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Dinner with Edward

A Story of an Unexpected Friendship

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available
“I loved every moment of this book . . . Everyone deserves their own Edward—and everyone deserves to read this book.” —Susannah Cahalan, bestselling author of Brain on Fire
 
When Isabel meets Edward, both are at a crossroads: he wants to follow his late wife to the grave, and she is ready to give up on love. Thinking she is merely helping Edward’s daughter—who lives far away and has asked her to check in on her nonagenarian dad in New York—Isabel has no idea that the man in the kitchen baking the sublime roast chicken and light-as-air apricot soufflé will end up changing her life.
As Edward and Isabel meet weekly for the glorious dinners that Edward prepares, he shares so much more than his recipes for apple galette or the perfect martini, or even his tips for deboning poultry. Edward is teaching Isabel the luxury of slowing down and taking the time to think through everything she does, to deconstruct her own life, cutting it back to the bone and examining the guts, no matter how messy that proves to be.
Dinner with Edward is a book about love and nourishment, and about how dinner with a friend can, in the words of M. F. K. Fisher, “sustain us against the hungers of the world.”
“A rare, beautifully crafted memoir that leaves you exhilarated and wanting to live this way. Edward is a marvel of resilience and dignity, and Vincent shows us that the ceremony of food is really a metaphor for love. The key is to live your life generously.” —Rosemary Sullivan, author of Stalin’s Daughter
“Isabel Vincent delves deeply into matters of the kitchen and the heart with equal and unabashed passion . . . Rich with description of meals savored, losses grieved, and moments cherished, it’s at once tender, revealing, and utterly enchanting!” —*Gail Simmons, judge on Bravo’s Top Chef and author of Talking with My Mouth Full  
“One of the most stylish and emotional works of nonfiction I have ever read. I savored every page.” —Bob Colacello, author Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up
“Although the food (I am partial to the roast chicken, lovingly described) is excellent, it is the charming and effortlessly wise company that makes this sweet read a charming way to pass a day.” —George Hodgman, New York Times bestselling author of Bettyville
“Delightfully combining the warm-heartedness of Tuesdays with Morrie with the sensual splendor of Julie and Julia. This is a memoir to treasure.” Booklist, starred review
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 22, 2016
      Vincent, a journalist for the New York Post, employs the rich language of a novelist and the economy of a reporter in this food-focused memoir. She buckles momentarily under the strife of life and the hurdles of divorce but opens her palate to a new relationship when Edward, a 93-year-old widower, teaches her to appreciate the art of living. Food lovers will swoon from the first chapter and opening menu as Vincent begins to relish their weekly tête-à-tête and Edward’s handwritten French recipes. In addition to the subtleties of cooking, she discovers what a fairy tale marriage Edward had with Paula, his wife of 69 years. She sees photos of Paula all over the apartment, and especially feels her presence in the kitchen where Edward fashions his delicate meals. It is easy to fall deeply for Edward’s tender heart as Vincent learns how he has savored his life, and over time, begins to create a life that’s more inviting and full for herself. Readers will finish the book satisfied, yet wanting more.

    • Kirkus

      April 1, 2016
      In shape, size, and spirit, the latest from New York Post reporter Vincent (Gilded Lily: Lily Safra: The Making of One of the World's Wealthiest Widows, 2010, etc.) is like Tuesdays with Morrie with gourmet dinners. The setup finds the author befriending the father of a friend, a recent widower in his 90s who saw no reason to go on living since the death of his beloved wife. Vincent was also in the middle of a personal crisis, with her marriage "unraveling, despite my best efforts to pretend that nothing was wrong." She had joined the Post as an investigative reporter in hopes that a geographical change might benefit her family, but neither the job nor the move had been satisfying. Edward began cooking for the author once a week, giving them each something to look forward to, as "he was still mourning his beloved Paula and I was starting to see how unhappy I was in my marriage." Preparing elaborate meals largely without recipes, the self-taught chef taught the middle-age journalist something about cooking but even more about appreciating life. "He was teaching me the art of patience, the luxury of slowing down and taking the time to think about everything I did," she reflects, continuing, "I realize he was forcing me to deconstruct my own life, to cut it back to the bone and examine the entrails, no matter how messy that proved to be." The meals sound mouthwatering, but the food metaphors for the life well lived wear thin. Vincent's life did change, in pretty much every respect, and her relationship with her host deepened, but there's a limit to how much inspiration one can receive from even the best of meals. Vincent fills her pages with accounts of her life and Edward's past, but for readers, the narrative becomes lighter on epiphany than calories.

      COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from February 1, 2016
      Vincent was at a difficult time in her life. Her marriage was crumbling, and although a recent move to New York had come with its own stresses, in truth the cracks in the relationship had already been there. She was challenged by her reporting job at the New York Post and the aggressive brand of journalism it demanded. Asked by a friend to look in on her ninetysomething father, whose wife had recently died, Vincent agrees, but she certainly didn't expect that her dinners with the grieving man would act as a salve during this tough time. Edwarda devoted host and self-taught chef with a penchant for dispensing advice and dabbling in poetryinsists on preparing his multicourse feasts for the two of them without assistance. And what feasts they are! Vincent's descriptions of food, written with the sumptuous detail of a restaurant review, are something to savor, as are her recollections of Edward and the way he dedicated himselfto living after having lost the love of his life. Delightfully combining the warmheartedness of Tuesdays with Morrie with the sensual splendor of Julie and Julia, this is a memoir to treasure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

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