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Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries
Sunya Malhotra, a young American woman whose parents had migrated from India, is the head baker and owner of Pastries, a warm and cozy bakery in Seattle. Sunya loves baking and has transformed her fabulous cakes and tarts into delicious works of art. The success of her beloved bakery is put in jeopardy, however, when a chain bakery threatens to open up down the street from her. To add to her misery, Roger, her hip, Japanese boyfriend has left her for a "perfect" Japanese girlfriend and her mother has just become engaged to a man Sunya detests. Sunya hasn't yet reconciled to the mystery of a father missing since her birth. Even a new relationship with a hot, young film director who is in town to cover the 1999 World Trade Conference, can't help Sunya with her biggest worry - she has lost her touch for baking.
Overwhelmed, Sunya is surprised to find herself listening when her new Japanese baker offers her a solution to her problems - enroll in a baking school in Japan! Of course, this isn't just any baking school. It is run by a famous Japanese baker, Mori Matsumoto, and is based on the principle of mindfulness. Soon Sunya finds herself learning the basic skills of baking all over again. Is this what she needs to rediscover herself? Will she recapture her zest for work and life?
Overwhelmed, Sunya is surprised to find herself listening when her new Japanese baker offers her a solution to her problems - enroll in a baking school in Japan! Of course, this isn't just any baking school. It is run by a famous Japanese baker, Mori Matsumoto, and is based on the principle of mindfulness. Soon Sunya finds herself learning the basic skills of baking all over again. Is this what she needs to rediscover herself? Will she recapture her zest for work and life?
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
906 people want to read
About the author
Bharti Kirchner
20 books41 followersBharti Kirchner is the author of eleven books—seven critically acclaimed novels and four cookbooks and hundreds of short pieces for magazines and newspapers. A recent novel, Goddess of Fire, was shortlisted for the Nancy Pearl Award.
Her earlier novels include Tulip Season, Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries, Darjeeling, Sharmila’s Book, and Shiva Dancing.
Bharti has written for Food & Wine, Vegetarian Times, Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Fitness Plus, Northwest Travel, and The Seattle Times. Her essays have appeared in eleven anthologies.
Bharti has won a VCCA (Virginia Center for Creative Arts) Fellowship, a City Artist’s Project award, two Seattle Arts Commission literature grants, two Artist Trust literature grants, two 4Culture grants and has twice been a Fellow of Jack Straw Productions. She has been honored as a Living Pioneer Asian American Author. She is a popular speaker at writer’s conferences nationwide.
Her earlier novels include Tulip Season, Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries, Darjeeling, Sharmila’s Book, and Shiva Dancing.
Bharti has written for Food & Wine, Vegetarian Times, Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Fitness Plus, Northwest Travel, and The Seattle Times. Her essays have appeared in eleven anthologies.
Bharti has won a VCCA (Virginia Center for Creative Arts) Fellowship, a City Artist’s Project award, two Seattle Arts Commission literature grants, two Artist Trust literature grants, two 4Culture grants and has twice been a Fellow of Jack Straw Productions. She has been honored as a Living Pioneer Asian American Author. She is a popular speaker at writer’s conferences nationwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 4, 2008
I wanted to like this book, but I detested the ending - the justification her father gives her after abandoning his wife and newborn daughter "for the greater good" - rubbish I say.
February 4, 2018
I loved this book. Surprising plot twists abound, but not everything turns out happy and the way you want it to. I have always loved the bakery setting in a book, as the authors often describe how it feels to them to bake something, sink their fingers in, describe how something turns out that they themselves have created. This baker’s life is baking, and when she begins having trouble with creating, it makes her entire life tumble. This book is very much about life, love and family, and how to incorporate them all with balance and, afterall, love.
June 18, 2018
I wanted to like this but just didn't. The way the characters spoke just did not sound natural, too formal. Overly descriptive at times well. The boyfriend's movie does not sound interesting. Did not care for the ending. I enjoyed the setting and talk about the pastries. I almost stopped reading it a few times but kept going because I curious as to how the whole thing would come together.
