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Blessed Are the Cheesemakers
Set on a small Irish dairy farm, this tender and funny debut novel follows two lost souls as they try to carve out new lives amid a colorful cast of characters reminiscent of those in the hit film Waking Ned Divine. Abby has been estranged from the family farm since her rebellious mother ran off with her when she was a small child. Kit is a burned out New York stockbroker who's down on his luck.
But that's all about to change, now that he and Abby have converged on the farm just in time to help Corrie and Fee, two old cheesemakers in a time of need. Full of delightful and quirky characters--from dairy cows who only give their best product to pregnant, vegetarian teens to an odd collection of whiskey-soaked men and broken-hearted women who find refuge under Corrie and Fee's roof -- Blessed are the Cheesemakers is an irresistible tale about taking life's spilled milk and turning it into the best cheese in the world.
But that's all about to change, now that he and Abby have converged on the farm just in time to help Corrie and Fee, two old cheesemakers in a time of need. Full of delightful and quirky characters--from dairy cows who only give their best product to pregnant, vegetarian teens to an odd collection of whiskey-soaked men and broken-hearted women who find refuge under Corrie and Fee's roof -- Blessed are the Cheesemakers is an irresistible tale about taking life's spilled milk and turning it into the best cheese in the world.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
68 people are currently reading
2189 people want to read
About the author
Sarah-Kate Lynch
17 books281 followersSarah-Kate Lynch is quite a cranky journalist of several decades who prefers making things up to recording them accurately. This is not very good if you are a journalist, which may explain (a) the crankiness and (b) why she now writes novels.
She also writes two columns in the New Zealand Woman's Day, New Zealand's best-selling weekly magazine. One is about nothing and the other is about travel.
Sarah-Kate lives in a cliff top house on the wild west coast of New Zealand's North Island with a lovely dog called Ginger and a husband called Ted. Oh, hang on, no, that's not right. The dog is called Ted and the husband is Ginger.
She also writes two columns in the New Zealand Woman's Day, New Zealand's best-selling weekly magazine. One is about nothing and the other is about travel.
Sarah-Kate lives in a cliff top house on the wild west coast of New Zealand's North Island with a lovely dog called Ginger and a husband called Ted. Oh, hang on, no, that's not right. The dog is called Ted and the husband is Ginger.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 537 reviews
March 20, 2011
To give full context, I'm in the middle of a move, tied up with family concerns, and otherwise surviving the end of a particularly nasty winter. I kept this book out of the packed file because I planned to read it and leave it behind.
Within the first few pages, I realized that there was no way I could do that. I have to keep this sweet, loveable book nearby. The magical cheese farm of the Josephs Corrigan and Feehan, with its gaggle of singing pregnant milkmaids and cows that milk best to the Sound of Music, the tales of how to make wonderful cheese, and the many many threads of lives that have been tangled together made me smile, weep, and laugh out loud. I fell in love at the first description of the Princess Grace cheese, languishing in a fridge somewhere and gradually getting more annoyed (and smelly); I smiled with recognition at the earnest husband doing "good works" in a perfectly fine island community for the sole purpose of self-aggrandizement; I loved the townspeople and their antics and stories; I cheered as each character came into their own.
It's not a complex story, but it is laced with wisdom, running like a fine line of blue through a cheese. Parts of it have the slightly cheeky smell of a good Stilton. Parts of it glide down the throat like a creamy Brie. All of it fills the heart.
Key thing is, I ended it with a smile on my face, a tear in my eye, a hunger for some really good cheese, and a strong desire to go to Ireland. Or in some way, to head towards where I feel is home.
Loved it.
And I've got to say the title is one of the best I've seen.
Within the first few pages, I realized that there was no way I could do that. I have to keep this sweet, loveable book nearby. The magical cheese farm of the Josephs Corrigan and Feehan, with its gaggle of singing pregnant milkmaids and cows that milk best to the Sound of Music, the tales of how to make wonderful cheese, and the many many threads of lives that have been tangled together made me smile, weep, and laugh out loud. I fell in love at the first description of the Princess Grace cheese, languishing in a fridge somewhere and gradually getting more annoyed (and smelly); I smiled with recognition at the earnest husband doing "good works" in a perfectly fine island community for the sole purpose of self-aggrandizement; I loved the townspeople and their antics and stories; I cheered as each character came into their own.
It's not a complex story, but it is laced with wisdom, running like a fine line of blue through a cheese. Parts of it have the slightly cheeky smell of a good Stilton. Parts of it glide down the throat like a creamy Brie. All of it fills the heart.
