Written in a mainly stream-of-consciousness style, we learn first-hand what motivates the heroine of the novel. Since this method is sometimes deceptive because it's so subjective, you're not sure whether to trust the narrator. The storyteller is a 43-year-old French Jewish woman by the name of Myriam who seems to be an inveterate con artist who loves to cook and read, but is as poor as a church mouse. She has a deep, dark secret that's slowly revealed over the course of the novel. You definitely get the sense that she's only just beginning to forgive herself for something that happened some 6 years previously and has been wandering like a nomad in the desert since the incident. The exile is shown to have been a form of self-inflicted punishment.The book begins with Myriam opening a small restaurant in Paris from fraudulently obtained bank loans because cooking is the only thing she feels confident enough to do. She has a compunction to make people feel better by feeding them food that she has created with her own hands--the food she cooks have become part of her, so she's feeding them her body and soul. The title in France is "Mangez-moi" which translates to "Eat Me" in English and rightfully carries many sexual innuendos, since Myriam is coming to terms with her sexuality. It's too bad that the American edition chose instead to title the book "Chez Moi" (which roughly translates as "My House"), since Myriam makes many allusions to the Alice in Wonderland scenes where Alice muses about eating various items that affect her size and impact her emotionally, as this is tied closely to Myriam's motivations in the story. Francophile foodies might enjoy this book, but will search in vain for recipes. Ignore the cover, this is not your usual chick lit shmaltz. Instead it contains charm, intrigue, quirky cuisine and a dark past lurking in the shadows -- a mother who is not in love with her son, an affair with a teenage boy -- plus much philosophical pondering. I fear something has been lost in translation, for at Hay Kerala Desarthe was a brilliantly compelling speaker, yet this is still a very readable book and I'm looking forward to the new one, a thriller.
What do You think about Ät Mig (2006)?
A little different than I expected, more the psychology of opening a restaurant. Very interesting.
—ashleylobdell
This was a very charming book, a fast read and very interesting characters!
—freebook
A little bit weird but I liked the ending and how the story came together.
—agrypinella
