Book Review: The Best Cook in the World: Tales from my Momma's Table by Rick Bragg

From the book's blurb:
"Margaret Bragg does not own a single cookbook. She measures in "dabs" and "smidgens" and "tads" and "you know, hon, just some." She cannot be pinned down on how long to bake corn bread ("about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the mysteries of your oven"). Her notion of farm-to-table is a flatbed truck. But she can tell you the secrets to perfect mashed potatoes, corn pudding, redeye gravy, pinto beans and hambone, stewed cabbage, short ribs, chicken and dressing, biscuits and butter rolls. Many of her recipes, recorded here for the first time, pre-date the Civil War, handed down skillet by skillet, from one generation of Braggs to the next. In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story, and a recipe, writes Bragg, is a story like anything else."




My thoughts:
My children did not grow up near their grandparents on either side, but that does not stop them from remembering and talking about the good foods and smells they always remember from Mama and Papa's Southern home. Even son-in-law John tells of walking into their home for the first time and seeing and smelling two stoves overflowing with delicious southern food and two refrigerators housing desserts. Real food. Good old-fashioned food. 

That's basically what Rick Bragg is talking about in The Best Cook in the World. Of course, he thinks that title belongs to his mother. In true Rick Bragg fashion, he has given us down home country southerners, his family,'s stories, a glimpse back into the day, an aha moment because we had the same experiences at our best cook's house, and a taste of home. Get ready Alabama families and all Southerners, even those who had to get here later in life or who still live in other places. This is the book you must have. Full of memories, stories, and 74 Southern recipes!

Now available at book outlets and online.

Book Review: Occupied by Kurt Blorstad: A Novel Based on a True Story

From the Books Blurb: 
As WW II breaks out, a father finds himself in the U.S. while his wife and sons are home in occupied Norway. Based on the son’s true-life journals from 1935-1945, this is the story of a family separated by war and uncertainty.

My thoughts:
Occupied is told through one continuous flashback which shows 70 year old Trygve taking his son to the place in Norway that means so much to him and telling his story. It is formatted as a journal might be; each chapter has as its title, the date. This is very helpful and one gets the feeling of reading the actual journal. That feeling is so authentic that in a few instances I thought the narrative was rather long and drawn out, just as a young boy might have written in. This only happened a couple of times and certainly did not detract from the overall reading experience.

As Occupied begins we meet the young brothers, Trygve and Thoralf, and other members of their immediate family in Norway. The boys are portrayed in such a way that the reader feels they know them, or at least someone like them. They're cute, rambunctious, and totally believable. I can just picture those boys questioning their relative about the journey to the bus station. "This isn't the road to the bus station." They are then told that they will be going by small boat across the fjord  to reach the bus station. I would have loved that experience. 

We watch the boys grow from youngsters unaware of the world falling apart around them to young men who want to help protect their world. From small childlike activities that help the war effort to clandestine activities of teenagers, the boys are caught up in the war. 

Many countries in Europe have their WWII stories overshadowed by larger countries, especially in marketplace literature. This story introduces us not only to two special boys, but to the country of Norway and its people as they traverse the dangerous landscape of WWII. It was a welcome adventure into a less traveled land.

I don't think the book was written as a middle school level book, but I think it should be considered at that level as well as for adults. Often middle school boys cannot find historical fiction books with protagonists they can relate to. Here is one that middle school history and literature teachers should consider for their male readers. With some format editing of the longer paragraphs and the margins in the print version (middle schoolers do still like white spaces when reading), I think this could be an excellent middle school historical fiction and the genre needs more of those.

Occupied will be published April 9, 2019. You may pre-order your copy through various book vendors.