Key thing is, I ended it with a smile on my face, a tear in my eye, a hunger for some really good cheese, and a strong desire to go to Ireland. Or in some way, to head towards where I feel is home.
Loved it.
And I've got to say the title is one of the best I've seen.
April 13, 2022
A fun read. Lots of twists and turns. Charming characters.
March 20, 2008
So worth reading, I can't tell you !
Every now and then I think to myself 'I wish I were a cheesemaker...'
Quirky tale of the love inherent in making good cheese and the redemption and reclamation of young women gone 'awry'.
Perhaps it doesn't deserve a 5 star, but I give it that because of the delightful old men that put their love and patience and energy into ripening their cheese...
Laugh out loud funny. Sweet and memorable, the taste lingers in my memory still.
Every now and then I think to myself 'I wish I were a cheesemaker...'
Quirky tale of the love inherent in making good cheese and the redemption and reclamation of young women gone 'awry'.
Perhaps it doesn't deserve a 5 star, but I give it that because of the delightful old men that put their love and patience and energy into ripening their cheese...
Laugh out loud funny. Sweet and memorable, the taste lingers in my memory still.
May 2, 2008
Cheese lovers, unite! I eat cheese everyday, so the title drew me in. One thing I found charming was how, in the beginning, the cheese was personified as an angry female who was offended at being left in the fridge to rot. This is just one of the odd/fun ways of writing in Lynch's novel. Another neat thing were the "quotes" on the art of cheesemaking. For example, I never thought about how good cheese needs to come from good grass(the cow's food) ... and even the rain, sun, and time effect the cheese. This just made cheese seem like ... poetry.
Abbey is the granddaughter of a man who is half of a pair of the world's greatest cheesemakers. When she leaves her husband for his wrongdoings, she decides to find her long-lost grandfather and find out the truth of her past, since she can no longer trust anyone else.
Meanwhile, a man named Kit is watching his life crumble around him as he struggles to get over the loss of his wife and their unborn baby. He too ends up turning up at the cheesefactory for salvation.
Corrie and Fee need to find the perfect cheesemakers to take over before it's too late. Their factory is a unique place, where a cat named Jesus doesn't want to be a mother, and vegetarian pregnant milkmaids milk cows to "The Sound of Music."
At first, I found the book predictable, but sweet. I was also a bit impatient, because by page 150, neither Kit nor Abbey had made it to the factory. After that, everything went quickly. However, the book had several big surprises in store, and that made up for it.
I think I'll go have some cheese.
Abbey is the granddaughter of a man who is half of a pair of the world's greatest cheesemakers. When she leaves her husband for his wrongdoings, she decides to find her long-lost grandfather and find out the truth of her past, since she can no longer trust anyone else.
Meanwhile, a man named Kit is watching his life crumble around him as he struggles to get over the loss of his wife and their unborn baby. He too ends up turning up at the cheesefactory for salvation.
Corrie and Fee need to find the perfect cheesemakers to take over before it's too late. Their factory is a unique place, where a cat named Jesus doesn't want to be a mother, and vegetarian pregnant milkmaids milk cows to "The Sound of Music."
At first, I found the book predictable, but sweet. I was also a bit impatient, because by page 150, neither Kit nor Abbey had made it to the factory. After that, everything went quickly. However, the book had several big surprises in store, and that made up for it.
I think I'll go have some cheese.
February 21, 2022
This was hilarious, akin to the comedies of the 90s/ early 2000s like Waking Ned Divine and On a Clear Day- offbeat, warm-hearted, community oriented, with added magical cheese. It's just to good to be true. The narrator was really funny, which helped the delivery. I'm not sure how people could read this and not appreciate the humor, but I see in the reviews that some have not enjoyed it as much as I most surely did. Feel good for sure.
October 28, 2010
This book reminded me of a Maeve Binchy novel. It is a tender tale of redemption and second chances. Deep in County Cork, Joseph Corrigan (Corry) and Joseph Feehan (Fee) make small batches of world famous cheese. Their two families have worked together for many generations, one family providing the milk and the other, the cheese making genius. When we first meet the old boys, they are interviewing for a new dairymaid. Her qualifications must be that she can carry a tune, has short fingernails, and is a vegetarian.
Meanwhile in NY, a hot-shot investment broker named Kit Stevens has crashed and burned after the death of his wife. Spending too much of his time in a drug and alcohol induced fog, he gets fired and evicted on the same day. His personal assistant sends him to the farm in Cork to pull himself together.
And across the globe, on the tiny island of Ate-Ate, Corry's granddaughter, Abbey, discovers her increasingly distant and unlikeable husband has been consorting with the village women. She leaves him to return home to Ireland.
Lynch's novel is peppered with cheese making lore from Corry and Fee. Her prose is witty and wry, sometimes even laugh out loud funny. When I read, "She hated it when reality reached out and snapped her thong.", I spit tea out my nose.
I think fans of Binchy would enjoy it tremendously. I intend to read the rest of Lynch's books.
Meanwhile in NY, a hot-shot investment broker named Kit Stevens has crashed and burned after the death of his wife. Spending too much of his time in a drug and alcohol induced fog, he gets fired and evicted on the same day. His personal assistant sends him to the farm in Cork to pull himself together.
And across the globe, on the tiny island of Ate-Ate, Corry's granddaughter, Abbey, discovers her increasingly distant and unlikeable husband has been consorting with the village women. She leaves him to return home to Ireland.
Lynch's novel is peppered with cheese making lore from Corry and Fee. Her prose is witty and wry, sometimes even laugh out loud funny. When I read, "She hated it when reality reached out and snapped her thong.", I spit tea out my nose.
I think fans of Binchy would enjoy it tremendously. I intend to read the rest of Lynch's books.
January 21, 2018
What a charming, sweet book! Abbey’s and Kit’s stories are woven through this story of cheese making and life in a world easy to recognize. Sweet story.
May 29, 2008
If I could give it 2 and 1/2 stars, I would. Not particularly well-written or all that funny. It was cute. By no means was it a deep and thoughtful romance. It was on the level with Danielle Steele novels (both in story content and complexity of read) versus Anita Shreve. I give it 3 stars because it's fun, quick and perfect for the summer. Those of you who have read my reviews know that I am totally into mindless "chick-lit" right now and this was perfect for me with one personal exception which did not influence my rating of this book. I read the book over Memorial Day weekend. Spoiler alert: There are a lot of pregnant teenagers, called the "pregnasaurs" (cute, no?) and the main character has fertility issues. Totally my prejudice because of my issues right now.
December 17, 2011
I loved this book! It was so much fun! It is indeed a love story, similar to Chocolat, but the real love story isnt between the two you would suspect. Pick this book up when you want something light and fun and you need a good chuckle.
August 19, 2014
When I started this book, I thought it was a cute, easy summer read. At about page 230 it got really weird, and although I wanted to find out how it ended, I really didn't like it.
This reminded me of a bad "Lifetime made for TV movie."
This reminded me of a bad "Lifetime made for TV movie."
January 24, 2021
This was a delightful book with wonderful quirky characters. A very fun read. Just the thing to cheer you up on a cold winter day.
September 18, 2021
Just a fun, easy read.
January 8, 2023
It was a hard read at the beginning. It got better yhe more you read. I liked it alot.
February 15, 2021
I adore this story. Lofty literature? No. A beautiful story? Yes. This lovely plot includes friendships, heartache, and cheesemaking. It's an uplifting and delightful book, and I highly recommend it.
February 5, 2017
This was an extremely amusing audiobook. I loved the narrator, Heather O'Neill, she had so many different voices and accents that were at times funny and at times serious. I don't know if they were necessarily authentic but I really enjoyed listening.
The book started out in three different locations Ireland, New York City, and the Pacific Island Ate'ate, but converges on the Coolarney cheese factory in Ireland. This is not a story for those who are offended by language, fecking (Irish pronunciation) is one Corrie and Fee's favorite words. It took a little time to get used to this but really made the story more authentic in my opinion. This is a humorous story that deals with difficult characters and emotions in a way that doesn't end up depressing.
As suggested by the title cheese plays a really big role in this novel and is at times almost magical. The cheese was a really nice touch and I really enjoyed listening to the process of making cheese, although I myself would not want to make cheese it gave me an appreciation of cheese making.
This is a story worth listening to as an audiobook as the narrator is excellent and one would never get all the different accents in their own head.
The book started out in three different locations Ireland, New York City, and the Pacific Island Ate'ate, but converges on the Coolarney cheese factory in Ireland. This is not a story for those who are offended by language, fecking (Irish pronunciation) is one Corrie and Fee's favorite words. It took a little time to get used to this but really made the story more authentic in my opinion. This is a humorous story that deals with difficult characters and emotions in a way that doesn't end up depressing.
As suggested by the title cheese plays a really big role in this novel and is at times almost magical. The cheese was a really nice touch and I really enjoyed listening to the process of making cheese, although I myself would not want to make cheese it gave me an appreciation of cheese making.
This is a story worth listening to as an audiobook as the narrator is excellent and one would never get all the different accents in their own head.
