A Recipe for Family (Tori Haschka, S&S)

A Recipe For Family is food writer Tori Haschka’s second novel. It brims with beautiful descriptions of food and the role that it plays in our lives. Each chapter heading, starting with Tepid Peppermint Tea and ending with Hot Tea, references the name of a recipe cooked, consumed or talked about in the chapter. A mother and son discuss the future over a cinnamon toast sandwich; roast chicken and potatoes create a sense of welcome, belonging and comfort for a stranger far from home; and a red lentil dahl has repercussions that are devastating rather than delicious. Haschka’s depiction of contemporary motherhood is startlingly raw and real as the novel centres on the daily life of protagonist Stella as she balances work, life and family. The novel features the cutthroat world of online local community forums with all their differing and at times barbed opinions, thinly veiled behind the username ‘Anon’—or not veiled at all. The story includes domestic scenarios familiar to any parent, from dinner parties to infectious diseases, all of which must be juggled with maintaining a life of one’s own. Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton or Haschka’s first novel Grace Under Pressure, A Recipe for Family serves up a main course of reality with a side of humour, leaving the reader satiated.

Kate Frawley is a bookseller and a manager at The Sun Bookshop.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews