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A Traitor to Memory
Elizabeth George
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ASIN: 0553582364
Release Date: 2002-08-27 |
Amazon.com
Families can be monstrous and their secrets dangerous, as New Scotland Yard detectives Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers have discovered. The pair are puzzled that the Hampstead police need their help investigating the vehicular murder of a middle-aged divorcée, until they find evidence that one of their own superiors once knew the dead lady very well indeed. But the circumstances of Eugenie Davies's murder appear to center on her children: Gideon, a famous violinist now undergoing psychoanalysis for his sudden inability to play, and the long-dead Sonia, a disabled baby whose drowning death was shrouded in secrecy for her virtuoso brother's sake--at the insistence of their father, Richard--but also trumpeted in the press as the infamous "nanny murder" of its day. The nanny, Katja Wolff, has recently been released from prison, having never spoken of the night Sonia drowned. Lynley, Havers, and their colleague Winston Nkata know that whatever secret Katja Wolff has been hiding must be the cause of Eugenie Davies's death, but before they can find out what it is, another deliberate hit-and-run occurs in their own backyard.
The suspects are many: Wolff; Eugenie's most recent suitor; her ne'er-do-well brother; Gideon's longtime mentor, who kept in contact with Eugenie in the years after she abandoned her husband and son; and a gentleman of many monikers who boarded with the family at the time of the drowning. Even Richard Davies, the dead woman's ex-husband, is under suspicion. But it's violinist Gideon Davies's quest into his family's past, undertaken to save his career, that sets the book's events in motion. His own telling of the story runs parallel to the author's own voice but is time-shifted. Along with the details of the police investigation, this paints a disturbing picture of what happens when the truth is obscured and a child's normal instincts sublimated.
A Traitor to Memory is massive, and it's hard not to spot a few flaws in a plot so complex. The dual narratives force abnormally slow reading, the motive for one murder and two near-murders is inexplicably glossed over, and many doughty Lynley/Havers fans will still wonder by the end what exactly happened in Sonia's bathroom. Yet Elizabeth George orchestrates the family-secrets theme like a maestro, and at least one of the second-chair players--such as Katja Wolff's beautiful, scarred lover Yasmine Edwards--may be a rising star in the series. George's fans will no doubt find this 11th entry in the series worthy of a standing ovation. --Barrie Trinkle
Book Description
When Eugenie Davies is killed by a driver on a quiet London street, her death is clearly no accident. Someone struck her with a car and then deliberately ran over her body before driving off, leaving nothing behind but questions.
What brought Eugenie Davies to London on a rainy autumn night? Why was she carrying the name of the man who found her body? Who among the many acquaintances in her complicated and tragic life could have wanted her dead? And could her murder have some connection to a twenty-eight-year-old musical wunderkind, a virtuoso violinist who several months earlier suddenly and inexplicably lost the ability to play a single note?
For Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, whose own domestic life is about to change radically, these questions are only the first in an investigation that leads him to walk a fine line between personal loyalty and professional honor.
Assigned to the case by his superior, Superintendent Malcolm Webberly, Lynley learns that Webberly's first murder investigation as a DI over twenty years ago involved Eugenie Davies and a sensational criminal trial. Yet what is truly damaging is what Webberly already knows and no doubt wants Lynley to keep concealed.
Now the pressure is on Lynley to find Eugenie Davies' killer. For not only is he putting his own career into jeopardy, but he is also attempting to safeguard the careers of his longtime partners Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata. Together, they must untangle the dark secrets and darker passions of a family whose history conceals the truth behind a horrific crime.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
To Read or Not to Read.......2007-06-15
Ms. George has always had a tendency to "drop the ball" when it comes to the denouement of her mystery. This book is no exception. If there is anything I cannot stand, it is a "padded" book, a book that makes one wonder if Ms. George is being paid "by the word!"
Wading through the convoluted plot of A Traitor to Memory is like reading War and Peace backward!
I would not recommend this book to my "worst enemy!"
