Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
If you've ever wondered what it's like to open up a classy pizzeria, here you go in novel form. Warm, conversational writing. I learned a good dough takes up to 18 hours to rise. Like a fool, I've been letting mine rise for 20-60 mins. I also discovered that Pizzeria Bianco is the top pizza restaurant in the nation, if not world. And it's about 20 mins away from me. Also includes recipes at the ends of chapters including a coconut-rice pudding. You should know I'm a sucker for a good rice pudding. A blog needlessly turned into a book. Molly Wizenberg's second book talks about opening a pizza restaurant with her husband in Seattle. At first it started off well--describing both herself and her husband (I suppose for the readers who didn't read her first book) and then discussing what to do when they want to open their own restaurant. Unfortunately what follows is what seems like a mishmash of blog posts. Bits and pieces about the restaurant. Gossip about her marriage. Descriptions of various foods they eat. Recipes at the end of each chapter. While this can work well, there was something very detached about the way Wizenberg wrote. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I wasn't impressed with the book. I couldn't bring myself to care about the restaurant or the two of them. It is perhaps towards the end when the book gels together more. Her husband may or may not have cheated (she's not sure) and then he has a fit where he wants to close the restaurant. This fit passes, but the author sees that she only went along with the idea of the restaurant because her husband wanted it. Another review on Amazon hits it on the head. In a few years the author and her husband may see the restaurant will have come between their marriage and the gap it caused may be too broad to fix. This is not for certain, obviously, but as her husband almost seems like a side character instead of an actual main one of the "A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage," it just seems she has checked out over the course of opening Delancey. I read her first book which I also had mixed feelings about but felt it was much stronger overall. I can't recommend this one.
What do You think about Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage (2014)?
A very enjoyable read although it made me really hungry! Time to go back to Delanceys.
—Indiana99
