357th out of 693 books
—
848 voters
Cooking with Fernet Branca (Gerald Samper stories)
"A playful book, full of fun and games. There is so much pleasure to be had from Hamilton-Paterson's delight in language and wicked way with unreliable narrators. . . . The book's effect is achieved almost entirely through the comic magnetism of a single character."-"The Times Literary Supplement" "A skillful, highly original writer. . . . The elegant language, witty aside...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
September 1st 2005
by Europa Editions
(first published June 3rd 2004)
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Rating: 3.75* of five
The Publisher Says: Gerald Samper, an effete English snob, has his own private hilltop in Tuscany, where he wiles away his time working as a ghostwriter for celebrities and inventing wholly original culinary concoctions-including ice cream made with garlic and the bitter, herb-based liqueur of the book's title. Gerald's idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, on the run from a crime-riddled former Soviet republic. A series of hilarious misunderstandings brings this odd c...more
The Publisher Says: Gerald Samper, an effete English snob, has his own private hilltop in Tuscany, where he wiles away his time working as a ghostwriter for celebrities and inventing wholly original culinary concoctions-including ice cream made with garlic and the bitter, herb-based liqueur of the book's title. Gerald's idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, on the run from a crime-riddled former Soviet republic. A series of hilarious misunderstandings brings this odd c...more
Apr 20, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Merchant-Ivory
Recommended to Elizabeth by:
Kelly
The British novelist uses leisurely travel in Italy the way others use shipwrecks or being trapped on the top a a freezing mountain or going into combat. It's a way to explore the nature of the British character out of his (or her) element, showing us both the best and worst of the individual and the national character, like Lord of the Flies but with adults. Sometimes, they are hopeful for their compatriots (the good); sometimes, they despair of them, giving us little that is good or kind to la...more
Lychees on Toast
Ingredients
Lychees (tinned)
Olive oil
Peanut butter
Hard cheese
Toast
Anchovies
Tabasco sauce
A humorous tale set in Tuscany and told alternately from the point of view of Gerald, an Englishman who makes his living ghostwriting sportsmen's autobiographies, and his neighbour Marta, a composer from a family of gangsters from the former-USSR, who is currently working on the score for an Italian director's latest film. Each finds the other's presence irritating, as they had both hoped that...more
Ingredients
Lychees (tinned)
Olive oil
Peanut butter
Hard cheese
Toast
Anchovies
Tabasco sauce
A humorous tale set in Tuscany and told alternately from the point of view of Gerald, an Englishman who makes his living ghostwriting sportsmen's autobiographies, and his neighbour Marta, a composer from a family of gangsters from the former-USSR, who is currently working on the score for an Italian director's latest film. Each finds the other's presence irritating, as they had both hoped that...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Witty and goofy, complex, farcical. Lots of somewhat contradictory adjectives come to mind. The recipes are truly horrendous and therefore truly hilarious. The plot is bizarre and entertaining. The two main characters take turns telling their stories in first person, and their differences and similarities are fascinating to watch develop. A fun and twisted book. I love the fact that this was nominated for a Booker prize--not what you'd think was a typical nominee!
I picked this up on a whim after seeing another book by the same author on a display table at Vroman's. It's an easy-read - the plot is negligible, but the characters are funny and the dual first-person narration is delightfully bookish and chatty. The main character is an (implicitly) gay English ex-pat author in Italy, and a bit of a stereotype in broad outline - but the delight is in the details here. An extra pleasure for those with Anglomane tendencies. Overall, it's a book that is easy to...more
COOKING WITH FERNET BRANCA. (2004). James Hamilton-Paterson. *****.
