false 2192929 3 In a triumphant return to the short story, the form in which she made her extraordinary debut with <i>There Are Jews in My House</i>, Lara Vapnyar gives us a delightful new collection in which food and love intersect, along with their overlapping pleasures, frustrations, and deep associations in the lives of her unforgettable characters. From “Broccoli” to “Borscht” to “Puffed Rice and Meatballs,” each of these new stories invites us into the uniquely captivating private worlds of Vapnyar’s Eastern European émigrés. There’s Nina, a recent arrival from Russia, for whom the colorful abundance of the vegetable markets in New York represents her own fresh hopes and dreams. . . Luda and Milena, who battle over a widower in their English class with competing recipes for cheese puffs, spinach pies, and meatballs . . . Sergey, who finds more comfort in the borscht made by a paid female companion than in her sexual ministrations. Each of the women and men who inhabit these witty, tender, and beautifully observed stories needs and longs for the taste and smell of home, wherever--and with whomever--that may turn out to be. Russian in its wit and in many of its rich details, but American in its insistence on the quest for personal happiness, however provisional and however high the cost, <i>Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love</i> masterfully illuminates a very particular facet of desire with entirely charming results. 2198658 3 6 2008 Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love total:86|5:10|4:24|3:41|2:11|1:0| 86 291 196 24 5 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 21:10:06 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 21:11:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 20:28:14 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 19:40:06 -0700 2009 Lara Vapnyar has a fascination with food, although not of the type usually written about and praised. Vapnyar's selection of food resembles her approach to fiction, which is simple, straightforward, and sustaining. Her first collection of short stories ("There are Jews in My House") ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 23:09:27 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 31 22:20:11 -0700 2008 There are Jews In My House, with a collection focusing on Russian immigrants and food. It is an interesting approach, a themed collection that isn't really about the theme. As before with her short stories, ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 14 14:43:49 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 12:50:03 -0700 2008
"When she was growing up in Moscow in the 1970s and 1980s, her family — like most other Soviet-era Russian families — had one cookbook: 'It was a big book full of canned food, published by the government,' she said. That bo...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:43:11 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:50:35 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 13:26:47 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 13:38:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 18:44:58 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 18:45:48 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 11 19:15:47 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 19:16:55 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sat May 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 06:24:33 -0700 2009 Sat May 02 07:19:55 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 05:57:04 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 05:58:41 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jun 04 07:37:51 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 07:38:52 -0700 2008 "In “Luda and Milena,” two Russian-born women in their 70s compete for a man in their English language class, each elbowing the other aside with platters of spinach pie and cheese puffs. The man finally chokes to death on the day that both women make Russia...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 14 09:45:01 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 21:40:51 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Nov 02 16:54:49 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 02 17:14:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 19:10:55 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 11:53:51 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 14:30:46 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 14:46:34 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Nov 14 09:08:32 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 09:10:15 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 04 09:16:29 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 22 06:11:36 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 09:49:01 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 09:51:51 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Tue Sep 09 07:47:08 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 09 07:48:27 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 04:48:10 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 15:54:04 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6495006