New in Paperback- Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley

Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley

Published by Algonquin Books ISBN 9781643752600

Trade paperback, $16.95, 321 pages 

The writer Ann Patchett said that a book has to grab her from the first sentence for her to continue reading it. Fiona Mozley's novel, Hot Stew, did just that for me. She immediately sets a stage in her writing, describing Des Sables, a French restaurant that has been in business with very little changes for decades.

Des Sables is in the Soho section of London, and in just a few pages Mozley covers the history of Soho in breathtaking language. We are introduced to some of our large cast of characters. Tabitha and Precious live together in the building above Des Sables, where they and other women rent the rooms to ply their trade, the world's oldest profession. (In Tudor times, brothels were called 'Stews', hence the book title.) Tabitha acts as an aide/maid to Precious, who at the age of 41, may be retiring in the next few years.

Robert is celebrating his 64th birthday with his younger friend struggling actor Lorenzo, at Aphra Benn, a bar on the same street as Des Sables. Paul and Debbie enter the bar, dumping half-filled drinks into a bottle to consume later. Paul performs magic tricks (poorly) for tips, and Debbie is his sidekick. The owner prefers that the bartender show them the door.

Paul and Debbie live in the basement with other unhoused people. A man called the Archbishop rules over the roost there.

Agatha is the wealthy owner of the building where Precious and her coworkers live. She wants to evict them and the restaurant and build luxury condos as Soho is primed to move from its reputation as a Red Light district to an up-and-coming London suburb. Agatha knows some shady characters, and she is willing to use them to get what she wants.

Precious will not go quietly. She encourages the other women to join her in a protest, which catches the eye of the local media, and Precious becomes the face of the movement. She won't give up her home, "a place that you feel has left its mark on you, for better or worse, and also being a place that you've left your mark upon, for better or worse."

Fiona Mozley's writing is exquisite, she paints such a picture of this place that I felt like I was in this neighborhood, looking out my window watching these characters and their actions. (Her essay on the gentrification of Soho at the end is an added bonus I enjoyed.) The way she ties all these people together is astonishing. I was torn between wanting to race through the book to find out what is going to happen and wanting to read slowly to savor the delicious descriptions and words. I will settle for re-reading Hot Stew, and I'll recommend it to everyone I know.

Thanks to Algonquin Books for providing me with a review in exchange for an honest review.

Friday 5ive- April 8, 2022

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my attention this week.

1) My birthday was on Thursday, and it's a big birthday so there are lots of festivities. My friends from the Book Cellar celebrated with a luncheon with quiche, salad, a delicious lemon blueberry cake, flowers, and gifts. It was delighftul! I came home to find three more floral arrangements- one each from hy husband, my older son and his wife, and my younger son. Our apartment smells and looks fantastic!

 2) My wonderful husband took me to dinner at The River Cafe, just over the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a lovely Michelin-starred restaurant, tucked away in the DUMBO section right on the water. The menu is a three-course prefixe and it was amazing. I had Tortelloni as my first course, handmade pasta filled with butternut squash and buffalo mozzarella, with a crispy pork guanicale that was so tasty. The Black Sea Bass second course was the best fish I've ever had. For dessert, I had the Chocolate Brooklyn Bridge, such an intricately designed dessert. The giant lobby floral display is spectacular as well. It is a special occasion splurge dinner for sure, one I highly recommend.

3) The laundry room in our apartment building got a makeover with all new machines and now there is an app that you can use to start the machines.  You can put money on the app (no more losing your laundry card), use your phone to start the machines, and even get an notification when your laundry is done. It also tells you how many machines are currently in use so you don't have to lug your laundry down the elevator to the laundry room only to find all of the machines in use. Technology can be good.

4) We're watching Showtime's miniseries Superpumped-The Battle For Uber, created by the same people who produce Billions on Showtime. Joseph Gordon Leavitt portrays Uber founder Travis Kalanick, and Kyle Chandler plays venture capitalist Bill Gurley, who heavily invested in Uber. It's a fascinating look at how Uber became the behemoth disrupter it is, and the rise and fall of Kalanick. We are really enjoying this one. 

5) I read two excellent books this week. Fiona Mozley's Hot Stew, is a fantastic novel about the residents in a building in the Soho section of London. A restaurant occupies the first floor, and a brothel takes up most of the upper floors. The owner wants to evict everyone and raze the building to build luxury condos, but the ladies who work in the brothel will not leave. Mozley brilliantly builds her story and introduces us to all the interesting characters, and how they tie into each other. Algonquin Books is on roll publishing so many powerful books like Thrity Unrigar's Honor, Elena Medel's The Wonders and Kaitlyn Greenidge's Libertie. My full rave review of Hot Stew publishes on Monday.

I read a nonfiction book from Algonquin as well. Theresa Brown's memoir Healing- When A Nurse Becomes A  Patient shares her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer and working her way through the health care system as a nurse and patient. She shares her eye-opening experiences, and many of them are not positive ones. I read this one in just a few hours, unable to put it down. My full review publishes on Tuesday. 

Have a great week everyone.