Feeding Christine

by Barbara Chepaitis

In this deliciously charming novel, Barbara Chepaitis-a new and truly one-of-a-kind voice in women's fiction-skillfully explores the powerful camaraderie shared by four exceptional women. Reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate and How to Make an American Quilt , this unique tale filled with unforgettable characters has a style all its own. It is a delightful ode to the special unbreakable bond that exists between women-and the crazy things true friends will do to show they care. . . .

Feeding Christine

Teresa DiRosa believes that life, like fine food, is made special by mixing together the best time, patience, and a lot of love. Owner of a thriving catering business, Bread and Roses, she has turned the feeding of stomachs and souls into her life's work. Now, with her niece Christine, best friend and bookkeeper Delia, and baker Amberlin, Teresa is gearing up for Bread and Roses' most important event of the the annual Christmas open house.

But as Teresa juggles recipes and party decorations, her personal life is spinning out of control. Her divorce is barely final when a handsome acquaintance hints that he'd like to be more than just friends. Her college-age son has broken her heart by choosing to spend Christmas with his father. And her niece Christine, beautiful and artistic, is engaged to marry a prominent psychologist-but seems to be losing her own grip on sanity as her wedding draws closer.

The preparty cooking marathon promises to be filled with the usual chaos and conversation, and Teresa hopes it will be a good time to talk things over with her niece. But she's not prepared when a suicidal Christine arrives at her house-and Teresa is the only one who can save her. The radical steps she takes to stop her niece from killing herself will shock everyone-but with Delia's and Amberlin's help, Teresa feeds Christine a healthy dose of courage, wisdom, and pure friendship . . . all while trying to pull off a grand party for a hundred people.

Witty and warmhearted, Feeding Christine is a testament to the many different kinds of friendship it takes to live a full life-and to the different kinds of wisdom each of us has to share.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

I once asked a college class I was teaching to give me their biographies using one piece of paper, any way they wanted. I got back origami, paper airplanes, essays, crayola drawings and more - which made for some fun, instead of reading insipid, uninspired lists of facts.
My biography, using one piece of paper, would be a drawing of a tree, with roots reaching down through the darkest part of the earth toward its molten core, and branches straining toward the stars.
Birds, a few monkeys, a jaguar, and a million fireflies would populate the branches hung with all kinds of fruit and flowers. And it would be a big tree. Very big indeed.
Big as a soul.

Reviews

[Ranell]

I loved the female friendship/family ties! The description of party preparations reminded me of when I was little and of the full kitchen at the holidays. Theresa's songs, Italian phrases and the description of the food was very heartwarming. I didn't like the kind of creepy visions/imaginings.

[Maria Laura]

En definitiva este libro no es para mí. Decidí que a pesar de que estoy en cuarentena y tengo mucho tiempo libre no se lo voy a seguir dedicando a este libro. La historia no tiene mucha trama y eso no es lo mío, además la temática de la comida y la cocina no está calando en mi cómo se supone que debería. Entiendo si a alguien más le gusta este libro, yo por mi parte he decidido que no voy a continuarlo.

[Suezq]

Ridiculous story

[Florencia N 28]

Es una historia linda, cada personaje es especial y se logra sentir empatía por más de uno.

[Melanie]

I want to like this book, but I am struggling getting through it right now!
Well I finally made it through this story, but it wasn't easy! Story revolves around a group of women friends who are preparing food for a party, and in the midst of their preparations, the niece of one of the ladies decides she is going to commit suicide, but she first seeks out her aunt to tell her goodbye. When the aunt realizes her nieces intentions, she ties her up in her basement, all the while the party preparations are taking place upstairs in her kitchen. Throw in the nieces arrogant fiancé, a love interest for the main chracter Theresa, and the dead sister of Theresa, plus the "issues" of the other women in the group, and this just feels like a mumbo jumbo of issues thrown together to feel like a story.
Others may enjoy it, but for me it was heavy and disjointed.

[Petra]

Heerlijk boek met mooie uitspraken/citaten om eens rustig over na te denken. Het boek laat ons zien welke rol de liefde speelt in ons leven. Je laat je auto maken, maar dat doe je waarschijnlijk omdat je van je auto houdt, of van autorijden of misschien wel van de plaatsen waar de auto je brengt.

Het zette mij in ieder geval aan het denken. Hoe een drama deze familie en vriendin nog dichterbij elkaar brengt en hoe eten daar een belangrijke rol in speelt zorgde voor een mooi verhaal. Helaas wist ik niet precies wat voor eten er allemaal gemaakt werd, het was italiaans, het klonk in ieder geval heerlijk. Zeker een aanrader om eens te lezen en het zal je ook nog levenslessen leren!

Leuk detail: elk hoofdstuk wordt vanuit een ander personage beschreven, of eigenlijk wordt elk personage in meerdere hoofdstukken geintroduceerd en leer je steeds meer over de dames.

[Elizabeth]

I think I'm just not the target market for this type of book.
It's about the relationship between newly divorced Teresa and her niece Christine, whose mother (and Teresa's sister) commited suicide several years ago. Shortly before Teresa's big Christmas Party, Christine finds her mother's handgun and decides to kill herself as well. SHe heads to Teresa's who figures it out and locks her chained up in the basement while she can sort things out. The story delves into mysticism and witches and food in old Italy. Making and thinking about food, Teresa comes up with the answer to how to bring Christine back to reality.
I just could not get into the book.

[Ceecee]

It was a satisfying read. Satisfying enough to earn 4 stars from me. Of course, my rating could have been biased by the fact that the title features my name on it. The girl is named Christine, and she's depressed? Could this be written about me? Kidding aside, I do remember well enough to know that I really liked the book, even though I can't remember every detail. It was a pleasant surprise. A book that ended with all the characters well. (And at the time, I so badly wanted to read something pleasant).

Surely recommended for a quiet,lazy afternoon.

[Ellie Revert]

Way too confusing for me in the beginning, and I was not in the mood to descend into a character's apparently serious mental problem. I did love her previous book, These Dreams. And the next book, Something Unpredictable.

[Koz]

My mom's 1st published novel, so you know it's good.

[Marianne Jay]

I was so excited about reading this book. I'm sorry to say it was a HUGE disappointment.

[Maxine Stone]

Yum!

[Amy]

MOMS Club of Sacramento-Natomas Park, CA book club

[Melanie]

Wonderful exploration of hunger in various forms through the friendships of women. Lovely!