Love & Saffron by Kim Fay.
Synopsis from Goodreads.
The #1 Indie Next Pick, in the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road and Meet Me at the Museum, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.
When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter--as well as a gift of saffron--to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she's never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.
Food and a good life--they can't be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen's decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen's friendship--a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.
A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.
My Review
Love & Saffron is told in epistolary format with letters back and forth between two women, Imogen and Joan. They bond over food and recipes and their friendship grows over time as they experience hardships in their life and share these with each other through their written letters. They share their passion for cooking and food among other things with each other.
This book is definitely a quick read and the letter format makes for easy reading and the friendship and connection between Imogen and Joan kept me turning pages. An all around charming novel. I definitely suggest reading the authors note and the additional materials at the end of the novel. These make for a fun and interesting read at the end of the book.
My Rating: 4/5
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Book Details
Author: Kim Fay.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam & Sons.
Publication Date: Feb 8, 2022.
Genre: Fiction. Historical Fiction. Food. Cooking. Contemporary Fiction. Historical.
Edition: Hardcover.
Pages: 208.