Food is an integral part of Stanley Tucci’s life: from stracciatella soup in the shadow of the Pantheon, duck à l’orange eaten with fellow actors and cooked by singing Carmelite nuns, marinara sauce cooked between rehearsals and costume fittings, to meatballs shared with three generations of his family. In this entertaining glimpse into his life, Stanley Tucci records 12 months of eating, in restaurants, kitchens, events, with family, friends and sometimes alone. Did this month’s read get our tastebuds tingling?
There were some mixed views about What I Ate In One Year. Some of the group found it a bit dull, and most said that they had been dipping in and out of the book. One member had read the book all the way through and found it quite boring – a view shared by a reader who had given up partway. Another reader said how they’d really enjoyed the book, but hadn’t thought they would.
The book offered a glimpse into a very different lifestyle, with behind‑the‑scenes account of filming challenging our assumptions of the glamour of acting. Tucci’s description of the awkwardness of costumes (such as his cardinal regalia in Conclave) forcing him to restrict his eating and drinking as he wouldn’t be able to use a bathroom was definitely not something we had given any thought to. We also hadn’t really thought about actors bringing their own food and staying in self-catering accommodation, but agreed with his comments about arriving to prepare a meal, but finding that the kitchen only has blunt knives, suspect saucepans, and unidentifiable cutlery.
The audiobook version was narrated by the author, and some readers felt that listening rather than reading gave them far more of an insight into his personality, even making his complaints seem engaging and entertaining. His frustration with an airport delay (June 18th for anyone wanting to read it), which in the book comes across as a combination of grouchy and entitled, worked well when you could hear him ranting, rather than reading and trying to visualise it.
Tucci’s tendency towards name‑dropping in his fine‑dining anecdotes was a bit off‑putting to some of the group – and many of the people’s names meant nothing to us. However his deep love of Italian food came through the book, especially as it is follows on from his other books; Taste, The Tucci Cookbook, and The Tucci Table, as well as his documentary Searching for Italy. The recipes he included (such as Cod alla Livornese, Spaghetti with Tropea Onion) made the group think that we should be more adventurous and try authentic Italian food (rather than Italian chain restaurants). One reader said that the book made them feel like they should take more risks, and just because they hadn’t heard of something didn’t mean it wouldn’t taste good.
We gave this fancy food diary a slightly less than delicious 2/5 and would suggest trying the audio version rather than the print edition.
Next month’s read is Kindred by Octavia E Butler
A time travel tale with a difference. You may have read Audrey Niffenegger’s the Time Traveler’s Wife, but what if the story is turned around, and the time traveller goes from 70’s Los Angeles to a 19th century plantation in Maryland. What if the time traveller is an African-American woman? Described by the author as ‘a kind of grim fantasy’, we want to know what you think of Kindred.
Come and pick up your copy from the Library in GETEC and join our next Teams meeting on Tuesday 2nd June at 12.30pm.
Find out more about our reading groups here
or why not take a look at some of our previous book reviews?
We look forward to seeing you!