I finally managed to read Hungry by Grace Dent last month- part of non-fiction November and Netgalley November!
I’m not sure what took me so long, to be honest because it was a great book (even though I find it difficult to rate someone's life). The book begins with Grace growing up in Carlisle and the foods she ate as a child; even though I’m not a child of the same era, I loved her descriptions/feelings of getting treats from the shop and picking certain chocolate bars- it felt reminiscent of when I was child. To be honest, I was expecting it to be similar to Toast by Nigel Slater but it was quite different- in a good way as the book talked about her career and relationship with food as a critic, journalist and lover of food. I used to watch Masterchef a lot and often remember Grace judging with Jay Rayner, Charles Campion and William Sitwell amongst others, so I found it interesting to hear about it from the judge/critic side.
At times this was heart breaking, particularly as her parents have grown older and battled illness resulting in Grace moving North again, but I was so glad to read it and regret leaving it for as long as I did.
As well as reading the book, I also listened to the audio which was narrated by Grace herself. It included a short discussion/interview with Jay Rayner- definitely a bonus of listening to the audio!
Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not sure what took me so long, to be honest because it was a great book (even though I find it difficult to rate someone's life). The book begins with Grace growing up in Carlisle and the foods she ate as a child; even though I’m not a child of the same era, I loved her descriptions/feelings of getting treats from the shop and picking certain chocolate bars- it felt reminiscent of when I was child. To be honest, I was expecting it to be similar to Toast by Nigel Slater but it was quite different- in a good way as the book talked about her career and relationship with food as a critic, journalist and lover of food. I used to watch Masterchef a lot and often remember Grace judging with Jay Rayner, Charles Campion and William Sitwell amongst others, so I found it interesting to hear about it from the judge/critic side.
At times this was heart breaking, particularly as her parents have grown older and battled illness resulting in Grace moving North again, but I was so glad to read it and regret leaving it for as long as I did.
As well as reading the book, I also listened to the audio which was narrated by Grace herself. It included a short discussion/interview with Jay Rayner- definitely a bonus of listening to the audio!
Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.