For all the talk about realism in fiction, it is something special to step into a beautifully and intricately imagined fictional world. This is a very inventive novel about a family candy business narrated by a woman who knows all its secrets. I became immersed in Alice's world and learned a lot about the candy business, spend time with an array of interesting characters, and picked up some history about World War II and Madagascar along the way.
Everyone's Notes
KarenWall
on
True Confections: A Novel
KarenWall
on
True Confections: A Novel
What better for post Valentine reading than a novel about candy?
5 months ago
lisapeet
on
True Confections: A Novel
A funny, edgy book. The narrator, Alice Ziplinsky, is so perfectly off-kilter - she's both sympathetic and disconcerting, often at the same time - that she lends a slightly funhouse feeling to the story's telling. This dynastic epic of a candy-making family encompasses immigration, assimilation, success, failure, racism, inclusion, and everything you ever wanted to know about the candy business, all skillfully interwoven. And Alice's weird, funny, almost-perfectly-reasonable voice is the perfect medium. You pay attention, because Alice is the kind of narrator you want to keep an eye on, and in the process the story unwinds vividly. This is smart, out of the ordinary and fun - recommended whether you have a sweet tooth or not.
5 months ago