Loved the story--disappointed & confused at ending.......2007-05-14
This review may give away too much of the plot if you haven't read it yet. A Traitor to Memory was such an absorbing novel that I didn't mind the 1000+ pages--more to look forward to! But I was also puzzled by some of the character twists. For example, Gideon seems to be a somewhat mature person with redeeming qualities in that he continues to probe for the truth about the original murder. He is seeking help not just to resume his playing but to really figure out what is going on (a sign of some insight and maturity). And this, despite his lifetime of living in his father's world of deceit and dominated by a single pursuit. But in the end, Gideon reverts back to the maturity level of that spoiled child when he reacts to Libby's surprise. And Libby herself seems to do a complete reversal of her character with her destructive choice at the end. I really wish more loose ends were tied up at the end. What happened with Malcomb? Was Jill's pregnancy normal? What happened between Katya and Gideon? And Raphael's role seemed to promise more than was ultimately delivered. What about his son? Was there ever any real hope for a relationship between Gideon and Libby? It seemed like the book ended in the middle of a chapter. I'm hoping that subsequent novels will clear up some of these questions. I'm still a huge fan of George, and have the rest of her novels stacked next to my bed waiting for their turn.
Good to the last drop.......2007-04-18
I've found very few novels of this length to be enjoyable from beginning to end. James Clavell's Shogun and Whirlwind, come to mind, as does George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords. Most mystery thrillers that run over 400 pages become repetitious and tedious, and I find myself skimming rapidly to the end.
Elizabeth George's A Traitor to Memory is one of those rare novels whose story justifies its length. This book grabbed me from the first page and held my interest until the very end. I did not find it slow or dull at any time. I stopped watching TV for the few days I read it.
I should point out that this was the first book of George's that I've read, so I was unfamiliar with the series characters. In this story, George changes the pace: Lynley and Havers are role players, almost relegated to the sidelines of the story, which focuses on a complex family mystery.
So far I've gone back to read three earlier volumes in the series, and I still like this one the best. It's the most multi-layered and absorbing, more like the work of Ruth Rendell at her best than a conventional British detective novel. The love quadrangle between Lynley, St. James, Lady Helen and Deborah does not interest me as much as the new characters developed here.
And the ending is perfect.
There are some minor details that aren't completely clear, but this novel is more about family secrets than about "who-dunnit." I'm continuing to read the earlier books, but I'm still waiting for the series to get up to this level.
If you're a longtime series fan, you may be disappointed in this one, as there's not much about Lynley and Havers. But for me, it was one of the most memorable reads of the last two years, and made me an enthusiastic Elizabeth George fan.
Very good .......2007-02-23
I always enjoy this author's Inspector Lynley stories. Complex characters and very good mysteries.
Still better than her American competition.......2006-11-19
Well, I finished the 1000+ pages in my edition, so there were things worth hanging in for. It's hard to read Elizabeth George without being grateful that I'm not reading Grafton or Cornwell. Her sophistication in describing the worlds of her characters and their idiosyncratic humanity always adds depth to the plot's unfolding. However I was glad when a new chapter began and it WASN'T a therapy session (maybe because I'm a psychologist). Hard to believe that a bit of editing wouldn't have been an improvement. Nevertheless this effort by Elizabeth George is still way better than most of her competition.
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A Traitor to Memory
Elizabeth George
Manufacturer: RH Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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ASIN: 0739349929
Release Date: 2007-08-07 |
Book Description
When Eugenie Davies is killed by a driver on a quiet London street, her death is clearly no accident. Someone struck her with a car and then deliberately ran over her body before driving off, leaving nothing behind but questions.
What brought Eugenie Davies to London on a rainy autumn night? Why was she carrying the name of the man who found her body? Who among the many acquaintances in her complicated and tragic life could have wanted her dead? And could her murder have some connection to a twenty-eight-year-old musical wunderkind, a virtuoso violinist who several months earlier suddenly and inexplicably lost the ability to play a single note?
For Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, whose own domestic life is about to change radically, these questions are only the first in an investigation that leads him to walk a fine line between personal loyalty and professional honor.
Assigned to the case by his superior, Superintendent Malcolm Webberly, Lynley learns that Webberly's first murder investigation as a DI over twenty years ago involved Eugenie Davies and a sensational criminal trial. Yet what is truly damaging is what Webberly already knows and no doubt wants Lynley to keep concealed.
Now the pressure is on Lynley to find Eugenie Davies' killer. For not only is he putting his own career into jeopardy, but he is also attempting to safeguard the careers of his longtime partners Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata. Together, they must untangle the dark secrets and darker passions of a family whose history conceals the truth behind a horrific crime.
From the Hardcover edition.
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A Traitor to Memory
Elizabeth George
Manufacturer: New English Library Ltd
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ASIN: 0340767081 |
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A Traitor to Memory
Manufacturer: Books on Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0736670556 |
Product Description
21 audio cassette tapes in two nice clamshell cases
Customer Reviews:
A handy book..........2002-05-25
Whether you're just a casual reader of a die-hard fan, the Atlas of Pern is a handy companion to Anne McCaffery's popular series. It's nice to be able to flip open a book and see an illustration of the world, trace the routes from one Hold to the next and back again. It adds a depth to the work.
