Author: Karen Weinreb
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0-312-37925-4

Click Here To Purchase The Summer Kitchen

Boy, do the powers that be know how to pick the reviewer, aye!  I am from the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and I not only understood every aspect and scene of this book, but the pages also made me want to go back home to that world of blatant pomposity.

The Summer Kitchen is a debut novel for Ms. Weinreb, and it’s definitely a good one.  The basic elements of a good fiction novel are all in there:  Woman’s husband works on Wall Street and does something completely illegal while working with his hedge fund.  Hence, the wife with everything loses everything.  Now, we’re talking money, here.  We’re talking about the fixated world of the rich New Yorkers who live in bedroom communities far from the city (usually because their mistresses live in the heart of Manhattan).  These are men who are masters of their domain, but do not want to lose the 3.2 kids (going to prep school), and the mansion that sits near the Village Green, and the wife who spends her days on the local committees but will drop their friends in a second if they fall off the “ladder” of wealth and power.

Nora Banks is one of those wives, and when her husband is sent into the prison system, she must work her way back up the ladder or throw in the towel and move far away from the two-faced women that surround her.  Her saving grace?  She has two.  One being her fantastic maid, Beatriz.  This wonderful woman who was just maid and nanny becomes Nora’s best friend in her time of need and helps her resurrect the woman Nora desperately wants to be.  It’s a wonderful relationship to read about.  The Second saving grace is Nora’s Summer Kitchen.  She can make food and baked goods that will literally send a person into Heaven when they bite into the delicious creations.  The writer does so well with the descriptive work on the baking scenes that I wanted to crawl into the pages and try everything for myself.  If you are dieting in any way, I warn you, after reading this you will run – not walk – to the nearest bakery and ruin all the good work you’ve done.

A debut novel worth the read.  Enjoy!