I think I got this book recommendation from NPR, describing it as a bottle centered around the power of food to bind a family together – something like that. Perhaps I misremembered the description because this book wasn’t very much like that.
Instead this book is full of people trying to look like they know what they are doing – one of the book’s strong points is the snappy dialogue that feels natural. But in actuality they are just flailing through life. There is an inordinate amount of sex in this book – more than I think is necessary to get across the point. One of the characters is fighting through grief by having sex with as many people as possible. But the oversexed vibe extends to many of the other characters as well.
I didn’t like any of the main characters – their motivations unclear and sort of existing in between sexual encounters. I did like that this novel had plenty of Asian influence – you can tell the writer is an admirer of Japan and Korea.
But in the end the story wasn’t compelling enough to make me recommend the book. The food references seem shoehorned in and are only offered as a break from the story rather than being part of the story (as I had expected).
Next I am reading Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista.
