Lillian and her restaurant have had a way of bringing people together. We read about Al, Chloe, Isabella, Finnegan, Tom, Louise, and Lillian. Their lives blended together in a family, where members are chosen rather than born into it.
As you read about Al, the accountant, whose fascination with numbers leads him to an unhappy marriage. His journey takes you to the meeting of Lillian and how their friendship flourished from the start of her restaurant, through its growth and into its present day.
Then onto Chloe, Lillian's sous-chef and her journey through heartbreak and showing up at Isabella's house late one night after a break up with her boyfriend. Finally the eldest of the group, Isabella, while having Chloe live with her could not have come at a better time for her. Her memories are slowly fading away. Then in comes Finnegan, who could blend into surroundings, despite his height, whose the keeper of other people's stories.
And let's not forget about Lillian. Who by the age of twelve, her cooking had become her family. Teaching her more about life than her absent father or her mother ever could. At the age of sixteen, after her mother's passing, Lillian's cooking had given her homes. Until Pierre who gave Lillian her first job as a prep cook. From there her dream of cooking for herself had been born. The only thing Lillian didn't factor in was an unexpected surprise for her and Tom.
Erica Bauermeister is a new author for me. I found THE LOST ART OF MIXING very easy to follow, even though I had not read the previous novel that this is a continuation of. I loved reading how each of these characters started out and ultimately ended up at the restaurant.
Lillian and her restaurant have a way of drawing people together. There’s Al, the accountant who finds meaning in numbers and ritual; Chloe, a budding chef who hasn’t learned to trust after heartbreak; Finnegan, quiet and steady as a tree, who can disappear into the background despite his massive height; Louise, Al’s wife, whose anger simmers just below the boiling point; and Isabelle, whose memories are slowly slipping from her grasp. And there’s Lillian herself, whose life has taken a turn she didn’t expect. . . . Their lives collide and mix with those around them, sometimes joining in effortless connections, at other times sifting together and separating again, creating a family that is chosen, not given. A beautifully imagined novel about the ties that bind—and links that break—The Lost Art of Mixing is a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.
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