Nicole Mones
Though not a traditional chick lit novel, The Last Chinese Chef is a gustatory tale of a woman struggling to find herself in the chaos of loss and betrayal. The possibility that her late husband, whom she is still mourning, could be the father of a young daughter in China is almost unfathomable, but Maggie McElroy is determined to know the truth for both of their sakes.
In order to help finance her quest for the truth in China, she accepts a magazine assignment to interview a Chinese-American chef, Sam, who is on his own journey of food, family and honor. Through Sam and the story of his family, excellent Chinese cuisine and a great deal of personal strength, Maggie discovers her own personal strength.
Beyond a good story – The Last Chinese Chef brings up an interesting topic: what women from two different sides of the world will do for love. What a grieving woman would do for the memory of her husband and what a woman would do for the future of her daughter is intriguingly played out.
While reading this book – be prepared for serious Chinese food cravings. With the beautiful, descriptive imagery, you can almost smell the Chinese food cooking. In honor of both our book choice and Chinese New Year, we will meet Wednesday, January 28th at 7pm (our normal time and place) for discussion and some authentic, mouth-watering Chinese food endorsed by our very own Audrey Huang.
