By Bread Alone

New Zealand author Sarah-Kate Lynch has come up with a quirky, original, touching charmer of a book about an English wife and mother who is anything but ordinary. Esme Stack makes sourdough bread every day of her life, and its texture, aroma and "ambience," if you will, measures out her days. But when the book opens, Esme cannot bring herself to bake her bread, something she has been doing for decades. Her husband Pog (Hugo) is worried sick; her irrascible and nasty father-in-law Henry is secretly worried, and her divinely unique 4-year-old son Rory is not right at all. As the story unfolds in delightfully fey meetings between Esme and her deceased Grandmother (you have to read it to believe it) and in flashbacks to the past, it gradually becomes clear that Esme and Pog have had a great tragedy: one that is barking at the heels of Esme's sanity. But what? On the outside, Esme is a ferociously organized housewife, baker, artist, nurturer of sick and lame animals (the bits about the donkey are hilarious). We know she once had a career, but not why she left it. We know she is holding something terrible at bay, but not what it is. The gradual breaking of Esme's shell of protection is heartbreaking in its intensity and almost joyous in its resurrection of her soul. This is simply a fabulous book. I am looking forward to reading "Blessed Are the Cheesemakers," by the same author! What a find!

I have heard dozens of great comments about this book but had put off reading it because I am a bit of a book snob, and thought it sounded pretty lightweight. When I went to hospital last week, I thought it would be the perfect read - nothing too challenging. In fact, it WAS the perfect read - totally gripping, believable (well...nearly!), very, very funny, and a real tearjerker. I was fascinated by the house (and even more so when I read that it actually exists), felt real compassion for all the characters - even crusty old father in law. I am trying to think of any criticisms to make about it, and failing. I read the other reviews, and am really surprised that one of the reviewers found it so poorly edited. The author has certainly been generous with the adjectives, but not in a way that detracts from the story at all. Read it yourself - I am now reading Sarah Kate Lynch's "Eating with the Angels" and enjoying it just as much. Must go to hospital again soon - it's great for my reading!

If you're looking for the perfect book to make you laugh - and cry - then you just have to read By Bread Alone. I promise you you won`t be able to put it down. A beautifully written story about Emse and her seemingly idyllic lifestyle, Sarah-Kate Lynch has created a delicious recipe to tug at your heartstrings. She has the gift of transporting you to other times and places and I swear I could actually taste the freshly baked bread as she was describing it! A treat for all the senses.

Esme, a former London magazine editor and now stay-at-home mom, lives in the country with her husband, Pog, her son Rory, her very crabby father-in-law, Henry and the enigmatic Granny Mac, the grandmother who has been Esme's only family since her mother committed suicide when Esme was a teenager. They live in a very unusual house--a former water tower converted to a house in the style of a dovecote, five narrow floors topped by a larger living space. 79 stairs to climb from top to bottom! At first glance their lives appear idyllic. Esme begins each day baking her own sourdough bread and the family thrives on it. But in reality they are all dealing, in their own dysfunctional ways, with a tradedy that befell them two years earlier. Lynch has done a superb job of bringing the reader into this family's story and while the ending is very satisfactory, you won't want to leave the characters.