I always get excited when I discover a new (to me) writer whose books are both well written and interesting. This writer is one of those. This is the first novel I’ve read by him, but rest assured that it won’t be the last. The author lives and works in Italy, but is thoroughly English. I don’t know who we have in the U. S. that is like him, but the closest I can think of is Bill Bryson. This novel is both literate and comic. It...more
I always get excited when I discover a new (to me) writer whose books are both well written and interesting. This writer is one of those. This is the first novel I’ve read by him, but rest assured that it won’t be the last. The author lives and works in Italy, but is thoroughly English. I don’t know who we have in the U. S. that is like him, but the closest I can think of is Bill Bryson. This novel is both literate and comic. It...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I am laughing again as I turn to this, on page four: The day has dawned bright in every sense and I am making good progress up a ladder painting the kitchen – the most important room in the house – in contrasting shades of mushroom and eau de Nil. Anyone can do the white-walls-and-black-beams bit, but it takes aesthetic confidence and an original mind to make something of a Tuscan mountain farmhouse that isn’t merely Frances Mayes. It also takes a complete absence of salt-of-the-earth peasants a...more
After you've read too many lovely, wish-you-were-here travel memoirs & foodie books, Cooking with Fernet Branca is the amusing & biting antidote. I thoroughly enjoyed this parody & it had me literally laughing out loud at times. I'd give it 3.5 stars overall; I'll round it up to 4 stars because it made me laugh out loud when reading at Starbucks.
P.S. Don't read this book while eating... for two reasons.
1) You may choke on your food from laughing.
2) The included 'recipes' are revoltin...more
P.S. Don't read this book while eating... for two reasons.
1) You may choke on your food from laughing.
2) The included 'recipes' are revoltin...more
No summary is better than the one already patly written on this site. "Gerald Samper, an effete English snob, has his own private hilltop in Tuscany, where he wiles away his time working as a ghostwriter for celebrities and inventing wholly original culinary concoctions-including ice cream made with garlic and the bitter, herb-based liqueur of the book's title. Gerald's idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, on the run from a crime-riddled former soviet republic. A series of hilarious misun...more
Having read this almost a decade ago, I decided to see if this hysterical and charming book lived up to my memories of reading it. Thankfully, it did in spades!
Gerald Samper, an effete Englishman, lives on a hilltop in Tuscany. He is a ghostwriter for celebrities, and a foodie, whose weird tastes include 'Mussels in Chocolate and Garlic' and 'Fernet Branca Ice Cream'. His idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, a vulgar woman from a former Soviet republic now run by gangsters, notably male m...more
Gerald Samper, an effete Englishman, lives on a hilltop in Tuscany. He is a ghostwriter for celebrities, and a foodie, whose weird tastes include 'Mussels in Chocolate and Garlic' and 'Fernet Branca Ice Cream'. His idyll is shattered by the arrival of Marta, a vulgar woman from a former Soviet republic now run by gangsters, notably male m...more
Whatever else we can say about James Hamilton-Paterson, he is a very funny man. If you ever found yourself in the Italian countryside gazing at the villa next door and wondering who lives there and who, for gosh sakes, is coptering in and out, after reading this novel, you may very well decide you don’t really want to know. It may be entangling, and may, after all, be the end of all you hold dear.
Gerald Samper, British biographer to the rich and famous, buys an old villa in need of repair in Tus...more
Gerald Samper, British biographer to the rich and famous, buys an old villa in need of repair in Tus...more
Hilarious. Simply hilarious.
A Englishman buys a house in the mountains of Italy seeking quiet for his writing. He sings arias while he invents the most bizarre recipes, the products of which he sometimes shares with his aggravating neighbor, a woman from Voynovia, who generously shares bottles of Fernet Branca with him. She claims to be a musician and composer in town to compose music for a film by a famous Italian director.
Their experiences of living as neighbors differ depending on who does t...more
A Englishman buys a house in the mountains of Italy seeking quiet for his writing. He sings arias while he invents the most bizarre recipes, the products of which he sometimes shares with his aggravating neighbor, a woman from Voynovia, who generously shares bottles of Fernet Branca with him. She claims to be a musician and composer in town to compose music for a film by a famous Italian director.
