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Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love
The #1 Indie Next Pick, in the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road and Meet Me at the Museum, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.
When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter--as well as a gift of saffron--to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she's never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.
Food and a good life--they can't be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen's decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen's friendship--a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.
A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.
When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter--as well as a gift of saffron--to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she's never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.
Food and a good life--they can't be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen's decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen's friendship--a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.
A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published February 8, 2022
About the author
Kim Fay
10 books234 followersFormer indie bookseller (Seattle), teacher and travel writer (Saigon), and jill-of-all-trades (Los Angeles). Author of the novels LOVE & SAFFRON (#1 Indie Next pick) and THE MAP OF LOST MEMORIES (Edgar Award Finalist), and COMMUNION: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH VIETNAM. Also the creator/editor of the To Asia With Love guidebook series, passionate reader, tea drinker, bread baker, nephew wrangler, puppy Mabel mom, and lifelong writer. #blessed
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,478 reviews
October 31, 2021
Love & Saffron by Kim Fay is a 2022 G.P. Putnam’s Sons publication.
A Lovely Epistolary story of food and friendship-
In the early 1960s, Joan Bergstrom writes to columnist Imogene Fortier, sending along a sample of saffron. Joan and her mother were fans of Fortier, which is what prompted the young twenty-seven-year-old Joan to write to Imogene, who was in her late fifties, at the time.
The fragrant saffron triggered a memory for Imogene’s husband, Francis, and awakens in him a culinary flair Imogene never knew existed. Thus, Imogene answers Joan's fan letter, spawning an unlikely, but profound friendship between the two women.
As the years pass, they share their ups and downs, highs and lows, advising and offering support and encouragement to one another unwaveringly.
At the forefront of their correspondence is food. Joan is a whiz at spices and the various delights of California style cooking, while Imogene takes the recipes and adds the taste of her own region, while marveling at the new avenues Joan’s influence as opened for her, Francis, and their marriage.
The power of written words in the form of letter writing, certainly a lost art- knocked me sideways. Writing out our thoughts requires one’s undivided attention and opens an avenue of intimacy that talking on the phone can’t match.
The story made me think about that quite a bit. But, it is the situation that Joan faces, and the emotional choices she was forced to consider, that was both frustrating and heart-rending- but her courage was also inspirational.
Obviously, it was the unconditional support and encouragement of her special friend, Imogene, that gave her the strength to make the best choices.
I loved this story- just loved it. The story is emotional at times, but overall, it is a touching and inspirational story! Highly recommend!
A Lovely Epistolary story of food and friendship-
In the early 1960s, Joan Bergstrom writes to columnist Imogene Fortier, sending along a sample of saffron. Joan and her mother were fans of Fortier, which is what prompted the young twenty-seven-year-old Joan to write to Imogene, who was in her late fifties, at the time.
The fragrant saffron triggered a memory for Imogene’s husband, Francis, and awakens in him a culinary flair Imogene never knew existed. Thus, Imogene answers Joan's fan letter, spawning an unlikely, but profound friendship between the two women.
As the years pass, they share their ups and downs, highs and lows, advising and offering support and encouragement to one another unwaveringly.
At the forefront of their correspondence is food. Joan is a whiz at spices and the various delights of California style cooking, while Imogene takes the recipes and adds the taste of her own region, while marveling at the new avenues Joan’s influence as opened for her, Francis, and their marriage.
The power of written words in the form of letter writing, certainly a lost art- knocked me sideways. Writing out our thoughts requires one’s undivided attention and opens an avenue of intimacy that talking on the phone can’t match.
The story made me think about that quite a bit. But, it is the situation that Joan faces, and the emotional choices she was forced to consider, that was both frustrating and heart-rending- but her courage was also inspirational.
Obviously, it was the unconditional support and encouragement of her special friend, Imogene, that gave her the strength to make the best choices.
I loved this story- just loved it. The story is emotional at times, but overall, it is a touching and inspirational story! Highly recommend!
Read
February 22, 2022Reviewed in the February 2022 edition of Quick Lit on Modern Mrs Darcy:
So many of you are going to LOVE this epistolary novel, set in the 1960s, that the publisher aptly compares to 84, Charing Cross Road. When L.A.-based Joan writes a fan letter to Camano Island (WA) columnist Imogen to thank her for her column in a Pacific Northwest-based magazine, enclosing a packet of saffron and a recipe, a lasting friendship is born. The women become pen-friends, exchanging letters that move from the topic of food to books (so many books!) to the troubles (and occasional triumphs) of their personal lives. This just may be the gentle, feel-good novel you're looking for.
So many of you are going to LOVE this epistolary novel, set in the 1960s, that the publisher aptly compares to 84, Charing Cross Road. When L.A.-based Joan writes a fan letter to Camano Island (WA) columnist Imogen to thank her for her column in a Pacific Northwest-based magazine, enclosing a packet of saffron and a recipe, a lasting friendship is born. The women become pen-friends, exchanging letters that move from the topic of food to books (so many books!) to the troubles (and occasional triumphs) of their personal lives. This just may be the gentle, feel-good novel you're looking for.