It's also handy for those of us who do roleplaying on the Pern-based worlds; there are details within its pages not seen elsewhere. In my years of playing apprentices, holders, and dragonriders, I have often called on it for more information. I highly recommend it and the DragonLover's Guide to Pern to all Pern fans.
Very useful.......2000-05-23
If you participate in Pern fandom, this book is very valuable. It includes scaled drawings of many places on Pern, from the original colonists' time through "The White Dragon". Land use, climate, population, and spatial maps are also included. The only frustrating thing is that this is not a complete work - if the place hasn't been mentioned and described in detail in the Harper Hall trilogy, "Moreta" , or the original trilogy, then it's not mapped in this book. Igen Weyr, Telgar Weyr, High Reaches Hold, and Benden Hold are missing, to name a few. But Fonstadt has produced an excellent reference work.
very good.......2000-02-26
if you like Pern and want to know mor about the geography and locations of some of you favorite pernese vaction spots i recomedd this
The essential companion to Anne McCaffrey's Pern series........1998-01-14
Anne McCaffrey paints word pictures of her imaginary world. Karen Fonstadt brings those pictures to graphic life with her maps, illustrations and explanations. I've often faulted McCaffrey's publishers for cover art that jarred with my mental images of her characters and their surroundings. Ms Fonstadt has managed to give a visual form to my imaginings that is completely consistent with my own ideas.
If you want the exact layout of the Benden Hatching Grounds, or Dunca's cot where Menolly spent many a lonely day, you'll find them here. There's even a complete "dragonwing anatomy", for those with a biology bent. Time-lines for the events in the Pern series are also there, though these do have a couple of discrepancies with the text, and are, by now sadly out of date with Ms McCaffrey's ongoing contributions to the series, and it would be so nice to see an upddated issue.
Today, I no longer even try to read the "Dragonriders of Pern" or "Harper Hall" series without this vital volume to hand. It contributes so much to my enjoyment of the books that it truly is the essential companion to Anne McCaffrey's Pern series.
Answers questions about the size and shape of Pern.......1997-06-30
This book is constructed as a series of maps, but each map is followed by a little bit of related information from the novels. There are detailed drawings of the Weyrs, Holds, and Halls. Finally you can see how a Hatching ground is laid out
Book Description
CAN THE GALAXY'S GROWING VIOLENCE BE STOPPED?
Captain Kirk and his crew are on a mission to investigate the mysterious wave of violence that has overtaken the Helvans -- revolutions, mass riots, horrible tortures. This chaos is all part of an experiment by an unimaginable power that soon grips even the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise
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Captain Kirk is plagued by violent hallucinations and removed from command. Spock takes charge but his orders seem irrational -- even cruel.
Unless this terrible power can be stopped, not only the Starship Enterprise, but an entire galaxy will be ensnared in the deadly grip of the...
Prometheus Design.
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CAN THE GALAXY'S GROWING VIOLENCE BE STOPPED?
Captain Kirk and his crew are on a mission to investigate the mysterious wave of violence that has overtaken the Helvans -- revolutions, mass riots, horrible tortures. But this chaos is all part of an experiment by an unimaginable power that soon grips even the crew of the Starship Enterprise.
Captain Kirk is plagued by violent hallucinations and removed from his command. Spock takes charge but his orders seem irrational -- even cruel.
Unless this terrible power can be stopped, not only the Enterprise, but an entire galaxy will be ensnared in the deadly grip of the...
PROMETHEUS DESIGN!
BY THE BEST SELLING AUTHORS OF THE PRICE OF THE PHOENIX AND THE FATE OF THE PHOENIX.
Customer Reviews:
Avoid this book.......2006-09-18
This is #5 in the classic Star Trek tie-in series and one of the weakest of the lot. It demonstrates all the worst aspects of tie-in novels.
The basic premise is that Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise are 'alien abductees', being taken by unknown powerful aliens to be used as unwilling experimental subjects. As a result of this Kirk is deemed unfit for command and Spock is named captain in his stead. The idea is not bad in itself and was used to much better effect elsewhere (The Next Generation).
The problems here are in the protrayals of the main characters, Spock and Kirk would never behave as these authors have them doing. Also the action, such as it is, drags along, interrupted by long, pointless, impassioned speeches, lots of drivel about 'Vulcan Command Mode' and many trips down memory lane recalling previous events - which are fully footnoted.
