Random Things Tours – Book Review – Good Taste by Caroline Scott

“Josephine Baker had made him cry.”

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 432

Date of Publication: 13 October 2022

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

My Review Summary: A lovely book with a relatable main character.

📖PLOT SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS📖

You can tell a lot about a person from what they like to eat..

When Stella Douglas, author of a much-loved but not very successful biography of a forgotten cookery writer, is summoned to see her editor in London, she is dreading being told her writing career is over before it’s even started. But much to her surprise, she finds she is being commissioned to write another book – this time a history of food in England and how the English like to eat. It’s to be quintessentially English and will remind English housewives of the old ways, and English men the glory of their country. The only problem is – all English food is really from elsewhere. 

So Stella sets about inviting recipes from all corners of England, in the hope of discovering a hidden culinary gem. But what she discovers is oatcakes and gravy and lots of lots of potatoes. 

Longing for something more thrilling, she heads off to speak to the nation’s housewives. But when her car breaks down and the dashing and charismatic Freddie springs to her rescue, she is led in a very different direction…

Full of wit and life, Provenance is a story of discovery, of a modern England emerging from the past and one woman’s desire to make her own way as a modern woman. 

💭THOUGHTS💭

I was excited to be a part of this Blog Tour because I have come to realise that I enjoy reading books that have food in them. I have read a few books recently with food involved and I love the way that the food is described. For me it adds something extra to the story, something that makes it more grounded. 

The writing in this book was light, yet emotional at times. I loved the different styles of writing that together made up this story (alongside the main character narrating the story you had letters from the public telling their individual stories). There was a lot of description that made you really feel like you were there with the character. Whilst there was a lot of description, it added to the story and went well with the character and her journey. I also enjoyed that the language used was of it’s time. There were words and references that I didn’t recognise as of this present time and I liked being transported to the 1930s via the language. 

The chapters were a mix of lengths. They were generally shorter at the beginning and the end and longer in the middle. I therefore felt that I was introduced to the story quickly and the end was quickly wrapped up. I liked that at the end of some of the chapters you got to see the letters that the main character had sent in to her from the public. It broke up the story, yet added to it at the same time. You were able to see what the character was seeing and could understand the difficulties that she was having in trying to write her book. 

I loved the main character. She was very relatable and I enjoyed being on her journey with it’s ups and downs. It is quite interesting (and sad) that the things that happened to her are still happening today. I did start to feel quite nervous for her at some points and I think that that is the mark of a good writer! It was more emotional than I thought it was going to be, but I was satisfied with the ending. 

The settings were excellent. I loved the descriptions of the places and the main character’s thoughts whilst she was in those places. I enjoyed being taken round the UK and it was eye-opening to see the similarities of what people ate despite being miles apart. 

Overall a lovely book with a good mix of adventure and emotion. 

📖THE AUTHOR📖

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