Alison

The first chapter of this book I thought I was really going to like it. Then each chapter after was through the perspective of a new character. It got to the point that I didn't know who the main character was, who I cared about (if any of them at all) and maybe most importantly who the "cookbook collector" was... Honestly, there are so many characters it's kind of ridiculous to think we should remember all of them (or care about them), especially when listening to an audiobook and you don't have the ability to look back at previous chapters to figure out who's who . I find the author goes on tangents, which then causes me to lose my attention, only to find that when I start paying attention again I ultimately feel as though I haven't even missed anything. I would have stopped listening to this after the first few chapters but since I spent the money I forced myself to finish. I'm glad that I did finish as the second half of the book stayed more with one character which I found more interesting. Also, just a warning, eventually Sept. 11, 2001 plays a role with one of the characters and having lived next to the world trade center I wasn't prepared to go back to that date and the emotions from that day. It took me off guard and think there should be a warning... Overall, not a book I'd recommend.