December 30, 2014
Not what I originally anticipated, but that's what I love about reading books for the first time. It's refreshing for me to finally pick up a book I haven't read for the zillionth time.
I picked up three things from this book. The first was my appreciation for local business. Having lived in a city for about a year now, I feel at ease resorting to local cafes for morning coffee and light lunches, thrift stores for my clothes shopping, and local markets for groceries. I don't depend as much on corporate businesses to keep me alive, and I've even become more frugal of a shopper. Sunya's patisserie has made me want to embrace all things beautiful about living in the city.
Secondly, I've appreciated a refreshing protagonist. This is the first adult fiction novel I've read so far where the main character isn't low on intelligence or self confidence, and for this I salute Ms Kirchner. While dimmer characters make for a more relatable protagonist, someone like Sunya creates a role model that women can look up to.
Lastly, I've learned from the Buddhist ties in this novel about how to better myself as a person. I keep myself connected to the more depressing things that happened to me in life, when I know now that I need to just move on to the next thing. I've even considered picking up meditation for the summer to help me clear my head of these troubles after reading this book. It may just end up being a fad for me, but it's a start to something different.
I picked up three things from this book. The first was my appreciation for local business. Having lived in a city for about a year now, I feel at ease resorting to local cafes for morning coffee and light lunches, thrift stores for my clothes shopping, and local markets for groceries. I don't depend as much on corporate businesses to keep me alive, and I've even become more frugal of a shopper. Sunya's patisserie has made me want to embrace all things beautiful about living in the city.
Secondly, I've appreciated a refreshing protagonist. This is the first adult fiction novel I've read so far where the main character isn't low on intelligence or self confidence, and for this I salute Ms Kirchner. While dimmer characters make for a more relatable protagonist, someone like Sunya creates a role model that women can look up to.
Lastly, I've learned from the Buddhist ties in this novel about how to better myself as a person. I keep myself connected to the more depressing things that happened to me in life, when I know now that I need to just move on to the next thing. I've even considered picking up meditation for the summer to help me clear my head of these troubles after reading this book. It may just end up being a fad for me, but it's a start to something different.
October 19, 2011
The food was the best thing about this book. Otherwise it was a bit light and frothy for me, had some strange sentence structure, and some contradictions. Like at one point Sunya claims she rarely eats her baking (for fear of weight gain) but it seemed like she was eating it every few pages. And the first time we meet her ex, he's bringing round a box of her things. But it was her place, it was him that moved out, so why would he have any of her stuff? And when a guy is loitering for months on end, without ever threatening anyone or doing anything really, why would you never approach him to see what he wants? A lot of the characters' actions just didn't add up, and yet the story was predictable, right up to the brief appearance of her father. I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for men who abandon their family because they need spiritual enlightenment. It was precisely because I loved you that I had to abandon you? Yeah, right.
And the boyfriend's movie was silly. She's supposed to be enthralled by it, and obviously we are too, but it was ridiculous.
But man, the cheesecakes, the pies...
And the boyfriend's movie was silly. She's supposed to be enthralled by it, and obviously we are too, but it was ridiculous.
But man, the cheesecakes, the pies...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2008
Yum, yum! An exquisite Indian expat novel about baking.
January 24, 2010
This book was pretty formulaic, but I enjoyed that it took place in Seattle in the Wallingford district.
October 16, 2017
I enjoyed the main character’s journey of discovery. Very descriptive (maybe too much?) writing and some unexpected turns.
March 7, 2018
This is a beautifully written book about the sorrow that can fill ones life and the choices you make- do you let it's insideous nature fill up your soul, or do you acknowledge it and let the light in? how does personal tragedy from long ago affect what you are living through today? Could it be exacerbated by the fear of losing something loved now? Would it, as in this example, affect the cakes you make? Loss seems to be a theme in this book, loss of relationships in particular, but the glorious thing is that all of the people in the book overcome it. They each find a way to get over their grief through finding something better. a better relationship, a higher spiritual plane, comfort, losing themselves in the process of baking, discovering new talents, shedding the old for something new. I think this is the kind of book that would mean something different for you if you read it in your twenties or thirties, forties or fifties, etc. I appreciate the peacefulness that Sunya found in her life after her visit to Japan, and admire her ability to fully feel once again. This is a lovely book. Recommended.
