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I'm confused about the rating for this review (3 or 4?), and I think it's because I must like the protagonist of a novel, to some extent, to really appreciate the book. It's probably not fair, but I think that a lack of appreciation or respect for the protagonist is one element that frequently affects my ultimate rating of a book.

Even though the story was told from the first person point of view of Framboise, and so she could have better explained herself of justified her behavior as a child, I always thought of her as nasty, as unforgiveable. She was the primary instigator in so much pain her her mother's life, and never for a justifiable reason; her excuses were, essentially, "I was growing," "my mother and I were so much alike, it was understandable I treated her like shit." The worst abuse I saw from the mother was yelling and swearing, maybe some emotional abuse; certainly not acceptable, but her actions never seemed to justify Framboise's responses. Framboise also seemed to have a protective and loving father, and had absolutely no sympathetic response to his death in war. Since when is any behavior by a child excusable, just because the person is a child? As they have experiences and see the damages from their actions, grow older and have their own pain and grief, they become more responsible and culpable in creating such experiences for others. Framboise's shrugging it off, as an older woman, as the forgiveable actions simply because she was a child, did not work for me.

I enjoyed the food aspects of the book, of course, and though it could be debatable, I'd posit that much of the descriptions and images are at least bordering on magical-realism. I laughed a few times, appreciated the setting, but often spent my time with the book baffled at the actions of Framboise and her siblings with no distinctive justifications for the things they did.