From the Kitchen of Half Truth by Maria Goodin | 2 | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble
From the Kitchen of Half Truth [NOOK Book]
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Infused with the delicious warmth of Chocolat and the captivating feeling of School of Essential Ingredients.
If your mother can't seem to tell the truth...how true is your life?
Meg May doesn't know what's true. And she needs to find out.
Imaginative and free-spirited, Meg's mother created a life out of stories. Outlandish stories, really, the kind you can't possibly believe—unless your mother won't tell you anything else about your past. After all, how do you argue with someone who tells you that a spaghetti plant sprouted on your first birthday, that you used to take hot dogs for a walk, or that your father died in a tragic pastry-mixing accident?
But as charming as those stories are, they aren't enough for Meg anymore. When her mother becomes ill, Meg decides she has to know the truth. As the two spend one last summer together, Meg can't convince her mother to reveal a thing about who they used to be—or who they are now.
A delicious debut, full of warmth and quirky humor, From the Kitchen of Half Truth explores the stories we tell ourselves and others in order to create the lives we want.
From the Kitchen of Half Truth, which won the Derby Short Story Competition, is Maria Goodin's first novel.
"Beautifully conveyed...delicate and magical. Happy to recommend this book!"—Marilyn Lustig, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA
"From the Kitchen of Half Truth depicts a complicated mother-daughter relationship that anyone can appreciate."—Jessilyn Norcross, McLean and Eaken Booksellers, Peroskey, MI
Editorial Reviews
Library JournalMeg May was raised on intricately woven, beautifully told fantasies. Her mother, Valerie, didn't leave room in their lives for differentiating between truth and fiction, and Meg learns on a hard day at school that her memories aren't accepted as reality. Stories her mother has told throughout her life that make up her history are ridiculed by classmates and teachers. She burns with shame and confusion, and has a sudden distrust of her mother's world of fancy. Grownup Meg, now a scientist, moves home when Valerie becomes ill and refuses to acknowledge it. In reality, she' in her persistent fantasy world, she carries on cooking, baking, and telling elaborate stories to Meg and their new gardener, Ewan, while Meg chips away at the past until she unearths pieces that begin to make sense. As Valerie's illness progresses, Meg must decide whether reality, however harsh, is more important than comfort. VERDICT An impressive and heartfelt debut that will appeal to many readers, this charming and sensitive mother/daughter story captures the struggle between protection and isolation.—Julie Kane, Sweet Briar College Lib., VA
Publishers WeeklyMeg May's mother Valerie told the most fantastic stories, and as child Meg believed them, thinking it possible that she could blow up like a beach ball after drinking too much carbonated lemonade or capture fairies in milk bottles. At age eight, Meg was humiliated in front of her class after repeating a story about beans that could run and decided to rely only on common sense and logic from that point on. Now a scientist at the age of 21, Meg has returned home to care for her dying mother and attempts to seek the truth about her past. She realizes that the hunt for her father, a French pastry chef who died in a pastry-making accident, not only brings people back into her mother's life that she's unwilling to face, but may lead Meg down a road that she's not ready to travel. With the encouragement of Ewan, the attractive gardener, Meg opens her mind to Valerie's flighty thinking. In this touching debut novel about the relationship between a mother daughter, Goodin does effectively portrays Meg's annoyance at her mother's stories, but Valerie's obliviousness to Meg's frustrations grates. Nevertheless, Meg's love for Valerie is as clear as her logic. (Apr.)
