About this title: From the bestselling author of "Brick Lane" comes her long-awaited second novel that takes readers into a rich and fascinating London subculture--the intoxicating world of chefs and kitchen denizens from every culture and class in London.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Like New. 2009-Hardcover-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Description: New. A Brand New Copy. Never Read. Buy with confidence from an Independent Bookstore where the owners, a husband and wife team, have over 30 years of combined bookselling experience. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. Stated 1st Ed w/full No. Line: Spine straight, binding tight, appears unread, no reader/remainder/library marks, covers/pgs flat w/sharp corners, very slight shelf wear. 436 numbered pgs., Audience: General/trade. Photos/other info available by e-mail. Daily(M-F)orders/e-mail responses. E-mail confirmation of shipment. Books stored in smoke-free, climate controlled environment. Check our feedback. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardback
Publisher: TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780385614573ISBN:0385614578
Description: BRAND NEW HARDBACK. 432 pages. Begins with a mysterious death in the cellars of a smart, cosmopolitan hotel. this title peels back the layers of polyglot london to reveal the melting pot which exists below. (Hardback) read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner, New York
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: As New in As New jacket. Signed by Author Signed by Author on title page-signature only First edition, First printing. With corresponding number line. Book is in Fine condition. Boards are clean, not bumped. Fore edges are clean. Interior is clean and legible. Not remaindered. Dust Jacket is in Fine condition. Not chipped or crinkled. Not price clipped. Book is covered by Mylar Brodart. All-ways well boxed, All-ways fast service. Thanks. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 141657168X. Clean, tight and unmarked. Pages are smooth and bright with no folds or creases. Minor wear to dust jacket. *** US orders only, please. Will ship within 24 hours of your order, Monday through Friday. Free delivery confirmation.; 1.42 x 9.06 x 6.14 Inches; 448 pages. read more
Edition: 1st/Advance Reading Copy
Binding: Pictorial Cover
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, New York, NY
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781416571681ISBN:141657168X
Description: Very Good in Not Applicable jacket. Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) read more
"Many of the reviewers here didn't like it -- many thought Ali's _Brick Lane_ was far better. I can't wait to read that because I really loved this! The characterization of Gabriel Lightfoot -- the executive chef in midlife, who unravels personally and professionally in a bipolar episode that the reader sees from Gabe's POV -- was brilliant. As a citizen of the U.S., I found the discussion of political and economic realities of Britain then and now to be interesting and relevant. In general I found the book page-turningly suspenseful -- will it turn out that the restaurant porter was murdered? What are Gabe's underling Ivan and his colleague Gleeson up to? How is Gabe going to find out and what's he going to do about it?"
"Oh, what a snooze. The main character is a reprehensible bore, and really, for a book entitled In the Kitchen, shouldn't there be more scenes in the kitchen? Instead of in this guy's apartment where he molests a teenage sex slave's feet? Instead of wandering the streets on London with a member of Parliament, droning on & on about politics? Instead of in this guy's head, witnessing his creepy & plot-pointless dream? I think I was expecting some sort of mystery-tinged Kitchen Confidential, but this book is surely not that. & anyone interested in an exploration of multicultural London would do better to read Zadie Smith."
"This book was not bad, it just wasn't what I wanted. Which is my own fault for not reading the synopsis more carefully. I wanted sort of a fictional Kitchen Confidential , a picture of life in a high-pressure restaurant kitchen, focusing on the different cultures and backgrounds of the people who work there. Instead, Ali focuses almost solely on the executive chef and his spiral into a nervous breakdown, which frankly, is just not that interesting. And it's really hard to read a book written in from a character's viewpoint when that character keeps making stupid decisions. Ali throws in some stuff about human trafficking, but overall I just wasn't that into it. And for a book called In the Kitchen , there really should have been more scenes set there."
"Most of the book was fantastic. Great insight into restaurant kitchen management, the workings of a cotton mill, and the lives of several Londoners. I wondered where was this charming sense of humor in Ali's previous and somewhat flat Brick Lane? The end was a little convoluted, but I liked that as with Brick Lane, it was not a neat and clean ending. I just read Attica Locke's Black Water Rising and there's a good parallel between the two: they're both suspenseful stories of a whistleblower, no hero mind you, whose sanity takes a hit as they become drawn into a disturbing contemporary issue - for BWR it's unions, civil rights, and the oil business in Houston; for ITK it's human trafficking of Eastern Europeans in London. I preferred ITK; where Locke's dialogue and the plot development felt hokey, Ali's characters were witty and the pacing was spot on. Locke somehow described scenes without providing depth (feeling like an action thriller to me), while Ali both wrote well and got the politics in there."
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