My Nepenthe Book Review by ChristineMM

Title: My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big SurMy Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur

Author: Romney Steele
ISBN: 978-0740779145

Full Retail Price: $35.00

My Star Rating: 5 stars out of 5 – I Love It

Summary Statement: A Wonderful Escape Read of Storytelling, Memoir and Food with Great Photos and an Artistic Layout

I enjoy good storytelling and reading memoirs, and I use cookbooks while baking and cooking from scratch and that is why I thought I may enjoy this book. Indeed, I did enjoy it. This book is a combination memoir and cookbook, telling the family stories and history of the famous Nepenthe restaurant in the Big Sur. The artistic layout and excellent photographs of the foods which the recipes are provided for makes this book worthy of leaving out on the coffee table for browsing.

I read the book cover to cover and in so doing was educated about the history of the Fassett family and of how Nepenthe came into being and its evolution over time. True to the title, this is a personal story, a nostalgic, romantic telling by a person who grew up on the property with the restaurant a major part of her life.

The storytelling goes along at a good pace, not ever becoming boring. I found it great reading when I was in a relaxed mood and felt like being swept away to another place and time. Prior to that, when I was trying to rush through it or skim it, I had trouble getting into the book. I had to be in a laid back state of mind and in the mood to escape from reality a bit and do some armchair traveling and imaginary cooking and eating. It was a pleasure to read!

The recipes are arranged in order of how the stories appear in the book and the history is told in chronological order. So, early recipes for menu items served at Nepenthe are early in the book, newer recipes are at the end. As stories are told about family celebrations, those recipes appear. The latest addition to the restaurant, author Romney Steele’s Café Amphora appears near the end of the book.

An alphabetical index of recipes appears at the back so readers can find the recipes quickly when using the book as a cookbook.

Again I really enjoyed this book when I slowed down from my hectic pace and took the time to read it cover to cover. If you like reading memoir and good storytelling mixed with photos and recipes for good food and drink you’ll enjoy this book.