Dirt

I did enjoy reading this. The sections describing his family adapting to life in Lyon, learning French, making friends, going to school, were really engaging. The descriptions of the city, its food and history were likewise interesting.

But the book also felt a bit disjointed. For example, near the end of the book, Buford takes a trip to a lake where a unique freshwater fish can be found. He goes to some trouble to convince the local fisherman to take him out on the lake, however the next page Buford is instead tracking down he local flour miller, without ever again mentioning the lake or describing the fishing he went to such lengths to experience.

I also found his defense of the abusive working conditions he experienced at a top tier kitchen to be strange and off putting. (Where pots are thrown at workers, people are regularly hit, name calling and cursing or expected, all in the name of holding up some ideal of cuisine.) Kudos to Hortense for getting out of there and getting into the fashion industry. I imagine her perspective on that kitchen would have been a lot less favorable that Buford's.