Their experiences of living as neighbors differ depending on who does t...more
A witty & hilarious satire of all the "A Year in Provence," "Under the Tuscan Sun" books that romanticize the expat life in Europe. Once again, an overly-refined Brit goes to Italy to follow his writing muse. Please note -- he is a ghostwriter of biographies for celebrities, not a Nobel nominee. That fact does not limit his pretensions whatsoever. Settling into his quaint abode, he is horrified when his new neighbor moves in. Also an expat, she is fleeing her crimelord, overprotective family...more
almost as good as Rancid Pansies - difficult to read a series backward - characters are still growing into what they become in the book you’ve already read - still, interesting to hear the two voices, Marta’s and Gerald’s - best line: “Even that witty old fag-hag Jane Austen started one of her incomparable novels - was it Donna? - with the telling sentence ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a good man in possession of a wife must be in want of a tidy fortune.’ Otherwise, the usual GS...more
A witty book that wears thin by the end. The author did well to underscore different perspectives of happenings and events by structuring the book so that both main characters narrate their version of each. Not every event was worthy of such presentation, so the book wears a little thin. The structure also then forces the book to focus on the events and not on the development of the relationship between the two characters. Because of the style, the actual story takes long to come together and ul...more
Sep 12, 2009
oriana
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to oriana by:
Joyce
Shelves:
read-2009,
the-new-new-new-new-thing
I didn't manage to read this in Mexico, though I was told it would be the perfect smart-person airplane book, but I did pick it up as soon as I got back, and it was very much as promised: dryly hilarious, fast-moving, clever, and a whole lot of fun.
Cooking With Fernet Branca is dual-ly narrated by two next-door neighbors living on the Italian countryside: Gerard Samper, a very proper Englishman and self-proclaimed "master chef" (more on that soon), who makes his money ghostwriting autobiographi...more
Cooking With Fernet Branca is dual-ly narrated by two next-door neighbors living on the Italian countryside: Gerard Samper, a very proper Englishman and self-proclaimed "master chef" (more on that soon), who makes his money ghostwriting autobiographi...more
I picked this book up on a whim while traveling in New York. Admittedly "Fernet Branca" caught my eye so I took a chance after reading the cover which described "a work of comic genius".
I wouldn't go so far as to call it comic genius (for me that's David Cross) but by the end I was indeed laughing - right out loud. The "recipes" in this book were downright ridiculous but mostly it was a novel told from the perspective of two neighbors.
As the story unfolded I was struck by how illogical the perce...more
I wouldn't go so far as to call it comic genius (for me that's David Cross) but by the end I was indeed laughing - right out loud. The "recipes" in this book were downright ridiculous but mostly it was a novel told from the perspective of two neighbors.
As the story unfolded I was struck by how illogical the perce...more
Hamilton-Paterson flawlessly folds Into this souffle folded many ingredients seemingly disparate, resulting in hilarity and desire for more. Told in alternating voices, the plot soars hilariously. Marta, a composer from Eastern Europe, and Gerald, a ghost-writing ex-pat from England, live in mutual disharmony, misdirection and misunderstanding on a Tuscan hilltop. It helps, but is not necessary, for the reader to be somewhat knowledgeable about Pier Paolo Pasolini, East European mafia, gourmet c...more
This was a hilarious book. I discovered it serendipitously, after reading "The Elegance of the Hedgehog", I was searching for other books published by Europa Editions, as they seem to specialize in interesting and unique books.
