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"For readers of Paula McLain, Nancy Horan, and Melanie Benjamin, this captivating novel is inspired by a little-known interlude in the artist's life. The French Riviera, spring 1936: It's off-season in the lovely seaside village of Juan-les-Pins, where seventeen-year-old Ondine cooks with her mother in the kitchen of their family-owned Cafe Paradis. A mysterious new patron who's slipped out of Paris and is traveling under a different name has made an unusual request--to have his lunch served to him at the nearby villa he's secretly rented, where he wishes to remain incognito. Pablo Picasso is at a momentous crossroads in his personal and professional life--and for him, art and women are always entwined. The spirited Ondine, chafing under her family's authority and nursing a broken heart, is just beginning to discover her own talents and appetites. Her encounter with Picasso will continue to affect her life for many decades onward, as the great artist and the talented young chef each pursue their own passions and destiny. New York, present day: Celine, a Hollywood makeup artist who's come home for the holidays, learns from her mother, Julie, that Grandmother Ondine once cooked for Picasso. Prompted by her mother's enigmatic stories and the hint of more family secrets yet to be uncovered, Celine carries out Julie's wishes and embarks on a voyage to the very town where Ondine and Picasso first met. In the lush, heady atmosphere of the Côte d'Azur, and with the help of several eccentric fellow guests attending a rigorous cooking class at her hotel, Celine discovers truths about art, culture, cuisine, and love that enable her to embrace her own future. Featuring an array of both fictional characters and the French Riviera's most famous historical residents, set against the breathtaking scenery of the South of France, Cooking for Picasso is a touching, delectable, and wise story, illuminating the powers of trust, money, art, and creativity in the choices that men and women make, as they seek a path toward love, success, and joie de vivre."--… (more)
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I want to start my review by saying that I expected to love this book. I loved the last series that this author wrote, writing as CA Belmond, starting with A Rather Lovely Inheritance. I also have a great fascination with art and artists so I fully expected that this would be the book for me.
The story takes place across the decades, the modern story completely in 2016 and the historic part starting in 1936 until shortly before the main character in 2016 is born. Both women are weak and not very likeable. Celine, the main character in 2016, cannot even stand up to her step siblings and lets them ferry her own mother away (step mother to the step siblings) with hardly a word and no action. Meanwhile she goes to France with her aunt on a trip the sick mother was supposed to take. Huh?! Meanwhile back in the 1930’s, Ondine vacillates between being free spirited as she engages in a relationship (if you can call it that) with Picasso and silly and lacking a backbone.
Another part of the story that did not ring true for me was the dialogue between Picasso and Ondine. It was awkward and stilted, and I just can’t believe he spoke that way. Picasso was not portrayed kindly, and that viewpoint I did find more realistic. He struggled in his personal life, and the author portrays this accurately.
I am sorry I did not like this book more. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this was a well written and interesting book. Ondine was a fascinating character. I did think the plot was a bit predictable, but the characters were compelling enough to keep me reading. I would like to read more from this author. Overall, well worth picking up and reading.
Cooking for Picasso takes place during a little-known episode in Picasso’s life in 1936. He’s not burned out or blocked; the art just isn’t coming. He sneaks away to a seaside village on the French Riviera, Juan-les-Pins. He hires one of the local cafés to provide lunch for him, provided they can keep his secret.
At the Café Paradis, seventeen-year-old Ondine works with her mother in the kitchen. Daily, her mother sends her to Picasso’s villa with the meal and strict instructions to not speak to him. Ondine is also directed to keep a notebook of what he like and doesn’t like.
Eighty years later, Celine has come from Los Angeles to spend the holiday with her mother, Julie, in Connecticut. During their conversations, Celine learns that her grandmother had cooked for the infamous artist. Her mother also gives her the notebook that Ondine kept, and alludes to a unknown painting that Picasso had given her.
Julie had planned to go on a cooking holiday with her sister-in-law, Matilda. Julie has a stroke and is unable to travel to France, her mother’s land, so Celine goes instead.
The plot eaves back and forth between 1936 and current time, but it is mostly Ondine’s story. Still this family saga about three generations of women was simply unputdownable! Part mystery, part treasure hunt, part love story, part travelogue, parts food and art, Cooking for Picasso is a novel that pulls in readers from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the end.
A number of plot twists left me surprised (yeah!). I was disappointed when the story ended. The only missing from this riveting tale was some of Ondine’s recipes.
Cooking for Picasso receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.