Bittersweet Book

Ok, initially, I loved this book, until I got about halfway through. I loved it so much I put a hold on it for a library patron whom I thought would appreciate it. I suggested it to my sister as an idea for a fictionalized movie...

And it is a great book, I still love it, but no longer want to own it, reread it... Its called Day of Honey, by a woman named Annia Ciezadlo. Subtitled A memoir of food, love, and war. Its fascinating reading, because its about the Middle East, about Baghdad and Beirut. I recognized some of the foods she mentioned, just because of my own personal history...

Its a wonderful book, showing the human side of the conflicts, the people enmeshed in the conflicts.... the people trapped in war zones, and also showing how war affects people, not only journalists, but everyday citizens who are trying to go about their lives.

She frames the book with food. The foods of her childhood, mostly Midwestern, but with a salting of Greek, the food of her husband's family, the foods of Baghdad, of Beirut... So she talks about kibbe, about tea, about the foods of war and the foods of peace, and how the foods changed with the times and events...

She has recipes at the end. She has a great index as well. And this book is not only a memoir of the external, but you see how much she has grown and changed as a person through the book.... My one issue is that she seemed to get a little long-winded/rambling in the second half of the book. The first half was perfectly framed, then it started to get a little off-kilter...but got back on track again...

I would still highly reccommend this book.