February 25, 2022
Real Rating: 3.75* of five, rounded up because I'll read more
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: First, read this:
I'll be honest: I asked for this DRC because the subtitle uses the series (or Oxford) comma correctly, which is as promising a start as I can conjure in these degenerate punctuation-heretical times, and the tale is told in epistolary format. I am in the mood for a story of friendship. I am always gruntled by the effective use of epistolary storytelling. And I deeply love reading about people sharing their love of food.
You'll be looking up at that not-quite-four-star rating about now. I can explain.
All of my initial conditions were met, and met fully. I got the epistolary format used well: These are friends by post. There are gaps, lacunae in communicating with each other, and that enables the author to move the pace along in a more natural way. The fact that each letter was a crafted document, a thing one sat down to make and to serve a purpose...evoking in the friend an emotional response...that requires thought. Attention. Serious choice-making. That was evident in the prose (see above).
In Part I, the friendship developed from an initial fan letter that touched Imogen, the recipient, because of its inclusion of a packet of saffron. Now's the time to talk about the 1960s in the USA. As the world is now, a packet of saffron is a welcome gift because it's not cheap. As the world was then, a gift of a narwhal tusk would have about the same impact as saffron. "Whatinahell's that?" Imogen, who can dig clams or hunt an elk, hasn't tasted fresh garlic. In her life. Imagine the impact of SAFFRON! And no, those under 50, this wasn't in the least bit unusual.
I grew up in a household that had WAY more in the way of culinary adventurousness than the average. My parents were older when I was born, we lived near San Francisco, California, which had Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Japanese cuisines and ingredients all over, and my mother loved to experiment with weird, Gourmet-magazine type dishes. (Tuesday dinner, not so much. Feasts, though....) Then my mother and I moved to South Texas, where she hailed from, and I found the goddesses' natural food: Tex-Mex. BUT no one in 1967 Mercedes, Texas, had ever seen a fresh apricot or tasted General Tso's chicken. And that is where I can relate to this story: Joan is possessed of knowledge that Imogen simply doesn't have, or have any way to know she lacks.
So this cultural exchange is one I loved reading about. The historical moment...Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK assassination, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan ("a rrrrrrilllllly big shew!")...was the background of my childhood. They write to each other about it all. They write to each other about their cooking adventures. Single Joan has a lot to offer long-married Imogen because she (figuratively) listens and isn't invested in a particular outcome. What Imogen offers Joan is the simple, invaluable resource of being older, and experienced, and generous with her time, too. In a long novella/short novel, the two forge a perfectly balanced and genuinely moving friendship.
And now about those missing stars.
I am not nit-picking when I say that a book with the delicious recipes in it that this book has (the carne asada!!) needs to hyperlink them somewhere. I don't have a final copy, of course, but the paper copies don't appear to have an index either. (This is as of 6 February 2022, 6pm EST, when I went trolling for reviews last.) Yes yes yes, one can highlight them on the Kindle, but this is an oversight that would make the book even better if it were addressed. There's one quarter star.
Francis, Imogen's husband, blossoming into a passionate foodie during the course of the correspondence is a pleasure, insofar as it's presented to us...but Imogen is reporting it, of course, as it's an epistolary novel between Joan and herself. It's a feature, not a bug; but it left me feeling distanced from Imogen's lived life. I don't think this was a deal-breaker because epistolary...it's in the description...but I do think its impact on Imogen wasn't able to be explored quite as well as would've served the tale told. A quarter-star, and a sigh of regret for a too-short third-person catch-up in Part II.
Joan's life as a secretary at Rexall Drugs was, of course, the kind of job a girl (in the lingo of the time) could expect to get. Imogen encouraging her, boosting her, being there for her as she worked through anxiety and internalized misogyny and pursued her dreams of life in the newspaper world, was just a balm.
But then what? I didn't feel Joan got the spotlight enough as time went by...and that is down, again, to the format chosen to tell the story. But it felt unfinished as it was, with a too-short third-person wrap-up for Joan, too. Not because it wasn't a complete story! Because there was more story I wanted. Another quarter star forgone for expectations raised but not quite met.
When we return to epistolary format in Part III, the magic's worn off...the sweet, nostalgic sense of familiarity at a safe remove isn't there any more. But that isn't a deal-breaker so much as the force of the narrative doesn't have a chance to recover, so the half-star goes because, for the very first time, I noticed myself noticing I wasn't as ensorcelled as I started the read being. (Maybe if the third-person narratives had been diary entries...? I am Monday-morning quarterbacking here, so I'll stop.)
What I'll end on is the sheer pleasure of reading that this one-sitting tale offered. I think any book group that needs to lighten the tone and pick up the pace after a tough read should get this book onto their lists ASAP. I think pandemic-weary people whose lives have shifted into a new configuration through discovering food and cooking would like this for a February Sunday afternoon's pleasure. Most of all, I want to assure anyone thinking "this old man's a nutbar for pushing the read at me with this 3-3/4-star rating" is correct. This old man is, in fact, a nutbar. And one whose purpose it is to tell you what's worth reading.