There are many novels in this series and just about any one of the others would be a better choice than this one.
Dull and slow moving.......2006-03-14
The galaxy is in danger of being destroyed and the crew of the Enterprise is trying to prevent it. A race of beings is performing scientific experiments on humans and other creatures and James Kirk is one of their prime subjects. He is still under their influence, so his command judgment is suspect.
Savaj is an elderly Vulcan who is an Admiral in Star Fleet, a legend for many other accomplishments and also aboard the Enterprise. Kirk is relieved of his command with Spock taking over. There is a great deal of philosophical debate between Spock, Savaj and Kirk over whether the superior intellect of Vulcans means that they should never be subservient in the chain of command. To further demonstrate the inferiority of humans, Spock and Savaj engage in a series of Vulcan combat calisthenics and Kirk understands that his level of accomplishment is that of a mere child. A demonstration with Kirk is done in front of several of the crew, further humiliating Kirk.
Even though he has been relieved of his command and must obey Spock, Kirk sometimes fails to follow those orders, sometimes for benefit and other times with negative consequences. In the end, they learn that the danger to the galaxy is due to the callous way in which experiments have been carried out on living creatures. For centuries, humans have been torturing small animals in the name of medical research, but without regard to how much they have suffered.
Of course the solution is found and Kirk is restored to command of the Enterprise. Spock even concedes that Kirk is the superior commander. I found the book often dull, it moves much slower than almost all of the other Star Trek novels that I have read. While the philosophical arguments are interesting, they go on so long that my interest waned.
Below average slow moving story.......2003-08-10
This story moves along incredibly slow to the point of becoming boring. This was a book I couldn't wait to finish and put in the worst ST books pile. I enjoy unusual character developments, if it is done nicely. Here it wasn't. Spock completely disses Kirk in all respects to force the alien influence from him. No second-guessing or regrets from Spock. This not Spock! It ruins the rest of the story.
Not a good read...
Mediocre execution of a potentially great story idea�.......2003-04-19
Seemingly omnipotent aliens are conducting dreadful experiments and hastening the demise of the galaxy in an effort to solve the age old ýPrometheaný question of good v/s evil. This story has its moments but in the end it tends to confuse more than enlighten or even entertain. The character of the Vulcan Admiral Savaj has tremendous potential and the insights into Vulcan culture are interesting however the interplay between Kirk and Spock is rather bizarre even taking into consideration the role reversal that they undergo. I also find it hard to believe that Vulcans would ever actually behave as prejudiced, arrogant and condescending as they are portrayed here. It just isnýt logical.
a pretty nice story actually ..........2002-12-09
I was pretty surprised to see that people didn`t love this story, I`m a TOS fanatic and I read it a few years ago and found it fascinating. It actually has a plot that is, in my opinion, better than those that the regular TOS episodes had, the story itself reminds a bit of some fanfiction stories in the sense that it`s a bit more angsty and sappy and mind-boggling at the same time than the episodes were (and don`t get me wrong, I absolutely adore all the TOS episodes, you wouldn`t believe the stuff I went through to get them all...).
The story itself is heavily leaning on the main three characters and their interaction (as if it was a surprise ...). The Enterprise is investigating the incident which turns out to be an experiment supervised by some advanced intelligence (that actually seems convincing for once) exploring the connection between violence and human need for greatness - something along the lines of whether human greatness can exist in a totally peaceful environment - whether humans can live without killing and hating and all the destructive emotions and whether it`s exactly those destructive things that are inseparable parts of the human race (it`s a bit more complicated and I really liked it but can`t explain it all now).
Anyway, Kirk and everyone on the Enterprise but Spock and another Vulkan who came over sent by Federation if I remember well, fall under their influence (Kirk even going so far as to try and kill Spock and not remember it afterwards). Kirk gets stripped of his command, Spock is given the command of the Enterprise instead and he starts introducing the Vulkan code of behavior on the ship ... well, that`s bound to make an interesting story in my opinion. It doesn`t have the usual "Kirk-beats-all-and-saves-the-day" ending but the ending is still very good, it`s along the lines of "Kirk-learns-to-control-his-temper-to-win-however-unlikely-it-may-seem". Maybe not completely in the TOS fashion but an excellent conclusion to the story. Nice reading in my opinion.
