The Cook
by Maylis de Kerangel
Translated by Sam Taylor
2016
Farrar,Straus, and Giroux
4.0 / 5.0

This is a memoir, written by a fictionalized cook, Mauro, and his culinary career in Berlin. Learning to bake cakes at 10 with no recipe, he went on to various jobs in restaurants, until finally opening one of his own. After 10 years he burnt out and sold it.

This is amazingly deep for a novel that is about 100 pages. Mauro is vivid, earnest, humble and so easy to like. His career you want to follow.
Entertaining and engaging. ( )

You can feel the constant thrum of energy just below this man's surface. ( )

This was a shortie, an atmospheric little translated novel about a young man with a lifelong love of cooking who approaches the profession from a bunch of oblique angles, unsure of where he wants to land. Form follows function here—the book itself flashes in and out of brilliantly illuminated scenes from his life, almost like sights glimpsed from a train window (and in fact the novel opens on a train, so that might not be so fanciful of an analogy). Told from the point of view of an unidentified close friend, it follows Paolo through the places he works, and then owns, during his early career as a cook or chef, and the episodic narration really gets at how intense—both wonderful and awful—working in a kitchen is at any level. Great food descriptions, too. Not sure how long de Kerangal could have sustained the story past the novella stage, but it works the way it is: a tasting menu, a series of amuse-bouches, rather than a heavy meal. ( )

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The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Sam Taylor) is a fictional biography of Mauro, a young man who dreams of working as a cook / chef. Ms. de Kerangal is a prize winning French author.

Mauro always wanted to cook, he loves food and the process to make it edible. Over fifteen years Mauro works all over the world, Paris, Thailand, Burma and more honing his craft.

The story, told through the eyes of a friend, follows Mauro from childhood where he bakes cakes, to his teen age years, his jobs in the industry and a nervous breakdown. The friend, in love with Mauro, documents these events in vivid detail.

If I learned anything from The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Sam Taylor) is that I never want to work in a kitchen. I do enjoy cooking and baking breads, but I never had the desire to punish myself as a professional in that industry.

This is a short book, a fast read, but very lyrical and imaginative. Mauro, the subject of this book, loves to cook and tries to find himself through various cuisines throughout the world. Even venturing into opening his own restaurant.

Mauro’s life is intense, always a struggle in a fast paced world which he thrives on. Unlike many in his line of work, Maruro does not take it lightly when being humiliated and has the confidence and ability to simply walk out on when being abused.

The dedication which is needed to become a chef is something which I always found admirable, and a bit crazy as well. The hospitality industry can be unforgiving, at best and it takes a committed, hardworking, and a diligent person to be successful in it. ( )

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Sam Taylor) is a fictional biography of Mauro, a young man who dreams of working as a cook / chef. Ms. de Kerangal is a prize winning French author.

Mauro always wanted to cook, he loves food and the process to make it edible. Over fifteen years Mauro works all over the world, Paris, Thailand, Burma and more honing his craft.

The story, told through the eyes of a friend, follows Mauro from childhood where he bakes cakes, to his teen age years, his jobs in the industry and a nervous breakdown. The friend, in love with Mauro, documents these events in vivid detail.

If I learned anything from The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal (translated by Sam Taylor) is that I never want to work in a kitchen. I do enjoy cooking and baking breads, but I never had the desire to punish myself as a professional in that industry.

This is a short book, a fast read, but very lyrical and imaginative. Mauro, the subject of this book, loves to cook and tries to find himself through various cuisines throughout the world. Even venturing into opening his own restaurant.

Mauro’s life is intense, always a struggle in a fast paced world which he thrives on. Unlike many in his line of work, Maruro does not take it lightly when being humiliated and has the confidence and ability to simply walk out on when being abused.

The dedication which is needed to become a chef is something which I always found admirable, and a bit crazy as well. The hospitality industry can be unforgiving, at best and it takes a committed, hardworking, and a diligent person to be successful in it. ( )