This is worth reading.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: First, read this:
We’ve never had mussels before. I’ve always thought of them as freeloaders clinging where they’re not wanted, and you must agree, their beards are unappetizing.
–and–
Our ten days in Paris felt like the blink of an eye. Or a dream. An elegant, buttery, wine-soaked dream.
–and–
When a new experience comes into my life, it doesn’t feel real anymore until I share it with you.
I'll be honest: I asked for this DRC because the subtitle uses the series (or Oxford) comma correctly, which is as promising a start as I can conjure in these degenerate punctuation-heretical times, and the tale is told in epistolary format. I am in the mood for a story of friendship. I am always gruntled by the effective use of epistolary storytelling. And I deeply love reading about people sharing their love of food.
You'll be looking up at that not-quite-four-star rating about now. I can explain.
All of my initial conditions were met, and met fully. I got the epistolary format used well: These are friends by post. There are gaps, lacunae in communicating with each other, and that enables the author to move the pace along in a more natural way. The fact that each letter was a crafted document, a thing one sat down to make and to serve a purpose...evoking in the friend an emotional response...that requires thought. Attention. Serious choice-making. That was evident in the prose (see above).
In Part I, the friendship developed from an initial fan letter that touched Imogen, the recipient, because of its inclusion of a packet of saffron. Now's the time to talk about the 1960s in the USA. As the world is now, a packet of saffron is a welcome gift because it's not cheap. As the world was then, a gift of a narwhal tusk would have about the same impact as saffron. "Whatinahell's that?" Imogen, who can dig clams or hunt an elk, hasn't tasted fresh garlic. In her life. Imagine the impact of SAFFRON! And no, those under 50, this wasn't in the least bit unusual.
I grew up in a household that had WAY more in the way of culinary adventurousness than the average. My parents were older when I was born, we lived near San Francisco, California, which had Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Japanese cuisines and ingredients all over, and my mother loved to experiment with weird, Gourmet-magazine type dishes. (Tuesday dinner, not so much. Feasts, though....) Then my mother and I moved to South Texas, where she hailed from, and I found the goddesses' natural food: Tex-Mex. BUT no one in 1967 Mercedes, Texas, had ever seen a fresh apricot or tasted General Tso's chicken. And that is where I can relate to this story: Joan is possessed of knowledge that Imogen simply doesn't have, or have any way to know she lacks.
So this cultural exchange is one I loved reading about. The historical moment...Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK assassination, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan ("a rrrrrrilllllly big shew!")...was the background of my childhood. They write to each other about it all. They write to each other about their cooking adventures. Single Joan has a lot to offer long-married Imogen because she (figuratively) listens and isn't invested in a particular outcome. What Imogen offers Joan is the simple, invaluable resource of being older, and experienced, and generous with her time, too. In a long novella/short novel, the two forge a perfectly balanced and genuinely moving friendship.
And now about those missing stars.
I am not nit-picking when I say that a book with the delicious recipes in it that this book has (the carne asada!!) needs to hyperlink them somewhere. I don't have a final copy, of course, but the paper copies don't appear to have an index either. (This is as of 6 February 2022, 6pm EST, when I went trolling for reviews last.) Yes yes yes, one can highlight them on the Kindle, but this is an oversight that would make the book even better if it were addressed. There's one quarter star.
Francis, Imogen's husband, blossoming into a passionate foodie during the course of the correspondence is a pleasure, insofar as it's presented to us...but Imogen is reporting it, of course, as it's an epistolary novel between Joan and herself. It's a feature, not a bug; but it left me feeling distanced from Imogen's lived life. I don't think this was a deal-breaker because epistolary...it's in the description...but I do think its impact on Imogen wasn't able to be explored quite as well as would've served the tale told. A quarter-star, and a sigh of regret for a too-short third-person catch-up in Part II.
Joan's life as a secretary at Rexall Drugs was, of course, the kind of job a girl (in the lingo of the time) could expect to get. Imogen encouraging her, boosting her, being there for her as she worked through anxiety and internalized misogyny and pursued her dreams of life in the newspaper world, was just a balm.
But then what? I didn't feel Joan got the spotlight enough as time went by...and that is down, again, to the format chosen to tell the story. But it felt unfinished as it was, with a too-short third-person wrap-up for Joan, too. Not because it wasn't a complete story! Because there was more story I wanted. Another quarter star forgone for expectations raised but not quite met.
When we return to epistolary format in Part III, the magic's worn off...the sweet, nostalgic sense of familiarity at a safe remove isn't there any more. But that isn't a deal-breaker so much as the force of the narrative doesn't have a chance to recover, so the half-star goes because, for the very first time, I noticed myself noticing I wasn't as ensorcelled as I started the read being. (Maybe if the third-person narratives had been diary entries...? I am Monday-morning quarterbacking here, so I'll stop.)
What I'll end on is the sheer pleasure of reading that this one-sitting tale offered. I think any book group that needs to lighten the tone and pick up the pace after a tough read should get this book onto their lists ASAP. I think pandemic-weary people whose lives have shifted into a new configuration through discovering food and cooking would like this for a February Sunday afternoon's pleasure. Most of all, I want to assure anyone thinking "this old man's a nutbar for pushing the read at me with this 3-3/4-star rating" is correct. This old man is, in fact, a nutbar. And one whose purpose it is to tell you what's worth reading.
This is worth reading.
November 15, 2021
To read this book you will need:
1) A free afternoon or morning or evening
2) Something delicious to snack on (reading this on an empty stomach is ill advised as without easy access to sustenance, you will need to stop reading as the food descriptions will engender immediate and extreme hunger)
3) A nice cup of tea/coffee/espresso/something stronger to sip
4) A box of tissues
With these ingredients to hand you will find yourself whisked back to the 1960s and into the embrace of an affecting epistolary friendship that embraces the discovery of life, love and food. I haven't read as satisfying novel in letters since 84 Charing Cross Road!
1) A free afternoon or morning or evening
2) Something delicious to snack on (reading this on an empty stomach is ill advised as without easy access to sustenance, you will need to stop reading as the food descriptions will engender immediate and extreme hunger)
3) A nice cup of tea/coffee/espresso/something stronger to sip
4) A box of tissues
With these ingredients to hand you will find yourself whisked back to the 1960s and into the embrace of an affecting epistolary friendship that embraces the discovery of life, love and food. I haven't read as satisfying novel in letters since 84 Charing Cross Road!
April 26, 2022
The reviewers who compared this to 84 Charing Cross were not wrong. Two women begin a correspondence in 1962, sharing food and recipes at first, then moving on to a friendship important to both of them. At just 200 pages, this little book is a great one for a quick escape from heavier reads, kids, husbands, housework, any reason at all.
December 25, 2022
Well, I loved Love & Saffron, a story of friendship in the form of an epistolary novel. Joan and Imogen initially connect over a shared interest in cooking but their correspondence quickly evolves. It’s the 1960s, they both live on the West coast, and despite being in different stages of life, the two women become fast friends.
”There is unequaled satisfaction in composing words on a blank page, sealing them in an envelope, writing an address in my own messy hand, adding a stamp, walking it to the mailbox, and raising the flag. It’s like preparing a gift, and I feel like I receive one when a letter arrives—yours most of all.”
”When shall we live, if not now?” — Seneca
Love & Saffron was sweet, thoughtful, and at
times, pretty funny. I really liked this book, one that’s a great reminder of friendship and even though I wanted to savor the story, I read it quickly due to sheer enjoyment — 4.5 stars
”There is unequaled satisfaction in composing words on a blank page, sealing them in an envelope, writing an address in my own messy hand, adding a stamp, walking it to the mailbox, and raising the flag. It’s like preparing a gift, and I feel like I receive one when a letter arrives—yours most of all.”
”When shall we live, if not now?” — Seneca
Love & Saffron was sweet, thoughtful, and at
times, pretty funny. I really liked this book, one that’s a great reminder of friendship and even though I wanted to savor the story, I read it quickly due to sheer enjoyment — 4.5 stars
April 20, 2022
This slender book is about a close friendship that forms between two women based upon their exchange of letters. Joan is 27 years old and is most interested in discovering and writing about foods from different cultures (mostly Mexican) in her native Los Angeles. Imogene (Immy) is 59 years old, married and lives on Camano Island near Seattle. She writes a humorous column about her day to day life on the island. Joan's first letter to Immy is a fan letter about her column. Included in the letter is a gift of a new spice - saffron. Historical personalities and events of the time period, the early 1960's, are sprinkled into the story.
In reading the book, I stepped into a time warp where letters were more common than not and women's roles were on the cusp of changing. American food excluded all other nationalities. Julia Child had just started her t.v. show called 'The French Chef'. Both Joan and Immy are intent on exploring foods that are new to them. As time goes by, they share parts of themselves in the letters that are unknown to others in their lives.
Recommended for readers who are in the mood for a quiet, reflective book and who like food writing. For whatever reason, I found the story to be interesting, but less absorbing than others that I have recently read. I felt at an arm's length from the characters.
Content Warning: Cancer
Additional: Coincidentally, I read this while watching a series about Julia Child on HBO Max.
In reading the book, I stepped into a time warp where letters were more common than not and women's roles were on the cusp of changing. American food excluded all other nationalities. Julia Child had just started her t.v. show called 'The French Chef'. Both Joan and Immy are intent on exploring foods that are new to them. As time goes by, they share parts of themselves in the letters that are unknown to others in their lives.
Recommended for readers who are in the mood for a quiet, reflective book and who like food writing. For whatever reason, I found the story to be interesting, but less absorbing than others that I have recently read. I felt at an arm's length from the characters.
Content Warning: Cancer
Additional: Coincidentally, I read this while watching a series about Julia Child on HBO Max.
February 28, 2022
After fan Joan pens a letter to columnist Imogen, an unexpected and meaningful friendship blooms.