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5 massmarket paperback Star Trek Titles - The Entropy Effect - Covenant of the Crown - Prometheus Design - Abode of Life - Triangle
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Imagining Prometheus
Dario Del Corno ,
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Catherine PerlEs ,
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Vittorio Storaro ,
Tadashi Suzuki ,
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Robert Wilson
Manufacturer: Charta
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Binding: Paperback
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Release Date: 2004-02-02 |
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In Greek mythology, Prometheus is the Titan who dared steal fire from the gods. The spark he snuck from the sun gave man the ability to produce fire and create light, and thus began his capacity to develop the arts. Imagining Prometheus unfolds a meditation on the phenomenology of light by a philosopher, an archeologist, and a Greek scholar, as well as by artists from five continents, including Shirin Neshat and Robert Wilson.
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- A nice reading actually ...
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The Prometheus Design
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A nice reading actually ..........2002-12-26
I was pretty surprised to see that people didn`t love this story, I`m a TOS fanatic and I read it a few years ago and found it fascinating. It actually has a plot that is, in my opinion, better than those that the regular TOS episodes had, the story itself reminds a bit of some fanfiction stories in the sense that it`s a bit more angsty and sappy and mind-boggling at the same time than the episodes were (and don`t get me wrong, I absolutely adore all the TOS episodes, you wouldn`t believe the stuff I went through to get them all...).
The story itself is heavily leaning on the main three characters and their interaction (as if it was a surprise ...). The Enterprise is investigating the incident which turns out to be an experiment supervised by some advanced intelligence (that actually seems convincing for once) exploring the connection between violence and human need for greatness - something along the lines of whether human greatness can exist in a totally peaceful environment - whether humans can live without killing and hating and all the destructive emotions and whether it`s exactly those destructive things that are inseparable parts of the human race (it`s a bit more complicated and I really liked it but can`t explain it all now).
Anyway, Kirk and everyone on the Enterprise but Spock and another Vulkan who came over sent by Federation if I remember well, fall under their influence (Kirk even going so far as to try and kill Spock and not remember it afterwards). Kirk gets stripped of his command, Spock is given the command of the Enterprise instead and he starts introducing the Vulkan code of behavior on the ship ... well, that`s bound to make an interesting story in my opinion. It doesn`t have the usual "Kirk- beats-all-and-saves-the-day" ending but the ending is still very good, it`s along the lines of "Kirk- learns-to-control-his-temper-to-win-however-unlikely-it-may-seem". Maybe not completely in the TOS fashion but an excellent conclusion to the story. Nice reading in my opinion
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STAR TREK. THE PROMETHEUS DESIGN.
Manufacturer: Greg Press
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Prometheus Design #5 (Star Trek (Numbered Paperback))
Sondra Marshak
Manufacturer: Rebound by Sagebrush
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Book Description
Now in paperback–the debut cookbook from the beloved Italian cook, restaurateur, and public television personality.
Lidia Bastianich is famous for her Italian-American cooking, but this cookbook–her first–captures the distinctive cuisine of her native Istria, located on Italy’s northeastern Adriatic coast near the border of the former Yugoslavia. This book is also her most personal; in addition to the recipes, she has included numerous personal stories, memories, and photographs from her childhood.
With La Cucina di Lidia, you can savor antipasti such as Polenta with Fontina and Mushrooms or Shrimp and Mixed Bean Salad. Rice and pastas include Plum Gnocchi, Risotto with Squash Blossoms, and Zucchini and Tagliatelle with Leek Sauce. Entrées feature fish (Swordfish in Sweet and Sour Sauce), fowl (Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Orange), meat (Stuffed Breast of Veal), and game (Duck Roasted with Sauerkraut). Desserts range from Chocolate Zabaglione Cake to Apple-Custard Tart.
Here is an Italian cuisine infused with the flavors of Eastern Europe, the early repertoire of one of America’s favorite chefs. Discover Lidia’s history and memories as well as the dishes from her homeland. The stories and tastes are unforgettable.
Customer Reviews:
Once you have one of her cookbooks you must have all!.......2007-05-15
All her cookbooks are great. They are filled with recipes that I must try and once I try them they become an instant favorite and then I start getting requests for them. You find yourself always cooking Italian, which is unsettling to my Scottish relatives. I've had to hide the fact I watch "The Sopranos" to keep the speculation to a minimum.
MORE THAN RECIPES.......2007-01-03
I think Lidia has opened her heart and shared memories along with excellent recipes. I love this book and it is one I have out on my coffee table to just pick up and read when I have a few minutes. Her recipes are always so easy to understand and make - this cookbook is my favorite and she is an American treasure! I remember my grandmother making so many of Lidia's dishes, but she was unable to read and write and her recipes went with her when she died. Lidia has some of them in her cookbook and I thank her for that!
This book also makes a wonderful gift to someone who is Italian or just loves Italian food! Thank you Lidia!
Home cooking, with elegance.......2006-08-02
This is really two books, largely interleaved with each other. The cookbook is the more obvious one. It's where Lidia - never truly separable from her husband Felice - exposes the secrets of her kitchen. Correction: kitchens, plural. These are the recipes that have kept the lines long outside of her restaurants back to the early 1970s. Struggling against American palates trained on TV dinners, they addressed and quite possibly created a clientele who discovered that there was more to Italian food than tomato sauce.
Lidia has extensive professional education, undertaken while she was a young mother and beginning restauranteur (this is the weaker sex?!?). She and her husband traveled most of Europe, studying the national and even regional specialties of each culinary tradition. Although training and research inform this book, that's not where it really comes from. It comes, through her personal alchemy, from her grandmother's truck garden. That's where the second book within this one binding comes in. That book is Lidia's culinary biography, from her earliest girlhood in Adriatic Italy up to the book's 1990 writing.
The family wasn't rich. Meat was a rarity, and every part of the animal went into the pot: heart, kidney, liver, blood for black sausage, and (in this pre-BSE book) brain. Produce was fresh from the garden, though, and slaughtering the animal was part of cooking with meat. Plain cooking can be exquisite cooking, however. Lidia's close contact with every aspect of the food gave her a bone-deep appreciation for unique character of ever plant and animalin her kitchen. Her secret is really no secret at all: it lies in using the finest and freshest ingredients, and in knowing the preparation that lets each be the best it can.
//wiredweird
Peasant Cuisine from Europe's Crossroads.......2003-12-04
This first book by Lidia Bastianich is both cookbook of recipes from the Istrian peninsula and Felidia Ristorante in Manhatten and a memoir of Lidia's life and family in central Europe and in the United States. The recipes occupy by far the larger portion of the book and include all of the expected elements of Italian cuisine. The culinary chapters are:
Appetizers and Soups
Salads and Vegetables
Pastas and Sauces
Fish
Meats
Game
Breads and Desserts
Spirits and Infusions
The most valuable portions of the book deal with the recipes native to Istria, especially those dealing with game and foraged vegetables and mushrooms. As the book makes clear, Istria, located near the top of the Adriatic Sea, is very near the crossroads of Europe's Roman, Slavic, and Germanic ethnic influences. The cuisine is all the more interesting for that fact. There are distinctly Austrian influences throughout the cuisine, including a recipe for an obscure Hungarian sweet crepe, palacinka, my Grandmother from Austria-Hungary would often make. The most vivid picture I get from the book is how food must have acquired the importance it has for many Europeans, since they spent so much of their time acquiring food and working with such inventive ways of making everything edible into something delicious.
The chapters on game cookery are expecially useful, including recipes for quail, Guinea hen, pheasant, squab, duck (with sauerkraut, of course), rabbit, venison, and wild boar. Of special interest is the technique, `Squazet' which is an untranslatable word meaning a braising method used in Istria, suitable primarily to slow cooked meats. A good example of making the most of what you had.
All the recipes are good as well as interesting for being examples of Istrian cuisine. However, I would recommend that for breads and pasteries, one consult a specialist in these fields. These baking recipes will work, but I know there are better techniques to be had. The sections on fresh pasta are short, but they appear to give competant results. The sections on various types of gnocchi and it's techniques are very good. I believe the recipes for mushrooms have much to offer which you may not find elsewhere.
The treatment of photographs in this book leaves something to be desired. All are presented in an old fashioned sepia tint and some, even some photographed specifically for the book by modern equipment seem to loose detail to shadows and haziness. Placing captions for chapter heading photographs strikes at the rear of the book in an appendix strikes me as a case of really poor judgement. I have a hunch the captions were forgotten until it was too late to include them on the same page as the photo. There are some lapses in copy editing. The Italian culinary term `sugo' is used in the memoir and no explanation is given for the term. It does not even appear in the appendix and is arcane enough to be absent from Larousse Gastronomique and a reference on Italian cuisine. I would have been baffled by the reference had I not encountered in the book `Cooking by Hand' by Paul Bertolli.
I give this book the highest rating because it's shortcomings do not detract from it's primary mission of being an engaging and accessible presentation of Istrian cuisine.
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