SMALL FIRES An Epic in the Kitchen

Kim Bretton infuses Rebecca May Johnson's food memoir with a quiet but breathless energy that makes it feel almost like a page-turner. Johnson spent more than 10 years cooking the same recipe for a simple tomato sauce hundreds of times. In this memoir, she investigates how we think about recipes, combining food writing, literary criticism, feminist scholarship, and social commentary. Bretton's narration is intimate and hushed. She captures Johnson's passion for her subject, delivers the passages of critical analysis with clarity, and infuses the vivid cooking scenes with wonderfully visceral drama. This challenging and engrossing memoir will forever change the way listeners think about recipes. L.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2024]