From the Publisher"Beautifully conveyed...delicate and magical. Happy to recommend this book!" - Marilyn Lustig, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA
"From the Kitchen of Half Truth depicts a complicated mother-daughter relationship that anyone can appreciate." - Jessilynn Norcross, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petosky, MI
"A mother's perseverance, a daughter's self-discovery, and a brilliant examination of the human psyche's coping mechanisms in response to tragic events. ... Maria Goodin has proven herself a talented storyteller with this debut novel and an author that I look forward to seeing more from in the future." - The Book Barista
"Fans of Sarah Dessen and Carol Cassella will appreciate Goodin's clear, lyrical prose ... Funny, tender, quirky, and heartfelt, From the Kitchen of Half Truth is for anyone who has daydreamed about the future or been shocked to find something unexpected in the past." - Booklist
"A gorgeous tale of love, loss and making sense of the past ... filled with energy and life." - RT Book Reviews
"A story about understanding and compassion and how people often distort the truth to protect themselves and others, Goodin's narrative contains moments of eloquence, wit and sensitivity" - Kirkus Reviews
"Held me captivated from first to last word ... You'll find just a little piece of yourself in all the wonderful characters." - Long and Short Reviews
"There are some novels that grip you with a story so unique, yet so heart wrenching that you can't stop reading. From the Kitchen of Half Truth was just such a novel." - Laura's Reviews
"I tend to form friendships with the books I some are acquaintances, some pass through friends and others are keepers. This book is a keeper. ... The characters, are well drawn and 'feel' very real." - Cocktails and Books
"A warm novel that deals with relationships using quirky humour, nature, and the power of storytelling ... Highly recommended." - From the Library of Clean Reads
Kirkus ReviewsGoodin's debut about a woman who prefers to look at the world through rose-colored glasses and a daughter who views everything in terms of black and white blends humor and inspiration but may leave some readers feeling half-full. Meg May recalls few specifics about her early childhood, but she does remember the whimsical details provided by her mother, Valerie. According to her mom, Meg is the daughter of a pastry chef who died in a terrible pastry- Meg clucked like a chick the small scar on Meg's face was caused by a crab cake, and when she was a year old, she climbed into a freezer and had to defrost in a tub of hot water for two hours. Meg believed these and many more stories until she was 8 years old and wrote about her earliest memory, which she read to her class. Humiliated by her peers' laughter when she recounted how her mother chased running beans throughout the kitchen, thereafter Meg rejected any element of make-believe and turned toward science as an orderly, logical way to view the world. Now grown, Meg leaves her studies at Leeds University to care for Val during the final stages of her cancer, and she realizes that this may be her last chance to learn the truth about her past. But Valerie won't even admit she's ill, much less acknowledge that her tales are nothing more than fantasy. A story about understanding and compassion and how people often distort the truth to protect themselves and others, Goodin's narrative contains moments of eloquence, wit and sensitivity, but it's difficult to ignore the overall saccharine tone of the novel and its fairy-tale characters: Ewan, the pure-hearted hero who communicates wit Meg, the beautiful young damsel in distress who finds herself slowly drawn into Ewan' Mark, the unpleasant, regimented and controlling boyfriend who pushes Meg to Val, the free-spirited, generous and loving woman who li the members of the band C the buffoonish, lovable dwarves--er, men--who've never grown up. Somewhat enjoyable.
Average Rating 4.5
I really enjoyed reading this story, a beautiful story about a d
I really enjoyed reading this story, a beautiful story about a daughter and a mother. Do yourself a favor and pick this up today you will thoroughly enjoy it.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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I tend to form friendships with the books I some are acqua
I tend to form friendships with the books I some are acquaintances, some pass through friends and others are keepers. &This book is a keeper. &Unfortunately, because of that it's harder to write a review without sounding overly gushy. &But if I have to sing the praises of a book then this one is it.First, the pacing and atmosphere of this book is spot on. &Goodin begins the book with what feels like magical realism and weaves it all the way through her narrative, &making it an integral part of her main character. &The pacing is slow without being boring, like the walk you take the first day of Spring soaking up the sun and flowers.I immediately identified with and sympathized with Meg as she tried to balance the truth and fiction about her childhood. &She struggles to accept the stories her mother tells while trying to feed her need for truth.One of the strongest parts of From The Kitchen of Half Truths is the love story. &Not the traditional boy/girl love story but it's exploration of mother daughter relationships and their complexity. &I truly felt for these two women and wanted them to come together before it was too late. &The underlying romantic love story was a slow build and rang true. &However, I did find Mark's condescending artifice a bit heavy handed.I can tell you of you are expecting one of those quaint stories with recipes this is not the book, although good does play an integral part. The characters, are well drawn and &feel& very real. &From The Kitchen of Half Truths is well worth the time it takes to get into the story and know the characters. &Reviewed by Karon for Cocktails and Books
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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I enjoyed reading this book very much.
It was like curling up
&I enjoyed reading this book very much. &It was like curling up under a blanket on a rainy day. &When I had to put it down, I couldn't wait to start reading it again and the words just flowed beautifully. &The stories that Meg's mother, Valerie, tells her about her childhood all reflect cooking or food in some way. &This makes sense as Valerie's passion is cooking. &She has filled Meg's head with wonderful stories and created this fantastical world where the scar on her head is from a
that they once had a spaghetti plant growin that one summer the runner beans that they had picked all got up and ran away. &It is that last story about the runner beans that makes Meg realize at the age of 8, that maybe everything her mother tells her isn't the truth. &She decides that she is done with make believe and from there on out everything has to have it's basis in fact. Unfortunately, she has already been labeled as a 'liar' and kind of nutty for believing these stories and so her life growing up is a lonely one. &When she is 21 she goes back to spend the summer with her mother as her mother is dying. &She is still full of spirit though and greets each day as if nothing is wrong. &Meg tries to get her mother to tell her about her childhood, as well as face the fact that she is dying, but her mother continues to spin her fanciful tales and avoids the truth. &The gardener that Valerie has hired, Ewan, is very taken with Valerie and shares his own tales with her. &Try as she might, Meg just doesn't have the same connection to her mother that Ewan does - or maybe we should say the same acceptance that Ewan does. &She continues to dig for anything that might tell her something about her childhood. &I will say it again, I really enjoyed reading this book and was sorry to see it end. &It had lots of little bits of wisdom tucked into the quirky tales - some of which were quite humorous. &I loved the relationship that Meg had with her mother, even if she wasn't quite as satisfied with it as she felt she should be. &Even though she wanted answers to her questions, she also wanted to protect her mother as anything to do with her past seemed to upset her. &I think this would be a good book for a reading club- lots of stuff to discuss about relationships - those between spouses or potential spouses. &There is also the big question that they raise in the synopsis - what kind of tales will we spin to give us the lives that we want?
