The Sweetness of Forgetting
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Savour The Sweetness of Forgetting: a tale of baking, love, hope and faith across generations.
The North Star Bakery has been in Hope's family for generations, the secret recipes passed down from mother to daughter. But at thirty-six and recently divorced, with rebellious daughter Annie and elderly grandmother Rose to care for, Hope is less than enthusiastic about carrying on the family legacy. When the bakery runs into financial trouble and Rose takes a turn for the worse, Hope's delicate balancing act is in danger of crumbling entirely.
Then Rose reveals a shocking truth about her past and everything Hope thought she knew about her family and the bakery is turned upside down. At her grandmother's request, Hope travels to Paris, armed only with a mysterious list of names. What she uncovers there could be the key to saving the bakery and the fulfilment of a star-crossed romance, seventy years in the making.
Now with added book club discussion topics and inspirational food ideas created by the author.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hope McKenna-Smith struggles to run the family bakery on Cape Cod while coping with a recent divorce; a churlish preteen daughter named Annie; and a grandmother, Rose, who is quickly succumbing to Alzheimer's. During one of Hope's visits, Rose in a rare and desperate moment of lucidity gives Hope a list of seven relatives whom Rose last saw in WWII-era France, and begs her to track them down so she might know their fates. Urged along by Annie, Hope abandons the bakery and jets to Paris. There she unearths family secrets buried for decades, and while Rose's memory fades away, Hope comes face to face with the people and places of her grandmother's past one of fear, world war, and a clandestine, far-reaching love. Despite hackneyed dialogue (Annie uses "like" in nearly every sentence) and the challenge of working in well-trod territory, Harmel (After) manages to deliver an immersive and evocative tale of generations struggling to survive. Recipes sprinkled throughout the book allow readers to experience firsthand the sweetness of Hope's journey.
