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Shelf Number | Material Type | Copy | Shelf Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 641.5945 MEL | Recreational Reading | 1 | Standard shelving location | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
From failure to fusilli, this deliciously hilarious read tells the story of Giulia Melucci's fizzled romances and the mouth-watering recipes she used to seduce her men, and console herself when the relationships flamed out. From an affectionate alcoholic, to the classic New York City commitment-phobe, to a hipster aged past his sell date, and not one, but two novelists with Peter Pan complexes, Giulia has cooked for them all. She suffers each disappointment with resolute cheer (after a few tears) and a bowl of pasta (recipes included) and has lived to tell the tale so that other women may go out, hopefully with greater success, and if that's not possible, at least have something good to eat. Peppered throughout Giulia's delightful and often poignant remembrances are fond recollections of her mother's cooking, the recipes she learned from her, and many she invented in the throes of passion.
Author Notes
Giulia Melucci was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY where she still lives, but in a more fashionable neighbourhood. She is the former VP of PR for Harper's Magazine, and previously worked at Spy Magazine, Atlantic Monthly Press, Viking, Dutton and Scribner. Visit her website at http://www.ilovedilostimadespaghetti.com.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Melucci, a publicity executive, clearly knows her way around the cucina, and her clever memoir of being loved and left includes the recipes she associates with her exes. The recipes are mostly Italian, and the men are mostly losers, but listeners will have a good time laughing with Melucci at her various boyfriends' foibles (even as they wonder why such a smart and funny woman chooses the same type of childish man over and over). Melucci does a wonderful job narrating; her voice carries the listener through the first flush of new romance to the final indignities of a relationship gone wrong. The audio format does not work well for the recipes, however; listeners eager to cook these fabulous meals should get a copy of the print version to keep from rewinding the audio book repeatedly while jotting down recipes. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 26). (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
This little Italian girl from Brooklyn's Bay Ridge surely did go through a lot of men in her search for Mr. Right. She also went through a lot of pasta. By day, Melucci worked as a publicist in a glamorous but poorly paid Manhattan job. One by one, she found boyfriends, fed them well, and established relationships. Thus, she recapitulates the hoary truth about the path to a man's heart lying through his stomach. Hard as she tried, her relationships didn't last, foundering over serious issues such as alcoholism or fear of commitment. It's not for lack of her trying. She even took off work to create an Italian-influenced seder for a Jewish suitor. One reason for her constant disappointment lies in her affection for her late father, who gave her more love and support than she realized in her youth. Recipes included.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
This delectable memoir follows New Yorker Melucci through failed relationships from college to midlife, detailing the recipes she used to reel the men in, sustain the romances, then comfort herself when they fizzled out. The book's heart lies in Melucci's gradual accretion of culinary wisdom, which leads her to acknowledge her identity as a writer. Anyone who has wondered, "Will I ever find Mr. Right?" will appreciate this sprightly debut. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/08.]-E.B. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.