Zoe Adams

DNF at 50%. Wow. This really was not my cup of tea at all. How bad could a book named after one of the best foods ever invented actually be? Turns out, pretty bad. I hated the way this was written; was not expecting magical realism, and just genuinely did not like anything about it - plot, characters, writing - even the font got on my nerves!

I really struggled with this. The author just tried to do so much. While the writing was lyrical, and oddly comforting, quite independently from the meaning being conveyed, I ultimately lost all interest.

2.75 stars. What a completely dull, forgettable, pointless book.

3.5 stars. This was a passable historical fiction novel nearly ruined by absolutely appalling narration. The intonation was so bad I was convinced this was read by AI - although seemingly not. This lacked depth, or nuance, but it was readable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this - and loved how the political reflected, and impacted on, the personal - and vice versa. But Ma drove me crazy, and the ending seemed like such a let-down after such a mammoth book - which really could have been shorter. Overall, a satisfying read, if a bit of an anti-climax.