Book Giveaway: “Blood, Bones & Butter”
New York chef Gabrielle Hamilton is coming to Hollins for a book signing on March 15th and a benefit dinner on March 16.
Hamilton is chef/owner of Prune a small bistro in New York’s East Village. In a 2005 New York Times Restaurant Review Frank Bruni called Prune, “a small restaurant with a large footprint.” He said that neighbors, strangers, chefs and food writers came because they were, “enchanted by the lack of pretense in Ms. Hamilton’s preparations.”
Not only is she a chef, but she is also a writer having earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Food & Wine, and in six volumes of the anthology, Best Food Writing.
A press release from Hollins says, “Random House is publishing “Blood, Bones & Butter” in March. The book has already been widely praised by America’s leading culinary authorities for its unflinchingly honest account of Hamilton’s unconventional, decades-long journey to find purpose and meaning in her life.”
In a wonderful review of the book, with an excerpt at the bottom, NPR writer Jennifer Reese says, “While her roasted marrowbones may be great, her prose is virtuoso.” Celebrity chef Mario Batali said, “I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this.” And Anthony Bourdain said, “Magnificent. Simply the best memoir by a chef ever. Ever.”
From the articles I’ve read, the book takes us into the kitchen fires and everywhere Hamilton goes, starting with a spring lamb roast when she was a kid. The book looks interesting on multiple levels including the praise for her writing.
And because the book looks so interesting, and the author is coming to Roanoke for a book signing, I’m excited to say I have three copies to give away.
In order to be entered into the contest please post a comment letting me know what you think makes a great memoir. Is it the person’s life or the writing that keeps you reading? What is the best memoir you’ve read? Who would you like to see write a memoir?
Also, if you know someone who would be interested in this book and would like to go to the signing, please let me know in a post and that person will be entered too. And please post and share this with your friends.
I will post the winners on Thursday, March 10, around noon. Please be on the lookout so you will receive your mailed copy by March 15.
The reading and book signing is Tuesday, March 15, at 7:00 pm in the Frances Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center at Hollins University.
The dinner is Wednesday, March 16, at 6:00 pm in the Kirby Riding Ring. Tickets are $100 per person and includes dinner, a copy of “Blood, Bones & Butter,“ and a tax-deductible donation to the Horizon Program.
March 3, 2011 - 6:00 AM
a good memoir is written in a down to earth way that keeps me interested.
Speaking of memoirs, I just saw this link. Billy Joel’s memoir is coming out in June. http://bit.ly/hcV7Ye
The writing is the most important factor in a memoir. If the author can make me feel the joy or pain or sorrow or amazement or other emotions from relating their life experiences, they have me hooked. Maya Angelou held me captive and George Burns made me laugh while Priscilla Presley made me want to burn her book. I think I would like to read a memoir by Robin Williams, although I’m not sure his manic behavior would translate into a good read.
A good memoir is one that may not be the most interesting story, but one that is truly told from the heart and soul and keep you entertained.
To me, a good memoir includes effective writing, self-analysis, insight, a sense of humor, and like any work, a story line that holds the reader’s interest. The author’s ability to uniquely describe his or her life as nobody else could is what makes me keep reading a memoir. I’m currently reading Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig and it has been my favorite memoir thus far. The author is honest about her struggles growing up with OCD but she also makes the reader laugh as she describes her teenage behaviors. I’d be very interested in reading more memoirs of otherwise ordinary people who overcame such obstacles and can tell their stories in such an inspiring and entertaining way.
A recent memoir I really enjoyed is “Just Kids” by Patti Smith.
Although I am usually drawn to memoirs written by “famous people”, I’m also enchanted by folks who tell their “ordinary story” extraordinarily. A great memoir has to be written from the heart, and if I “learn” something from it, that’s an added plus!
Patti Smith’s “Just Kids” floored me. So intimate and delicate, her book explores the art scene of Chelsea with her and her soulmate, Robert Mapplethorpe in the 1960′s and 70′s. I had never listened to Patti Smith before I picked up this book, and her memoir only made me want to know more about her art and music while capturing a significant, poignant era in her life. A book that was so deserving of the National Book Award. I have been dying to read “Blood, Bones, and Butter” ever since Anthony Bourdain raved after reading the galleys last summer!
I recently read Keith Richard’s “Life” and greatly enjoyed it. I learned more about music, life in the 60s (and beyond) than I could imagine.
Yay Tracy! I’ve been a Patti Smith fan since 1975 so really appreciate your comments. Start with her first album “Horses” and work your way down…still timeless.
Thanks for all the wonderful comments so far! Keep them coming!
What makes a great memoir, . (a) person’s life or the writing . . ?
– Writing. and more writing. A well crafted sentence does more to convey the thrill of living, even in its mundane details, than any dull account of adventure.
What is the best memoir you’ve read?
I’ll cop out with a tie: – West with the Night, Beryl Markham & – My Dark Places, James Ellroy. Starkly different lives, both scarily well written.
Who would you like to see write a memoir?
– Bob Dylan – might be frustrating as Bob is ruthlessly honest with his feelings but has shown he doesn’t care a whit about facts
I believe a good memoir is one that you can’t seem to put down. It has to grab your attention and the person must have a sense of humor!
A memoir that I recently read was Bush’s “Decision Points”. I wanted to get his insight into his 8 years in the oval office. Everyone has their opinion of him and I just wanted to make my own through his book.
I agree it is the writing that makes a good memoir,capturing either a moment in time or a life in prose is difficult but that is what makes the book special. I also like to feel like I really know the person once the read is over-for good or bad. I understand this person through the insights provided in the book. I think a memoir of anyone can be interesting provocative and entertaining if written well so I would like to see a memoir from any really great, really honest person who has a story!
In short, a good memoir is the life that someone else is living, but I am not. I love reading about farming, cooking, physics, economics, magic, history, philosophy, et cetera, with the belief that If I had chosen differently, I would be living those same lives. As it is, my life is very fulfilled … but a bit envious of those who live with apes, or who live in the treetops of Amazon forests, or who deliver medicine to Africa. My life, and my choices, are excellent … but I also believe that I could have been Wendel Barry or Gabrielle Hamilton or Dai Vernon or Dian Fossey or anyone else who is expert in the field who I am not. God bless them for writing their stories … so I can live their lives.
Thanks Elena!
I just read “An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination” about the author’s loss of her child while writing in France. Judging from the comments here, it is all the ingredients of a good memoir: the close examination of everyday life while undergoing a life-changing event. Elizabeth McCracken is already an extraordinary writer, but it was her honesty that kept me reading.
I think Julie Taymor (the director of Broadway’s Lion King and now Spiderman and the movie “Across the Universe”) would write an incredible memoir. She stages stories so beautifully and creatively; how do these ideas spring forth?
A great memoir is one were the author’s words immerse you into their lives. The images their words create help you to know and feel exactly who they are and how the came to be. Ruth Reichel’s Tender at the Bone was a great read and exactly what a memoir should be.
Now adding Patti Smith’s “Just Kids” to my reading list.