This was my 21st book of 2022, and my first 5 star rating! I devoured it in a single day, and I recommend you do the same. With an abundance of food references and recipes, you'll definitely want snacks and probably a glass of wine too. Told in an epistolary format, this is a powerful story about friendship, love, and trust. I felt like I was secretly reading over their shoulders and watching their friendship blossom as 27 year old Joan and 59 year old Imogen share anecdotes and learn more about each other and their families. Additionally, the 1960 references were plentiful, and I noted the following: Kennedy's assassination, Julia Child, the Beatles, traveler's checks, Johnny Carson, female authors Helen Gurley Brown and Joan Didion, etc. Since I've exchanged handwritten letters with friends over the years (and found an incredible friend in an online book group), this story truly touched my heart while also proving that food brings people together in more ways than one!
Location: 1962 Los Angeles, CA and Washington
I received an advance copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.
This was my 21st book of 2022, and my first 5 star rating! I devoured it in a single day, and I recommend you do the same. With an abundance of food references and recipes, you'll definitely want snacks and probably a glass of wine too. Told in an epistolary format, this is a powerful story about friendship, love, and trust. I felt like I was secretly reading over their shoulders and watching their friendship blossom as 27 year old Joan and 59 year old Imogen share anecdotes and learn more about each other and their families. Additionally, the 1960 references were plentiful, and I noted the following: Kennedy's assassination, Julia Child, the Beatles, traveler's checks, Johnny Carson, female authors Helen Gurley Brown and Joan Didion, etc. Since I've exchanged handwritten letters with friends over the years (and found an incredible friend in an online book group), this story truly touched my heart while also proving that food brings people together in more ways than one!
Location: 1962 Los Angeles, CA and Washington
I received an advance copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.
April 26, 2022
I just loved this book! What a delightful, heart touching story that just makes you feel warm and cozy all over. Now, before you read this book, cook a very big meal and grab a box of tissues. The food in this book is beyond delicious and mouth watering. I constantly wanted to set the book down and go try the recipes! I'm an old soul for hand written letters and loved the beautiful friendship that developed between Joan and Immy through their letters. It makes you miss the days when we didn't have so much technology.
This is a captivating story about food, friendship, family, love, cooking, strong women and loss. It's entertaining, enchanting and overall a very enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
My thanks to Kim Fay, G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a captivating story about food, friendship, family, love, cooking, strong women and loss. It's entertaining, enchanting and overall a very enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
My thanks to Kim Fay, G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2021
It's not even 2022 and I know this book will be short listed on my annual favorites list for next year! It's as if Ruth Reichl and Laurie Colwin wrote 84 Charing Cross and I'm here for it! I adored the muligenerational friendships, delicious food descriptions, people embarking on a new path in their autumn years, a refreshingly kind glimpse at humanity, and epistolary construction. I want to hug this book and give it to all my friends!
July 11, 2022
2.5 stars
This darling little book is as delightful as its size and title suggest. I've heard it described as 84, Charing Cross Road but with more focus on food. Love & Saffron is an epistolary novel that showcases the start of a lovely friendship between Joan Bergstrom, age 27, and Imogen Fortier, age 59.
Joan writes to Imogen as a fan of her monthly column that is featured in a Pacific Northwest magazine and, includes in her initial letter, a gift of saffron. As the correspondence continues, the friendship between the two women grows. It's not long before Joan and Imogen are beyond simple recipe and food talk — partly catapulted into a more vulnerable state because of the Cuban Missile Crisis at the start of their letters that then is followed, just over a year later, by the assassination of President Kennedy.
While they do end up sharing intimate facts with each other, the language never evolved into a true feeling of intimacy. I felt that Joan and Imogen continued to stand just a space behind true openness — something that made me feel the author (rather than the characters) more and more as the book continued. Perhaps Fay had settled on a more formal-sounding level of communication for the time period and found it hard to give these two women a more casual voice (Joan more so than Imogen), but regardless it affected my ability to consider the two fully-fleshed out, knowable characters beyond the page and their letters.
All in all, a sweet and refreshing book of female friendship.
This darling little book is as delightful as its size and title suggest. I've heard it described as 84, Charing Cross Road but with more focus on food. Love & Saffron is an epistolary novel that showcases the start of a lovely friendship between Joan Bergstrom, age 27, and Imogen Fortier, age 59.
Joan writes to Imogen as a fan of her monthly column that is featured in a Pacific Northwest magazine and, includes in her initial letter, a gift of saffron. As the correspondence continues, the friendship between the two women grows. It's not long before Joan and Imogen are beyond simple recipe and food talk — partly catapulted into a more vulnerable state because of the Cuban Missile Crisis at the start of their letters that then is followed, just over a year later, by the assassination of President Kennedy.
While they do end up sharing intimate facts with each other, the language never evolved into a true feeling of intimacy. I felt that Joan and Imogen continued to stand just a space behind true openness — something that made me feel the author (rather than the characters) more and more as the book continued. Perhaps Fay had settled on a more formal-sounding level of communication for the time period and found it hard to give these two women a more casual voice (Joan more so than Imogen), but regardless it affected my ability to consider the two fully-fleshed out, knowable characters beyond the page and their letters.
All in all, a sweet and refreshing book of female friendship.
December 8, 2021
This book is simply wonderful! The feelings and memories that I experienced while reading this book has left me with happy tears in my eyes! The book reminded me of my mom and the many hours that she would spend writing letters to family and friends.
