La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture

What a wonderful book! Grabs your attention from the first page and never lets go. Fun and a little racy! Try it you'll like it!

Following brilliantly in the romantic, senusal writing styles of Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, and Joanne Harris, with their equal flair and cache for magical realist nibbles, Lily Prior has created an unforgettable woman in her hot and voluptuous librarian named Rosa Fiore. From her agrarian roots in the sunswept Sicilian countryside, learning to cook in more than one sense of the word, to her rare books librarian days, when she meets L'Inglese, the mysterious Englishman who releases her oceans of pent-up passion, Rosa is a complex and loveable human being, despite her many quirks and foibles. The story is consummately readable and lots of fun; the prose drips with all the sensability (no, this is NOT Jane Austen!) of olive oil and tomato sauce in its richness and savory flavors. The few sex scenes (not in the least gratuituous and again immaculately written) are erotic, without being pornographic and hot, hot, hot. A highly literate romp through the kitchen.

A well developed character (Rosa) whom I liked and cared about, delicious recipes I could almost taste (and look forward to making), passionate lovers, humorous family members and neighbors, and beautifully rendered portraits of Italian landscapes in various seasons that transported me there. Most of all, Lily Prior, weaves an excellent story that kept me interested from the first page to the last. I savored every chapter like a fine wine. Looking forward to her next book. I read this book after reading another fine story with food as its central theme that other readers might also enjoy: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. Our book club (The Roudy Readers) is reading either or both of these great books for the month of May.Bon Appetite!

La Cucina is a clever, deliciously, wonderfully sexy book. Prior did an excellent job of protraying the Sicilian lifestyle and traditions, in the engaging story of one Rosa Fiore.This book carries you from hilarity to sympathy and tears, back to joy once more. I loved the odd eccentricity of the various characters, there is so much imagination and emotion involved. This was the most interesting read that I've experienced in quite awhile. I would recommend this book to anyone with a grand sense of humor, who can appreciate great food, sex and yes, even a little intrigue.

This book is so refreshing! It's a very engaging, believable story of love in Sicily in the early part of the last century... I have sometimes wondered what it would be like for an author to take on writing a realistic love story about a middle aged, overweight "matron" and Lily Prior has done a fabulous job of writing a heroine that just leaps out of the pages... And if you love food and love sex! Well, it's delicious and steamy and highly erotic to hear all the descriptions of the creations our heroine prepares... So enjoy! (I think I put on weight just reading about the food!)