December 18, 2017
A charming read. I read this 350 page novel in two days. The writing was smooth, suspenseful and whimsical that dazzles the senses. The food descriptions and traveling experiences were engrossing and spot on . It definitely took me on a culinary adventure to Japan, India, and Paris. The ending could've been better but it was tied up nicely.
The story is set in Seattle and centred around a 30 year old woman, Sunya, who's getting over a broken marriage and the abandonment of her Buddhist father. To distract herself from depression she falls more into her business at the Pastries Bakery. Meanwhile a new bakery moves into town under development that threatens the only thing she has left in the world.... and she's not going out without a fight.
Beautiful story about self-discovery, food and perseverance. 4.5 stars. If you like romance and food, you'll like it.
The story is set in Seattle and centred around a 30 year old woman, Sunya, who's getting over a broken marriage and the abandonment of her Buddhist father. To distract herself from depression she falls more into her business at the Pastries Bakery. Meanwhile a new bakery moves into town under development that threatens the only thing she has left in the world.... and she's not going out without a fight.
Beautiful story about self-discovery, food and perseverance. 4.5 stars. If you like romance and food, you'll like it.
July 26, 2020
I enjoyed this book, but it lagged a bit toward the end. I enjoyed the first-person narrative and the intercultural environment of this book. A pastry chef of Indian origin has just broken up with her Japanese boyfriend. To make problems worse, a huge chain bakery plans to open near her small pastry shop in Seattle. This is a story of her personal journey to overcome her new obstacles, some caused by what happens around her, and some caused by her own worries and concerns. Good book.
September 17, 2017
A quick and delicious novel. Descriptions so rich you can feel and taste them. Is the ending predictable? I was torn.
June 1, 2018
Amazing beautiful and dreamy. A great book
August 5, 2019
Will definitely read more by this author.
January 5, 2019
Let's see...can we name drop everything in Seattle any more than the author does here? You're not originally from there are you, sweetheart? Irritating in it's own right. The author's writing style is stilted and not especially flowing. Predictable plot. Ok-ish, story, I guess. I finished it, anyhow...which is probably why I gave it 2 stars. The love-interest's movie plot sounded ludicrous and god-awful. And the utterly asinine and inexcusable reason for her father abandoning her...??!! Whatever...I guess I'm supposed to feel all zen about that, but no, sorry. I don't even think her cake sounded all that wonderful either. All in all it was a distinctly 'meh' read.
October 2, 2011
With Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries, Bharti Kirchner delivers a story that breaks the mold of both recipe-based novels and East-Asian Indian heritage narratives. Sunya Mulhotra, proprietor of the Pastries Café, panics when a corporation bakery announces its opening just a few blocks from her store. She is already recovering from the betrayal of her live-in partner, and with this added stress, Sunya discovers she can no longer bake—not even her famous eponymous chocolate cake.
As if creating a novel in the form of a Sunya cake, Kirchner layers the story every chance she gets. The textured ingredients are characters in this novel as much as Sunya’s overprotective mother and mysterious director beau. In the intimate opening scene, Sunya describes them as people:
The flour has been freshly ground from soft winter wheat, the sexy Venezuelan chocolate obtained from a renowned purveyor in Salt Lake City, the plump fragrant vanilla beans flown in from Papantla in Mexico.
Yet as Sunya’s aptitude for baking wanes, so do her colorful depictions of ingredients. The reader waits on edge while scene after scene, Sunya enters the kitchen only to watch her assistant bakers create the delicious pastries. When finally she describes sinking her fingers again into flour, the spiritual release the reader feels is almost as deep as her own.