June 2, 2023
After being on a fantasy/mystery/steampunk kick the past year (+), my Aunt and I felt it was time for a little genre change (we read together long distance). She found this book, and I was excited to try something new. I had no expectations other than someone compared it in a review to Waking Ned Devine, and I love that movie, which I guess set the bar sorta high.... (& now I could not agree more in the sense of two old best friends and a great tale!)
The story moves quick, with character developement never quite slowing down to a full stop, which is so so nice if you need to be engaged constantly (thanks ADD)! Fee, Corrie, and Avis are all SUCH wondefully built characters. Three older Irish hoots who ooze humor, loyalty, and all the small Irish community feels. These characters are intertwined with their dairy farm, cheese, pregnant girls, Kit and Abbey.
I would absolutely read this book again, AND recommend it!
The story moves quick, with character developement never quite slowing down to a full stop, which is so so nice if you need to be engaged constantly (thanks ADD)! Fee, Corrie, and Avis are all SUCH wondefully built characters. Three older Irish hoots who ooze humor, loyalty, and all the small Irish community feels. These characters are intertwined with their dairy farm, cheese, pregnant girls, Kit and Abbey.
I would absolutely read this book again, AND recommend it!
August 26, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved the Irish dialect and the great local characters. I loved the idead of such a place and such people. I have been reading too many 'deep' books lately and this one was refreshing and just plain fun.
I also loved the cheese making. I think it would be a blast to learn how to make cheese.
I also loved the cheese making. I think it would be a blast to learn how to make cheese.
February 17, 2017
Fun read! Loved the wacky characters. Loved the British humor. Loved the cheese chronicles at the beginning of each chapter. The story works ... don't take anything too seriously. Lots of surprises. Now this is a summer read!
November 23, 2024
How many people can come back to life in one book?
I enjoyed the characters and their accents.
All the cows are named Maria, and "The Sound of Music" soundtrack is played at milking time. Smiles.
My 100th audio book in the car!
Listening length 10 hr
I enjoyed the characters and their accents.
All the cows are named Maria, and "The Sound of Music" soundtrack is played at milking time. Smiles.
My 100th audio book in the car!
Listening length 10 hr
March 20, 2008
This was a lovely escape read that make me laugh and cry!!
I think it would be a fabulous movie reminiscent of Waking Ned Devine.
I think it would be a fabulous movie reminiscent of Waking Ned Devine.
November 9, 2024
This is a cute, rom-com, magical realism book and I enjoyed every minute of it. The story is light but deals with some deeper issues. The characters are great, a great cast of quirky supporting characters. I listened on audio and it added to the experience of the book.
December 2, 2024
I read this book 20 years ago and loved it, and it’s still a little cutie of a read now. I’m so happy to see that she’s written a load of other books too - hopefully she improves with age like cheese.
May 22, 2012
(3.5 stars) Three stories come together in an Irish dairy farm. Corrie and Fee are the elderly cheesemakers, who are desperate to find the next generation before it is too late. Their operation is a labor of love, with many quirks, including pregnant, vegetarian milkmaids who milk to the Sound of Music. Abbey is the granddaughter who was taken away from the farm by her mother, and after marrying at a young age, she lives on a Pacific Island with her husband who is obsessed with irrigation. When she finds out that he has been "irrigating" other pastures after he found out she cannot have children, she is horrified and leaves with a friend to return to the U.K. and find her family. The third part involves Kit, a stockbroker whose life has devolved after the death of his wife and unborn baby. His assistant sends him off to Ireland to dry out and get sober. Kit unwittingly is drawn into the contest for the cheesemaker position and meets Abbey. They must find out if they have the touch to make a cheese worthy of Corrie and Fee. The cheese has a life and power of its own in the story and lends a charming taste of magical realism to the tale. The story has lots of humor including a pregnant cat called Jesus and other delightful quirks.
April 14, 2012
Blessed Are the Cheesemakers is a fun, cozy read. It’s very easy to get into, and has many likeable characters.
Set primarily in Ireland, the story has elements of magical realism, such as an old cheesemaker with the ability to see into the future, and cheeses with magical attributes.
I really enjoyed the narrator’s voice. You can almost hear a warm smile in her words as she unfolds the story. Although this book addresses some heavy issues (such as alcoholism, adultery and even death), there is a sweet optimism apparent in the narrator’s descriptions that helps make this a truly enjoyable read.
One of the reviews on the front of my copy notes that this is a “tender love story...in the spirit of Chocolat.” Yes, there is a wonderful love story that unfolds during the course of this novel, but I feel that this book was much more enjoyable than Chocolat, whose characters I didn’t find nearly as dear or appealing as those in Blessed Are the Cheesemakers.
