An
assortment of fond kitchen memories from across the country, Phyllis Pellman Good's "Mom and Me in the Kitchen: Memories of Our Mothers' Kitchens" reads like
an extended Mother's Day card.
It is an earnest reminder of relationships
forged early on and the influences our parents have. But this sentimental look
back, with so many different voices in such brief instances, proves unsatisfying.
Reminiscences abound of mothers and mealtimes — when "stuffed shells,
lasagna, chicken and rice dishes, and homemade tuna casserole made many
appearances" — of itinerant childhoods and immigrant flavors.
The women
discuss everything from birthdays and cooking blunders: a seven-year-old gets a
sunshine cake, "three layers with a wonderful custard between the
layers" and soft yellow frosting; elsewhere a teenager asked to follow a
recipe that called for a clove of garlic adds ground cloves and garlic instead.
What Good's book does not provide, however, is significant context for the
women's stories, so we never gain a strong enough sense of who they are as
individuals. The collection doesn't lack for breadth but sorely lacks depth. It
presents a composite sketch of motherhood that inevitably leaves us wanting
more.
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