Read my full review in Line Zero magazine! www.linezero.org
As if creating a novel in the form of a Sunya cake, Kirchner layers the story every chance she gets. The textured ingredients are characters in this novel as much as Sunya’s overprotective mother and mysterious director beau. In the intimate opening scene, Sunya describes them as people:
The flour has been freshly ground from soft winter wheat, the sexy Venezuelan chocolate obtained from a renowned purveyor in Salt Lake City, the plump fragrant vanilla beans flown in from Papantla in Mexico.
Yet as Sunya’s aptitude for baking wanes, so do her colorful depictions of ingredients. The reader waits on edge while scene after scene, Sunya enters the kitchen only to watch her assistant bakers create the delicious pastries. When finally she describes sinking her fingers again into flour, the spiritual release the reader feels is almost as deep as her own.
Read my full review in Line Zero magazine! www.linezero.org
August 31, 2014
It might be unfair of me to rate this book as I somewhat skimmed the last third or so. As such I'm giving it three stars and the benefit of the doubt. The book has it's charms, descriptions of food and some scenes stand out in memory such as Sunya's mother's first meeting with her father. But the book has a sort of formal, a bit awkward tone despite being in first person where one gets the impression that the author is very much the main character, and there's this almost self-revolving, delusional quality to it of what a person who thinks the world revolves around them would think. An example is a "excerpt" from a newspaper that goes into detail about some loiterer standing outside Sunya's cafe and repeated updates on things happening in her cafe. It really does not seem realistic that The Seattle Times would report so closely on one lady and her business as of it were her personal twitter or something. Also some very cliched images are used, things are given extremely obvious names and many things about the book seemed very predictable. I thought Andrew's interest in Sunya's seemed unlikely and their conversations were kind of boring. Generally I got too bored to finish, skimmed to the end and didn't see anything not predictable.
August 31, 2008
This was a surprisingly entertaining book, about a bakery owner who struggles with losing her baking mojo. Set in Seattle, the author does a good job of capturing the ambience of our fair city during the fall and winter, with detailed descriptions of Wallingford and other local haunts, which is fun.
For a book that would be considered "chick lit," this book has a little more depth and avoids many of the cliches we find in chick lit: a job working for the wealthy who live a lifestyle the protagonist wishes for, detailed descriptions of designer outfits, etc. (don't get me wrong, I love those books, too)
Instead, the heroine, Sunya, which means "emptiness" in Sanskrit, is forced to reflect on and examine herself. She takes a sojourn and learns that emptiness does not neccesarily connote negativity, and finds spiritual growth and resolution of past issues. But it doesn't get too serious, and there are fun and detailed descriptions of pastries, a bakery war, and quirky characters. A fun, light, but thought provoking read. Lame ending, though.
For a book that would be considered "chick lit," this book has a little more depth and avoids many of the cliches we find in chick lit: a job working for the wealthy who live a lifestyle the protagonist wishes for, detailed descriptions of designer outfits, etc. (don't get me wrong, I love those books, too)
Instead, the heroine, Sunya, which means "emptiness" in Sanskrit, is forced to reflect on and examine herself. She takes a sojourn and learns that emptiness does not neccesarily connote negativity, and finds spiritual growth and resolution of past issues. But it doesn't get too serious, and there are fun and detailed descriptions of pastries, a bakery war, and quirky characters. A fun, light, but thought provoking read. Lame ending, though.
July 12, 2007
I was in the mood for froth, and that's what this book delivered. Although I could tell that Kirchner had some native talent for inventive, concise description, her often overly-formal phrasing sometimes made things as awkward as her heroine, Sunya. And while the story-within-the-story format worked well for certain flashbacks, the added narration of the movie that Sunya's would-be beau is working on was just too clunky to believe. I skipped all of it.
Still, it was a pleasant sunny-afternoon read, full of glorious and shameless food worship and a basic plot -- "small business fends off big business, With Sexy Results" -- that kept me turning pages. Sunya herself is often maddening, but the side-characters (particularly the bakery employees: mercurial Pierre, zen Bob, and sloppy Jill) make up for her.