The book is made up letters between two strangers, one from Washington state and the other from Los Angeles during the 1960's. The friendship that they form and is able to maintain through the years is just so satisfying. They share with each other their love of food and family and well just so much more.
All you need is a few hours to read this wonderful book and I have no doubt that you will be just as touched as I was.
Many thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release February 8, 2022.
The book is made up letters between two strangers, one from Washington state and the other from Los Angeles during the 1960's. The friendship that they form and is able to maintain through the years is just so satisfying. They share with each other their love of food and family and well just so much more.
All you need is a few hours to read this wonderful book and I have no doubt that you will be just as touched as I was.
Many thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release February 8, 2022.
May 27, 2022
I did not realize this was fiction until I actually started reading the book, but I found it very enjoyable regardless! As the author says in her ending notes "As I was working on Love & Saffron, I wanted it to be a book that could be read and savored in one nourishing sitting." Worked out perfectly!
October 27, 2021
My thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons, as well as to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love.
What a beautiful and heart-touching book. Who knew that a simple fan letter, with a packet of saffron enclosed, could lead to friendship?? This book consists of letters back and forth between the two women who became friends as a result of that initial fan letter. The more I read, the more I found myself caring for them as they became more like sisters than friends. I also found myself drooling a bit over the food descriptions and recipes they shared with each other! It was an interesting step back in time to the early 1960s, as well.
Love and Saffron is a reminder that food and friendship are the antidotes to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating. Wonderful book!
What a beautiful and heart-touching book. Who knew that a simple fan letter, with a packet of saffron enclosed, could lead to friendship?? This book consists of letters back and forth between the two women who became friends as a result of that initial fan letter. The more I read, the more I found myself caring for them as they became more like sisters than friends. I also found myself drooling a bit over the food descriptions and recipes they shared with each other! It was an interesting step back in time to the early 1960s, as well.
Love and Saffron is a reminder that food and friendship are the antidotes to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating. Wonderful book!
February 20, 2022
Oh so short and oh so special ~ what an epistolary delight ❤️
February 9, 2022
Favorite Quotes:
I have simply always had an interest in people from other countries. I like the way their kitchens smell.
I have no idea what to do with Sex and the Single Girl. The girls at the paper are chirping with excitement about it. I find it embarrassing. I do not like the presumption that there is only one way for me to be an unmarried, twenty-seven-year-old female. Apparently, I should aspire to something called a “sexth sense,” and places where I should make an effort to meet eligible men include Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. As if I have any interest in spending my life drinking Chablis alone.
The world is big, small, and gloriously astonishing all at once!
That is the first time I have written his name in my own hand. It makes my heart feel as vulnerable as a dandelion in a windstorm.
I felt thoroughly uncultured as we walked through the Huntington galleries. She knows so much about art. And I didn’t dare open my mouth when she played her opera records. Don’t tell her, but it sounded to me like a box of howling cats.
My Review:
This was a quick, gentle, slow and easy, relaxing, thoughtfully written, delightfully amusing, and engaging read that tapped all the feels in the best way possible. The writing was easy to fall into while poignant, historically accurate, and heart-squeezing. The writing was honest and truly moving while a supportive relationship was developing between two women through their pen and paper correspondence over food that spanned several years and only one face-to-face meeting. The women easily established a bond that allowed them to freely expose their innermost fears and bare themselves on paper as they could to no one else in their lives. Their words plumbed all the feels and put hot rocks in my throat and stung my eyes as well as lifted my spirits. Kim Fay has gifted us with a tasty treat and a delicious tale for all the senses.
I have simply always had an interest in people from other countries. I like the way their kitchens smell.
I have no idea what to do with Sex and the Single Girl. The girls at the paper are chirping with excitement about it. I find it embarrassing. I do not like the presumption that there is only one way for me to be an unmarried, twenty-seven-year-old female. Apparently, I should aspire to something called a “sexth sense,” and places where I should make an effort to meet eligible men include Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. As if I have any interest in spending my life drinking Chablis alone.
The world is big, small, and gloriously astonishing all at once!
That is the first time I have written his name in my own hand. It makes my heart feel as vulnerable as a dandelion in a windstorm.
I felt thoroughly uncultured as we walked through the Huntington galleries. She knows so much about art. And I didn’t dare open my mouth when she played her opera records. Don’t tell her, but it sounded to me like a box of howling cats.
My Review:
This was a quick, gentle, slow and easy, relaxing, thoughtfully written, delightfully amusing, and engaging read that tapped all the feels in the best way possible. The writing was easy to fall into while poignant, historically accurate, and heart-squeezing. The writing was honest and truly moving while a supportive relationship was developing between two women through their pen and paper correspondence over food that spanned several years and only one face-to-face meeting. The women easily established a bond that allowed them to freely expose their innermost fears and bare themselves on paper as they could to no one else in their lives. Their words plumbed all the feels and put hot rocks in my throat and stung my eyes as well as lifted my spirits. Kim Fay has gifted us with a tasty treat and a delicious tale for all the senses.
March 16, 2022
The story of a friendship and an era that I found so very lovely. Comfort food for the soul in these troubling times. If spending an hour or so with two delightful women as they discuss food, love, and culture sounds like your cuppa (made with freshly ground Guatemalan beans) this is the book for you. Charming and sentimental.
February 26, 2022
This was an absolutely lovely book. In the early 1960s, Joan Bergstrom writes a letter to a magazine columnist - Imogene Fortier. Imogene writes back, and a beautiful friendship is begun. Almost the entire book is told via letters, as the two women share their thoughts about current events, stories about their lives, and their food explorations.
Two of my favorite quotes: "The world is big, small, and gloriously astonishing all at once!" and "The less we cement ourselves to our certainties, the fuller our lives can be."
I grew to love each of these women, and the family and friends they described in their letters. This is a book I will recommend to friends and family, and one I will certainly read again.
Thanks to netgalley, Kim Fay, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for letting me read this great story.
Two of my favorite quotes: "The world is big, small, and gloriously astonishing all at once!" and "The less we cement ourselves to our certainties, the fuller our lives can be."
I grew to love each of these women, and the family and friends they described in their letters. This is a book I will recommend to friends and family, and one I will certainly read again.
Thanks to netgalley, Kim Fay, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for letting me read this great story.
November 11, 2021
My thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons, as well as to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love.
What a touching story written in epistolary format. Set during the sixties, a young woman sends a fan letter to a small town columnist with a packet of saffron enclosed. This evolves into a life long friendship as they discover their mutual love of food and family. As we watch their relationship grow and blossom over time, it is a joy to savor their letters. The writing is exquisite without being too over the top. The two friends share not just recipes but laughter and love as well as hope and healing. It was such a sweet and genuine book. I was sad to see it end.
5*
What a touching story written in epistolary format. Set during the sixties, a young woman sends a fan letter to a small town columnist with a packet of saffron enclosed. This evolves into a life long friendship as they discover their mutual love of food and family. As we watch their relationship grow and blossom over time, it is a joy to savor their letters. The writing is exquisite without being too over the top. The two friends share not just recipes but laughter and love as well as hope and healing. It was such a sweet and genuine book. I was sad to see it end.
5*
April 22, 2022
Charing Cross, but make it delicious. Heartwarming and delightful. This is a keeper.
September 1, 2022
A darling and perfect read. I will be passing it on to my beautiful friend whom I have corresponded with for over 30 years. Like Immy and Joan we have shared personal secrets, helped each other through struggles and tragedy, sent each other recipes and cookbooks, spent weekends together cooking in the kitchen and have loved each other deeply through our decades long friendship. This book is a homage for me to this time tested friendship and all the light, love and frolicking fun it has brought me over the years!
February 11, 2022
Thank you @kimfay and @netgalley for early access to Love and Saffron.
Publication date: February 8, 2022
Review: This review intersects between my love for reading and for cooking and trying out new recipes. The theme of the novel also encouraged my creative juices to flow! I was pleasantly surprised when I received an early approval to read Kim Fay’s novel. This epistolary historical fiction novel shares the story of two friends - Imogen and Joan, who develop a friendship when Joan sends her friend a box of the elusive and expensive spice - saffron. Written as a communication between two friends, we learn of the salient historical, social, and personal events that are shaping the lives of these women in American history, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I was remembering the show, Mad Men, as I was reading through the novel.
What I absolutely loved in this book was the number of recipes that were shared with the readers. I was tempted to recreate a recipe of mussels that I have had at the Cape the last few times, but settled on a recipe I had been meaning to try for a while! What I love about this novel is that it highlights how we find comfort in simple joys of recipes during the most tumultuous times. There are sometimes recipes that remind me of my childhood and connect me with my home both in India and Singapore. ☺️
Publication date: February 8, 2022
Review: This review intersects between my love for reading and for cooking and trying out new recipes. The theme of the novel also encouraged my creative juices to flow! I was pleasantly surprised when I received an early approval to read Kim Fay’s novel. This epistolary historical fiction novel shares the story of two friends - Imogen and Joan, who develop a friendship when Joan sends her friend a box of the elusive and expensive spice - saffron. Written as a communication between two friends, we learn of the salient historical, social, and personal events that are shaping the lives of these women in American history, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I was remembering the show, Mad Men, as I was reading through the novel.
What I absolutely loved in this book was the number of recipes that were shared with the readers. I was tempted to recreate a recipe of mussels that I have had at the Cape the last few times, but settled on a recipe I had been meaning to try for a while! What I love about this novel is that it highlights how we find comfort in simple joys of recipes during the most tumultuous times. There are sometimes recipes that remind me of my childhood and connect me with my home both in India and Singapore. ☺️
February 7, 2022
This poignantly, beautifully written story is about the correspondence between two very different women in different stages of their lives during the early 1960’s and the development of a lifelong friendship which began when one of them wrote a simple letter to the other about food.
It all begins innocently when twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom, whose dream is to write about food, sends a letter to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a columnist for Northwest Home Life complimenting her on her latest column. She encloses a packet of saffron as a suggestion as to how to cook muscles. Joan lives in Los Angeles and Imogen, Camano Island in Washington.