Took me a chapter to realize that the book is a satire or spoof of sorts--at first I found it a bit pretentious and then realized it was making fun of books like "Under the Tuscan Sun" that have been so highly recommended. And the trend to put recipes in books--some of th...more
Took me a chapter to realize that the book is a satire or spoof of sorts--at first I found it a bit pretentious and then realized it was making fun of books like "Under the Tuscan Sun" that have been so highly recommended. And the trend to put recipes in books--some of th...more
I can sum up this one in two words - wickedly hilarious. It had me laughing out loud, something I do unfortunately all too rarely whilst reading these days. It manages to poke fun at some recent cultural obsessions - boy bands, UFOs, Tuscan villas, cooking, DIY projects, filmmaking, sports celebrities, the new Europe and issues of gay mens innate tastefulness. The book is a great diversion from the everyday humdrum - a tasty morsel of wit and humour that left me wanting more. I think I will chec...more
Recommended by my daughter as a "laugh out loud" fictional spoof of escaping to live and cook in Tuscany. For me it was a fun diversion from my usual biography and history fare. I must admit that the joy for me in the other ex-pat escape stories centered on the food and wine that I have read in the past were totally missing in the really "black humor" cooking recipes that Paterson dreamed up. I was also amused to learn that Fernet Branca does exist but since it is an acquired taste, I think I'll...more
Apr 12, 2011
Andrew
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Andrew by:
Bethany
I hesitated to give this book 5 stars only because I may just be so relieved to have enjoyed a book after a long succession of vanilla before it. But after looking backwards through my list of books I've read until finding the last book I enjoyed so much, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I've decided that, yes, it earned those stars.
The book is told from the points of view of two alternating narrators who are neighbors in Tuscany. Gerald is an uptight narcissist who loves his s...more
The book is told from the points of view of two alternating narrators who are neighbors in Tuscany. Gerald is an uptight narcissist who loves his s...more
This is the story of two neighbors living in Tuscany. They were both looking for solitude and a beautiful view. Each was told by (the same) realtor that they had a foreign neighbor who was only present one month per year and was very quiet. And so begins a classic comedy of errors... It reminds me (a little) of Alexander McCall Smith's Portuguese Irregular Verbs series.
The best part of the book is the recipes. Gerald Samper fancies himself a culinary genius. He is definitely not afraid to experi...more
The best part of the book is the recipes. Gerald Samper fancies himself a culinary genius. He is definitely not afraid to experi...more
I loved this book. Wonderful, dry humour with just the right touch of the outrageous to keep it fun. The characters are nicely drawn - a pompous boob of a ghostwriter of sports biographies and a movie songwriter from and unheard-of east European breakaway republic with siblings of dubious character.
Fernet Branca, a foul Italian apperitiv, plays a recurring role.
Anyone wanting to spend a few fun-filled hours could do much worse than this book.
Fernet Branca, a foul Italian apperitiv, plays a recurring role.
Anyone wanting to spend a few fun-filled hours could do much worse than this book.
James Hamilton-Paterson's books are not high art but what fun. I read them in totally the wrong order having found the third sitting on a table in Daunt Books. The anti-hero Gerald Samper is a comic delight and someone I'd have round to dinner any day of the week! I have already bought the series for one friend as a presssie and my husband is looking for a bottle of Fernet Branca in order to follow his smoke cat recipe.
I read this book for a Book Club. Based on the description, I don't think I would have read it on my own.
This review will be a little half-hearted because I read the book half-heartedly. I mostly found the characters to be annoying and whiny. If not for the book club, I would have stopped reading about a third of the way into the book.
It is not a hard read, but I found the dialog to be unrealistic. Perhaps if you read the book with a type of parody in mind then it might be a little more appeal...more
This review will be a little half-hearted because I read the book half-heartedly. I mostly found the characters to be annoying and whiny. If not for the book club, I would have stopped reading about a third of the way into the book.
It is not a hard read, but I found the dialog to be unrealistic. Perhaps if you read the book with a type of parody in mind then it might be a little more appeal...more
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James Hamilton-Paterson's work has been translated into many languages. He is a highly acclaimed author of non-fiction books, including Seven-Tenths, Three Miles Down and Playing with Water, as well as America's Boy, a study of Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines. Gerontius, his first novel, won the Whitbread Award, while his most recent, Loving Monsters (2001), was praised by the Sunday Telegrap...more
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“The chef who cooks without a song on his lips cannot hope to infuse the right carefree improvisatory note into his art.”
—
5 people liked it
“Racism. . . . fuelled by bitter assertions that no immigrant ever has the least respect for the environment in his adopted country because he never really believes it's his.”
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4 people liked it
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Apr 27, 2013 10:48am
>29 "Miracle Day" could've been so interesting and yet it was so unfocused and dull.
Apr 27, 2013 10:53am