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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What a wonderful book!
Full of humor and tenderness, and lesson
What a wonderful book! &Full of humor and tenderness, and lessons for life. &Couldn't put it down, but was sad when it ended--only because it seemed so real! &Not sure whether this is Maria Goodin's first book, but I hope there are more soon!
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A wonderul book.
Wish she had another.
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This book made me think. It was a
good read.
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Stabs the thing in the head
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Get away from us. We are all taken
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Yvhb&pb&Hhh
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Hears Ciaro
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She smiles slightly to herself
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Hot boobe cheerleader to ciaro
SMACKS HIM HARD THAT MAKES HIM BLEED BI.T.CH
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Anyone want to be my freind
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Waking in she looked at the trees. The were perfectly spaced and had long sturdy branches. This would do perfectly for a little chalenge. It would be just like the old days when she needed to steal things, food mostly. She smiled. The was the perfect time for a small training session. Sliping off her jacket so she could move around better she began her assent to the top of the tree infrount of her. She looked out over the trees and found what she was looking for, a tree taller than the rest. Grabing her watch from her shoulder bag she droped the so it fell down next to her jacket. As she fastened her watch to her wrist she began to talk. &Alright Zia, just like the old days. That tall tree is your goal. Get there with out touching the ground and under five minutes.& After she set her watch she gave herself a minute to plan a path through the trees. &Remember, if you dont make it you dont get food.& And with that she hit start. Right away she jumped down to the brach below her and again jumped lower to a branch the would hold her weight. Grabing the branch above her she swung over to the next tree. There she jumped down to a long branch. She took a moment to get her blance and ran for the end of the branch. Right before the wood ran out she threw her weight down and jumped useing the extra force to make it to the next branch she wanted. By now she was getting short of breath she but contiued on. She didnt dare check her watch. She was getting closer to forest floor now where the branches were wider and thicker. Useing another branch she swung over to a different tree. She manuvered around its trunk to a branch that was thin and quite as strong. Useing her same technique she jumped to grab a higer branch. She made the jump and before her hands slipped she pulled her self up onto it. This branch persented a challenge.
The gap between her current branch and her target branch was to wide to get to with just a jump, and this branch was to thick to give her lift. She sucked in
breath and moved back towards the tree trunk. She took a running start a jummped, fliping in mid air which was just enough to make it. She grined and contiued on. As she got higher she saw she was close to her goal but running out of time. She estimated she only had two minutes left and on top of that the trees were geting farther apart. When she was within twenty meters she grabed a branch to swing to another. As soon as it took her ful weight it snapped.
She only just managed to grab the branch shed been on. Luckily she was able to recover and continue on. It was close now she could see it. All that it took was one more jump.
She ran and jumped grabing a branch that came off another. She used her momentum from the jump to increase her swing to the next tree. As she flew she streached out and just barley grabed the branch she needed. She droped down to a lower branch and checked her watch. Shed made it with ninty seconds to spare. She let out a gasp of relife and droped down to sit on the branch. She only had a few scratches and her hands needed ontim&&_ent, but nothing serious. She brought ontim&&_ent with her in her bag. She leaned her head back and smiled feeling very happy.
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Not sure about this one
I had a difficult time getting into this book.
I kept thinking it would get better but it didn't.
I was bored with the character's dysfunctional relationship with her mother who created a life of fantasy for her daughter.
However, I did have to admire the daughter for her ability to have risen above the fantasy and remain in reality and her struggles to find the truth hidden beneath her mother's fantasy. It would be a great read for analysis by a psychology class.
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strange but interesting
An &interesting& book that I almost didn't finish. The beginning chapters are very strange. It begins with a fairytale story about the main character's birth and childhood - very outlandish, unbelievable stories. As the story evolves, her mother is dying of cancer and she has returned home to help her deal with it, although her mom has not accepted that she is dying. Faced with her mother's death, she wants to know the true story of her beginnings and begins a search that leads her down a very surprising path, totally unlike the make believe her mother had wanted her to believe.
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