What starts out as simple letters about food and recipes, begins to turn into a deep friendship about problems, loves, and hidden secrets. They begin sharing not only recipes, but their feelings about the world during that time, the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy’s assassination, and women being treated equally in the workplace.
Through their correspondence, Joan learns about Imogen’s relationship with her husband, who has now become obsessed with cooking because of their communication. Imogen learns about a crush Joan has on a man, but in those days is frowned upon. As the friendship evolves into two best friends writing about their secrets, they begin to become each other’s cheerleaders and emotional support systems.
They both seem to get such strength and joy from each other with the simplicity of just words. Sometimes the letters are filled with happiness and unfortunately, sometimes with tremendous sorrow, as their friendship is tested throughout the years.
What started out as one simple note about adding saffron to muscles, turns into a lifetime of friendship, love, and companionship which will last forever. Kim Fay’s story Love & Saffron will make you cherish your true friendships. You may even want to give them a tight squeeze!
Thank you #NetGalley #G.P.Putnam’sSons #Kim Fay #Love&Saffron for the advanced copy.
It all begins innocently when twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom, whose dream is to write about food, sends a letter to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a columnist for Northwest Home Life complimenting her on her latest column. She encloses a packet of saffron as a suggestion as to how to cook muscles. Joan lives in Los Angeles and Imogen, Camano Island in Washington.
What starts out as simple letters about food and recipes, begins to turn into a deep friendship about problems, loves, and hidden secrets. They begin sharing not only recipes, but their feelings about the world during that time, the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy’s assassination, and women being treated equally in the workplace.
Through their correspondence, Joan learns about Imogen’s relationship with her husband, who has now become obsessed with cooking because of their communication. Imogen learns about a crush Joan has on a man, but in those days is frowned upon. As the friendship evolves into two best friends writing about their secrets, they begin to become each other’s cheerleaders and emotional support systems.
They both seem to get such strength and joy from each other with the simplicity of just words. Sometimes the letters are filled with happiness and unfortunately, sometimes with tremendous sorrow, as their friendship is tested throughout the years.
What started out as one simple note about adding saffron to muscles, turns into a lifetime of friendship, love, and companionship which will last forever. Kim Fay’s story Love & Saffron will make you cherish your true friendships. You may even want to give them a tight squeeze!
Thank you #NetGalley #G.P.Putnam’sSons #Kim Fay #Love&Saffron for the advanced copy.
January 26, 2022
I love a well-written book about female friendships, and this beautiful story presented in epistolary format between professional women writers was everything I wanted and more. I don't normally enjoy cooking infused fiction, but it just happened to be the topic that brought together 26-yr old Miss Joan Bergstrom from Los Angeles CA and 59-yr old Mrs Imogen Fortier living off the coast of Seattle WA. I've lived in both cities myself and the way Kim Fay brings up the very best and most beautiful of each location was so thoroughly gratifying, (Wing Luke!) and she even figured out the perfect era to set this in, 1964. There is romance, but I love that these smart women have so much more of substance to discuss than just men; there are careers and humanity and the human condition, feminism and equality and civil rights. There is so much within this lovely little book about so much more than the title might have one prepared for: international travel, love and loss, and an outstanding example of two strong women supporting each other.
August 22, 2021
I sit bereft, as I have just finished Love & Saffron, in one very rainy and windy Sunday. Bereft because I’m going to miss the exquisite letter writing between two close friends, who met over their mutual affection of food. This ultimately led to a devoted and beautiful friendship. You will fall in love with the epistolary form. which allowed their correspondence, to span years. The cadence of the voices of these two women, will have you enraptured. The references to recipes, varied foods and spices have a visceral effect. Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the wonderful opportunity to read and review this ARC. I will be recommending it! #NetGalley#putnambooks,#kimfay #LoveSaffron.
November 14, 2021
Love & Saffron is the most perfect little novel. Heartfelt and charming with the most memorable characters. It just reaffirms the importance of connection and friendship and how it can impact your life. I loved the added element of recipes and food and how they connected all of the characters.
Kudos to Kim Fay for creating this treasure!
Kudos to Kim Fay for creating this treasure!
February 28, 2022
Really 3.5 stars. This checked all my reading boxes: letters between women, and more importantly food! There were a couple of things I had problems with, but for the most part, it was a lovely little book that can be read in a couple of sittings over a cup of tea.
September 15, 2022
"When shall we live, if not now?"
This short epistolary novel set in the early 1960s was a delightful read that left me teary.
Alison's Summer Reading 24/33
This short epistolary novel set in the early 1960s was a delightful read that left me teary.
Alison's Summer Reading 24/33
March 28, 2022
Perfect antidote to a grey lonely day. Settle in for an immersive and delightful quick read. A fan letter from a young woman to the writer of a column on the pleasures of Pacific Northwest island living evolves into a close friendship and education on eye-opening and taste-bud salivating culinary treks out of the standard fare of early 1960s America. Highly recommended!
July 10, 2022
Loved this book 📚. It was in letter form which was wonderful.
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