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Title: Elza's Kitchen

Author: Marc Fitten

Narrator: Moe Egans

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-01-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

For years, Elza has gotten by. A divorcee out of culinary school, she started her own little restaurant in the mid-size Hungarian city of Delibab, and she's grown a decent business, cooking quality versions of Hungarian classics and serving them with a smile. But lately her smile has gotten tired. Her loveless affair with her sous-chef has become an irritation. She's getting sick of the same old dishes and the same old customers. And in these nascent years of capitalism, it will take some competition - both personal and professional - to make her see that her restaurant, and her happiness, are worth fighting for.

Marc Fitten fell in love with Hungary after years spent living there, and his second novel is a celebration of its culture and cuisine, as well as a portrait of a woman and her country in transition.

Members Reviews:

It's all maturing.

Fitten's second novel shows his maturation as a writer. While his first was very allegorical, playful and humorous, his second is more grounded and complex, almost as if his writing is mirroring the development of Hungary, the setting of his books. Fitten still visits the farcical with several characters, including the Critic and the gypsies. But his development of Elza shows that he knows a character's chore. Elza, a middle-aged woman going through an existential crisis, is very real. Her anxieties about life, love, and her career are complex and subtle enough that I might be friends with this woman. And though I became frustrated with her several times, especially in her handling of a gypsy family, that tension is what made this book so readable in only a few days time. I couldn't put it down.

Beautifully written book

I loved the story, the characters and the setting of this book. I am looking for more written by this author.

Excellent writing

Novel story and interesting cultural contrasts of the people invloved. The author gave strong personalities to the characters, which added another level to the book.

Some good ideas

This book was a bit all over the place. I kept turning pages, wanting so much to like it and connect with the characters, but it really never happened. Loving to cook, I pick up many books related to food. They are usually warm hearted and full of rich characters. This story left me dry and hungry for depth. The restaurant owner and her customers and staff were primed for the reader to fall in love with them, but the storyline never got to that depth.

So much of this is good ... until you get to the random plot detour

I don't think this book can figure out what it's about. Is it a mid-life coming of age? A woman's need to right a wrong? The story of two lovers who need to be away from each other in order to grow? Elza is a chef in Hungary, but she's restless. At forty-eight, she feels like her life should go somewhere, but it isn't. Her restaurant is successful, but not recognized by Michelin. Her romance with her nearly two decades younger sous chef is equally stagnant. He wants to get married, but she doesn't.