Set primarily in Ireland, the story has elements of magical realism, such as an old cheesemaker with the ability to see into the future, and cheeses with magical attributes.
I really enjoyed the narrator’s voice. You can almost hear a warm smile in her words as she unfolds the story. Although this book addresses some heavy issues (such as alcoholism, adultery and even death), there is a sweet optimism apparent in the narrator’s descriptions that helps make this a truly enjoyable read.
One of the reviews on the front of my copy notes that this is a “tender love story...in the spirit of Chocolat.” Yes, there is a wonderful love story that unfolds during the course of this novel, but I feel that this book was much more enjoyable than Chocolat, whose characters I didn’t find nearly as dear or appealing as those in Blessed Are the Cheesemakers.
October 14, 2009
Really good fast read. Not a deep thinking book, but a really sweet and surprisingly funny romance, but not just a romance and not a sickingly sweet romance. I laughed out loud a few times. Fee was my favorite character. I want to try some good cheese now. My tastes are really low. Cache Valley cheese is my premier.
Abby has been estranged from the family farm since her rebellious mother ran off with her when she was a small child. Kit is a burned out New York stockbroker who's down on his luck. But that's all about to change, now that he and Abby have converged on the farm just in time to help Corrie and Fee, two old cheesemakers in a time of need. Full of delightful and quirky characters-from dairy cows who only give their best product to pregnant, vegetarian teens to an odd collection of whiskey-soaked men and broken-hearted women who find refuge under Corrie and Fee's roof
Abby has been estranged from the family farm since her rebellious mother ran off with her when she was a small child. Kit is a burned out New York stockbroker who's down on his luck. But that's all about to change, now that he and Abby have converged on the farm just in time to help Corrie and Fee, two old cheesemakers in a time of need. Full of delightful and quirky characters-from dairy cows who only give their best product to pregnant, vegetarian teens to an odd collection of whiskey-soaked men and broken-hearted women who find refuge under Corrie and Fee's roof
September 22, 2008
This was fun. I think if I were British - or Irish - or Australian - or something - I would have given it another star. The colloquialisms kind of threw me for a loop -trying to figure out how we might say the same thing here in America. The idea - a dairy farm in Ireland that crafts sublime cheese made using milk gathered by pregnant vegetarian young women from cows all named Maria, and the characters including a psychic old man and a farm full of quirky characters- calls Alice Hoffman to mind even if the writing itself does not. It was predictable, yet magical and entertaining, as well. A perfect vacation read.
August 10, 2019
This book was recommended by a friend as I do love foodie magical realism when done well.
This book is not particularly funny (as I had seen it billed) nor well written, the standards of chick lit are there, nonsensical love interests, sexual daydreams and some quite predictable plot twists.
BUT having said that, it was a nice fluff read between heavier novels and I enjoyed the link to cheese, though I didn’t think this was nearly well explored as the soap opera surrounding it... pregnant vegetarian milkmaid... ?? But there where some surprising elements and it was an easy enough read.
This book is not particularly funny (as I had seen it billed) nor well written, the standards of chick lit are there, nonsensical love interests, sexual daydreams and some quite predictable plot twists.
BUT having said that, it was a nice fluff read between heavier novels and I enjoyed the link to cheese, though I didn’t think this was nearly well explored as the soap opera surrounding it... pregnant vegetarian milkmaid... ?? But there where some surprising elements and it was an easy enough read.
November 22, 2008
This book was, at the risk of sounding cliche, magical. I would have read it just for the way the dialogue is written in a blatant Irish accent. The relationship between the two cheesemakers and their little "family" is so tender. The ending actually produced blurry vision; I was surprised to find myself crying. And the ill will they harbor for their pasteurizer, Old Fart Arse, made me chuckle a few times. If you're sensitive to graphic sexual references, though, I'd skip this book.
January 14, 2009
This was a really enjoyable book. I found myself literally laughing out loud at parts. I listened to the audiobook (unabridged, of course) and thought the narrator was really great - definitely added to the character of the book.
July 20, 2014
Another pseudomym of Sophie's? What is her real name, I wonder.
This book is zany but fun to read: most events are improbable but add to the plot, just as the events in her Shopaholic do.
Good for some great laughs mixed with sorrow and revenge.
The charactes make the story.
This book is zany but fun to read: most events are improbable but add to the plot, just as the events in her Shopaholic do.
Good for some great laughs mixed with sorrow and revenge.
The charactes make the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 537 reviews