The best part, though? The till reciept from Ganache Patisserie that the book's previous borrower had used as a bookmark!
Still, it was a pleasant sunny-afternoon read, full of glorious and shameless food worship and a basic plot -- "small business fends off big business, With Sexy Results" -- that kept me turning pages. Sunya herself is often maddening, but the side-characters (particularly the bakery employees: mercurial Pierre, zen Bob, and sloppy Jill) make up for her.
The best part, though? The till reciept from Ganache Patisserie that the book's previous borrower had used as a bookmark!
Read
August 4, 2011I finished this about a week ago and forgot to journal it. I really loved this book right up until page 314 (yes, for some reason the page number stands out in my mind), which is at least 90% through the book, when an aspect of Sunya's trip (won't say more or I may spoil it) just was not plausible or credible to me at all. * Sigh* it was so good until then - I'm sure endings are the hardest part of a book to write. I did love all the bakery atmosphere and reading about how and what they baked really made your mouth water. I was kind of looking for some recipes in the back (there are none). I wish we had a little independent bakery here (ok, just a bakery at all - all we have are donut shops and supermarkets). And although I did not like the ending, I did enjoy the book quite a lot :)
December 4, 2014
I thought this was book was 'okay' however, it wasn't a book that kept me on my toes. The relationship between Sunya and Andrew was quite odd, and wasn't fully explained in the book, with a lot of missing pieces regarding how they truly felt about each other. Also, Sunya's father was hardly discussed in the book, which made it difficult to really emphasize with Sunya and Dee when they discussed their feelings towards him. I wish that Sunya's bakery was discussed in more detail, as it seemed to lack character. Also, there was a lot of 'fancy' vocabulary being used, with lack of substance to back it up. In all honesty, I just wanted to finish this book to see what happened however, it definitely wasn't a page turner.
March 26, 2011
This week I finished a book called Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries by Bharti Kirchner in one day. (I couldn’t put it down.) I have this weird fascination with Indian culture, but then mix it in with the art of pastry baking, Japanese culture, finding yourself, etc., it becomes one of those times that you can’t put the book down until it’s 1’30 in the morning, and you’ve finally finished the story. Loved it, loved it. Loved the movie in my head as I read it. There were a few things here and there that I could pick at, but I don’t want to pick. Just want to love. Highlights: pastries, the lessons that Sunya learns along the journey that somehow you learn too, her mum.
June 28, 2010
I had hoped for better. I was on a restaurant/food reading binge at the time and this was the final of three books. The subplot of the central character’s mother was more interesting than the primary storyline. It was, at times, entirely too predictable. It was apparent what she was striving for but could not grasp either in language or plot. In the end, I had not built a bond with the central character and the ending left me unfulfilled. I was more disappointed than anything else.
October 12, 2009
i really liked this book! it made me hungry but i enjoyed hearing all about the process of making the delicious baked goods. you can definitely tell that the author wrote cookbooks and enjoys food as well!enjoying this book/author led me to search out other things by he and i am now reading darjeeling. it was a bit slower to start but i'm getting into it!
May 3, 2008
Not the best writing in the world, but this book indulged my (not so) secret desire to work in and possibly own a coffee shop/bakery. I could relate to the emotional upheaval of the main character, too. And reading this book was way easier on the waistline than going to an actual bakery. :)
June 7, 2008
Very beautiful book. Sunya means emptiness and having been depressed before, more than once, I can see how Sunya herself arrived there. But going to Japan she founds out how to let go and also mets a person she has needed to all her life.
March 11, 2014
I love this author's writing! Enjoy the vivis images,Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries
June 3, 2015
A little bit trite...what works are the life wisdoms shared throughout the book. Would like to have more of the book set at the Asanti Bakery where Sunya really does the growth. The love story was annoying rather than believable.
July 19, 2009
Very fun read - love and pastries and travel - what's not to like?
January 23, 2010
I like reading about desserts more than tea, I guess. Also appreciated the spiritual side of the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews