HOW TO COOK LIKE A MAN A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession

Duane's culinary escapades, set against an autobiographical rant on marriage and parenthood, fails to enchant. Well-written throughout, this memoir of his obsession with chefs and their cookbooks enlists truly memorable passages by famed chef Alice Waters and other culinary luminaries. But with all these excerpts from other works, the flow of the memoir is disjointed, and topics vacillate wildly. James Cronin valiantly narrates the self-absorbed author's dogged quest to deliver precise dishes, in order, in each cookbook he tackles. As these accounts are interspersed with dialogue and familial reminiscences, Cronin's delivery cannot overcome the continual shifts. Just as the listener becomes entranced with the latest gourmet attempt, the author shifts to another anecdote of marriage and pregnancy--filled with unpleasant irony. Even Duane's wife is ambivalent about the ordeal of dining on his latest delicacy. A.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2013]