Recipes for Cherubs

by Babs Horton

In the summer of 1960, 13-year-old Catrin Grieve is despatched by her feckless mother to stay with her great aunt Ella at Shrimp's Hotel in the sleepy village of Kilvennyon the Welsh coast. On arrival, Catrin is dismayed to find that her reclusive, eccentric aunt is not expecting her and, long closed to visitors, the hotel is nothing like the grand place her mother remembers. Behind the boarded up windows, Ella Grieve still lays the cobwebbed tables for dinner and puts warming pans in the beds of invisible guests. Although a finicky eater, Catrin finds herself fascinated by a 200-year-old, beautifully-illustrated Italian recipe book, Le Ricette per i Cherubini (Recipes for Cherubs), she discovers on the premises. As she discovers more about the history of the book and grows closer to her frail, lonely aunt, Catrin realises that people from the past can sometimes interlace with the present and point a way forward into the future.

Genres: Fiction, Historical

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Peter Carael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit boek is af! Dit is echt een fantastisch goed boek waarin eigenlijk weinig gebeurt maar het verhaal toch heel vol is. Dit verveelt geen minuut, het zijn korte hoofdstukken die meer naar het einde toe telkens op een cliffhanger van formaat eindigen , je wil niet stoppen.
Na ‘Petite’ dat ik onlangs las is dit weer zo’n geweldig verhaal van een Engelstalige auteur, ik begin stilaan te vermoeden dat dat mijn ding is, Engelse en Amerikaanse literatuur.
Het verhaal speelt zich af in het heden ( jaren 60) en het verleden (achttiende eeuw) en de twee periodes en de verhaallijnen komen naar het einde toe samen in een verrassend slot.
Lees dit boek, het is heel goed, men kan hier zo een film van maken (dat hebben die Engelse boeken wel meer) die dan op zijn beurt weer een knaller wordt.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the 60s, it started with a neglectful, pretty, shallow mother and a sullen, anorexic teenage girl who has never been loved and I was worried it would be just like a Virginia Andrews- but no.

A rich, complexly plotted story across generations of art, food, love and betrayal. Madness and genius are foregrounded, but being a true and empathetic human counts for the most in the end. It's a fanciful piece rather than a realistic one but it was very worth reading.

I'll look out for more from Babs Horton.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot to enjoy about this novel such as a complex plot structure with an unexpected twist at the end, good writing and some lovely drawn characters, but I found it too easy to read and the use of italics to highlight the time difference physically too draining. I also wished that some of the characters had more depth such as Catrin’s aunt, Meredith and Dan.

[Bookworm Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this so much. A beautifully spun tale of family skeletons, intrigue,deceit and love. Ending was a little rushed but nevertheless I’m giving this book 5* as for once I did not guess the end correctly. A great summer read and I will be recommending to family and friends.

[Mindy Gough · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4.4
Engaging story and characters. I would have happily read the historical fiction story as its own novel. While blending two stories like this is often clumsy, Babs Horton has woven them well her.

[Judith Falkner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story, but annoying execution. Everything just falls into place so easily.

[Marijke Vanhoutte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meeslepend. Lang geleden dat ik tot na middernacht in bed lag te lezen

[Caren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eén van mijn favoriete boeken. Mooi verhaal met twee tijdlijnen die uiteindelijk samen komen.

[Mr GSJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

not my normal read but I really enjoyed it once it got going.

[Voressima]

Dutch translation of Babs Horton's "Recipes for Cherubs".

"Recipes for Cherubs" is a wonderful story about food and family, art and history, intrigue and secrets, spanning two centuries and two countries, Italy and Wales.

Definitely the kind of book that'll wrap you up and make you forget about wherever you are, instead filling your head with visions of sunlight filtering through the trees in an Italian garden on a hot summer day, or the crisp air of the Welsh seaside.

The underlying plotline was surprisingly complex, but the story itself strolls along so casually and peacefully, it doesn't evoke that sense of urgency to get to the part where everything comes together and unfolds.

Definite must-read for anyone who is even remotely interested in this type of novel.

----------

Back-flap summary:
(taken from amazon.co.uk)

In the summer of 1960, 13-year-old Catrin Grieve is despatched by her feckless mother to stay with her great aunt Ella at Shrimp's Hotel in the sleepy village of Kilvenny on the Welsh coast. On arrival, Catrin is dismayed to find that her reclusive, eccentric aunt is not expecting her and, long closed to visitors, the hotel is nothing like the grand place her mother remembers. Behind the boarded up windows, Ella Grieve still lays the cobwebbed tables for dinner and puts warming pans in the beds of invisible guests. Although a finicky eater, Catrin finds herself fascinated by a 200-year-old, beautifully-illustrated Italian recipe book, Le Ricette per i Cherubini (Recipes for Cherubs), she discovers on the premises. As she discovers more about the history of the book and grows closer to her frail, lonely aunt, Catrin realises that people from the past can sometimes interlace with the present and point a way forward into the future.

[Roberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buono ma non brutto.... this is how we can describe the fourth book by Babs Horton. Having read " A Jarful of Angels" and " Dandelion Soup" which were quite funny and with a convoluted plot full of twists and turns , I know that I would certainly enjoy reading this.I was right.Judging by the cover you would think that Babs Horton was venturing in Joanne Harris´fields but no, she remains true to herself and her gift to create amazing young characters. Despite some loose threads at the end , it was a good novel , perfect for those times when you don´t want nothing too much complex and just relax....

[Nitya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, fun read. Elaborate storytelling with stories within stories. And well-written.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite books. I heard Horton talk about creative writing at a presentation at school while this was just about to be published, and really liked her style and enthusiams for writing.

[Rosslyn]

easy going read with twist, turns and mysteries. However the big revelation at the end was simply confusing. It needed a family tree to make it all clear.

[Masina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just too simple and juvenile for me.
It's a great book for a teenager girl to read.

[Marijke · Rating 4 out of 5]

erg leuk boek om te lezen..boek waar het heden en verleden door elkaar lopen

[Rita Veeken-ritsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, but left me with a lot of questions.

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mysterieus, meeslepend en mooi geschreven

[Aileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a simple read. Don't expect twisted plots although the end bit was slightly unexpected. The main reason I was reading this book was because of the mentioned of Italian food & recipe.

[Trena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Different like the two stories running together.Poor ending

[Tanvi · Rating 1 out of 5]

so childish....definitely for some 11 year old to read in summer vacation

[Jan Hawke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite my reservations, I became quite absorbed in this book. It felt largely derivative - Maeve Binchy meets Rosamund Pilcher with a mediaeval Italian story thrown into the mix but jogged along quite happily, slightly overpowered by a series of unlikely coincidences. I felt Catrin's anorexia warranted further exploration and would love to think that all eating disorders could be cured by fresh air, exercise and kind people. However maybe I am taking this book too seriously and this is clearly not a serious book!