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Summary
Summary
For better or worse, most of us grow up at the table. It is in this setting that Ruth Reichl's brilliantly written memoir takes its form. Tender at the Bone is the story of a life determined, enhanced and defined by unforgettable people, tales well told, and a passion for food. The journey begins with Reichl's mother, the notorious woman known as the Queen of Mold., and leads to Monsieur du Croix, the gourmand who saw his own passion for food in young Ruth. With infectious humor, restaurant critic Ruth Reichl whips up a savory memoir of her apprentice years.
Author Notes
Ruth Reichl was born in New York City on January 16, 1948. In 1970, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a M.A. in art history. She became a food writer and magazine editor for New West magazine. Later she worked for the Los Angeles Times, first as the restaurant editor and then food editor. She received two James Beard Awards. In 1993, she moved back to New York to become the restaurant critic for The New York Times. She was the editor in chief of Gourmet Magazine for ten years.
She is the author of the memoirs Garlic and Sapphires, Tender at the Bone, and Comfort Me with Apples and the novel Delicious! Her latest book, My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life, was published in 2015.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
YA-This gastronomic delight is best taken slowly so that readers can savor each word. Motivated by fear of her mother's bizarre cooking escapades ("She liked to brag about `Everything Stew,' a dish invented while she was concocting a casserole out of a two-week-old turkey carcass"), Reichl learned to cook early and her entertaining descriptions of kitchen disasters are sure to cause howls of laughter time and again. There were also some requisite difficulties, too, and readers will wince while reading of the author's weight battles and self-image problems while growing up; her college roommate's estrangement; and her mother's mental imbalances. Every job she took, from social work to commune cook, gave her one more piece of experience that eventually led to her current career, that of restaurant reviewer and writer extraordinaire. As an added bonus, this thoroughly enjoyable memoir also includes a handful of recipes that will make readers' mouths water.-Susan R. Farber, Ardsley Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Reichl discovered early on that since she wasn't "pretty or funny or sexy," she could attract friends with food instead. But that initiative isn't likely to secure her an audience for her chaotic, self-satisfied memoirs, although her restaurant reviews in the New York Times are popular. Reichl's knack for describing food gives one a new appreciation for the pleasures of the table, as when she writes here: "There were eggplants the color of amethysts and plates of sliced salami and bresaola that looked like stacks of rose petals left to dry." But when she is recalling her life, she seems unable to judge what's interesting. Raised in Manhattan and Connecticut by a docile father who was a book designer and a mother who suffered from manic depression, Reichl enjoyed such middle-class perks as a Christmas in Paris when she was 13 and high school in Canada to learn French. But her mother was a blight, whom Reichl disdains to the discomfort of the reader who wonders if she exaggerates. The author studied at the University of Michigan, earned a graduate degree in art history, married a sculptor named Doug, lived in a loft in Manhattan's Bowery and then with friends bought a 17-room "cottage" in Berkeley, Calif., which turned into a commune so self-consciously offbeat that their Thanksgiving feast one year was prepared from throwaways found in a supermarket dumpster. Seasoning her memoir with recipes, Reichl takes us only through the 1970s, which seems like an arbitrary cutoff, and one hopes the years that followed were more engaging than the era recreated here. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
The restaurant critic of the New York Times whips up a savory memoir of her apprentice years. Growing up in New York City and Connecticut during the 1950s, Reichl learned early ""that food could be dangerous."" Her manic-depressive mother favored weird mƿlanges crafted from culinary bargains of dubious freshness; throwing an engagement party for Reichl's half-brother, Mom served spoiled leftovers from Horn and Hardart that sent 26 people to the hospital. Reichl enjoyed safer food elsewhere: at her Aunt Birdie's, the apple dumplings of an African-American cook; at the home of a wealthy classmate from her Montreal boarding school, classic French cuisine. The descriptions of each sublime taste are mouthwateringly precise, and the recipes scattered throughout nicely reflect the author's personal odyssey. After a disorderly adolescence, she attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The education of her taste buds continued during trips to North Africa and Europe, a waitressing stint at a doomed French restaurant in Michigan, and impoverished early married life on New York's Lower East Side. In Berkeley, Calif., she worked at a collectively owned restaurant whose entire staff cooked, cleaned, and served such vintage '70s dishes as quiche and Indonesian fishball soup. Reichl describes these experiences with infectious humor, then achieves a deeper level of emotion and maturity when her story reaches the year 1977. That summer, she returned to New York and for the first time successfully rescued one of her mother's manic party efforts. In the fall, she became restaurant critic for a San Francisco magazine and found the voices of various people who had taught her about food echoing in her ears as she discovered the work her editor told her ""you were born to do."" The book closes with a moving scene in which Reichl eats a sumptuous lunch with two women as forceful and resilient as she has finally become. A perfectly balanced stew of memories: not too sweet, not too tart. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
New York Times restaurant critic Reichl understands the importance and significance of storytelling. Her memoir covers her early life, combining dozens of anecdotes with an occasional recipe. Reichl's storytelling mastery makes characters stand out vividly. Most memorable is her affectionate, exasperated portrait of her mother. Afflicted with manic depression, her mother prepared huge, elaborate dinners with aging foods from questionable sources, and her guests and family suffered from more than one bout of acute food poisoning. Reichl and her brother became masters of the art of pushing food about a plate in order to appear to be eating without actually ingesting anything. This talent no doubt proved useful in Reichl's later career. Reichl attended the University of Michigan, and her introduction to restaurants started in Ann Arbor with a stint of waitressing. The unpretentiousness of Reichl's prose has marked her Times success and makes her memoir equally satisfying. --Mark Knoblauch
Choice Review
In a note, Reichl, The New York Times restaurant critic, says that it was a family tradition to tell a good story even if the facts needed adjusting. She admits to adjusting some facts, and she does tell a good story. Her book is a collection of vignettes that all involve food as well as her experiences. They vary from protecting guests from her mother's cooking, learning how to cook, enjoying others' food, to her own varied cooking experiences. The episodes together are glimpses of her life that include living in New York City, Ann Arbor, and Berkeley, and travels in Europe. The narrative ends at the time that she became a restaurant critic. Reichl is obviously interested in both people and food, and she has combined those interests into an entertaining book about some of the experiences that have shaped her life. Some of the recipes offered vary from the standard for deviled eggs to the unusual "corned beef ham." For anyone who enjoys a good story. General readers. N. Duran; Illinois State University
Library Journal Review
From the New York Times food critic: growing up in love with food. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.