. (I was tempted to write an entire review in rhyme, but it would take forever; I just don't have the time.)

Read this book. But first make sure your pantry is well stocked with good olive oil, good bread, eggplant (try the Good Padre's idea in Chapter 3 - it's wonderful), fresh herbs - and tomatoes. Definitely tomatoes. Lots of them.

Tomato Rhapsody uses the "almost true" story of the advent of 'love apples' as an inventive way of exploring all aspects of humanity from a comedic perspective. Schell's intelligence and wit sparkle in every line and the characters are fully fleshed out and breathing. The world he creates is so real you'll feel as if you've been to Tuscany on vacation. That said, I had a hard time putting this book down, and when I did it was because I'd already heard the prequel was in the works! Thank goodness! This is a writer we'll all be reading and enjoying for years to come.

In short, get this book, read this book and share it with your friends.

Adam Schell's comic novel, "Tomato Rhapsody," is an original paean to the Shakespearean comedy - the entire novel sings with the same gusto as Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing." The sun-kissed hill-sides of Tuscany is the perfect setting for tales of comic, romantic silliness.

Schell's novel revolves around the introduction of the tomato to Europe, but involves much more than that. Starting with a hilarious opening scene involving a braying donkey and its tremendous "endowment," "TR" also tells the story of young romantic love. Davido, a young Ebreo farmer, is smitten by the thunderbolt of love when he sees Mari, a gorgeous Catholic olive farmer - and she is equally infatuated with him. But not only is the whole Jewish-Catholic conflict at issue: Davido has done something far more sinister - he wants to sell tomatoes.

Or, as the provincial hayseeds believe, the sinister Ebreo wants to poison their community by selling them "Love Apples," as they call tomatoes, which were the fruit Satan used to tempt Eve.

Schell keeps this timeless love story alive by creating a dizzying cast of charming characters, from the otherworldly Good Priest to a dastardly villain to the ruler of Tuscany who decides to abandon his throne for a life of anonymous farming. All the Shakespearean tools are here - mistaken identities, murder, set-ups, betrayal, and comic genius. Building to a wonderful scene involving the feast for the Drunken Saint, "TR" waxes poetic with the rapture of delicious food and even more-delicious love.

This novel is a true delight, and I'd love to see it adapted into a movie. It would be one of the great "food movies," right up there with "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "Like Water for Chocolate."

Ok.. so I was intrigued by the title and little bit included so I decided to take a chance on this novel. In my life, I have never ever not finished a book. The record has been broken by this little ditty.

Honestly, this wasn't the book for me. Nothing against the author or writing style, just not my cup of tea. Being obsessive about the tomato in this novel is truly an understatement. I read the first 150 pages and I just couldn't drudge through anymore. For me this novel and particular wrtiting felt very much like an Italian Operetta and Shakespeare; particularly his "Julius Caesar" work. I know that was a work of art... but for me this was a limp immitation. The writing is very descriptive and at many points there are little footnotes at the bottom explaining old terms or periods. I found that very useful, but in the end, there just wasn't enought love and lust for me just a lot of the forbidden fruit.

Do not recommend to the wrong audience. If you like historical references and that style of descriptive writing then this might be a gem for you; not me.

Many very eloquent and descriptive reviews here so I'll keep it simple. I love Shakespeare and I love the Elizabethan era and read everything I can find relating to them, though I didn't pick this. It was given to me by a friend of the author. All I can say is kudos to Adam Schell. This is a richly textured, multi-layered homage to Willie, to Tuscany and to Italian cuisine. And though I am well-versed in the history, the narrator's explanations and footnotes were welcome and made the book more accessible. And I enjoyed the rhymes. I found them clever, inventive & very well-done. I do agree with some reviewers that it took a little bit to get into the story but once i committed, I sailed through it. And yes, it's "colorful" in every way, particularly in the bawdy sense, though the use of Italian keeps it from being too vulgar, at least for me--it was true to the timeframe. Highly recommend. Looking forward to Schell's next book!