A-Z Challenge (Book-The Hundred-Foot Journey)

This is another beautiful book. I can say that I’ve read most of the time books I loved and when I didn’t like a book, I tried to let it go because I don’t want to spend my time reading a book that I don’t like. This one I liked very much, it was truly a pleasure to read it.

The Hundred-Foot Journey, on Bookdepository

The book starts by telling the story of a young boy who was born in India. He comes from a poor family but his grandparents start a business, a restaurant. He remembers all of it, his family eating together and making meals.

The funny thing is that Hassan’s memories are related to food but also family.

I put myself in his shoes, remembering my childhood, and the fact that we never ate together as a family.

I think it’s so important for a child to feel the love of his parents (for him and to feel that the parents love each other). To have harmony and peace in their home, these are very important things for a little boy or girl.

I know kids or teenagers that are annoyed when they have to eat at home with their family and I told to some of them, that this is such a blessing. They don’t realize it. I wanted so much to have that in my family.

Now that I am married, I do everything I can to have a happy family and to have a peaceful home.

To go back to my book, they were a big and happy family but something happens and ruins that.

A mob comes and attacks the restaurant and kills Hassan’s mother.

The entire family is crushed and they don’t want to live there anymore. They want to go and forget what has happened to them, forget the past.

They go to England but for a short period of time and then they move to France.

Here is where all the action starts.

Hassan’s father wants to do something with his money and to feel useful so he opens a restaurant.

The thing is, that across the street, a hundred feet away, there is already a restaurant, and a quite classy one called Le Saule Pleureur, or The Weeping Willow, with two Michelin stars.

The owner is a lady named Madame Gertrude Mallory. She’s a descendant of a huge hotel family, was educated to become the best, and was left a huge inheritance to set up shop in Lumière.

Here is when the problems begin, Madame Mallory sees her neighbors as some peasants and she doesn’t want to have anything with them but she is jealous of their success with the restaurant.

She looks like a heartless woman, but in fact, she is just lonely and she was taught to be like that, to have no feelings.

She wants to destroy Hassan’s father restaurant and she does bad things so that would happen, but then, she is sorry for her actions, and she sees them like they truly are, hardworking and kind people.

Finally, Hassan’s father wants to have an agreement with her and lets his son work for her and to learn all about cooking.

Here I will stop so that you will read the book. I encourage you to do that because it’s very interesting.

You can learn a lot about French cooking and cooking in general by reading this book.

“But even in hell, there are moments when the light reaches you.”

“Never be afraid of trying something new, Hassan. Very important. It is the spice of life.”

“Never forget a snob is a person utterly lacking in good taste.”

“A powerful thing, destiny. You can’t run from it. Not in the end.”

“My friends, the hardest thing, when you reach a certain level, is to stay fresh, day in and day out. The world changes very fast around us, no? So, as difficult as it is, the key to success is to embrace this constant change and move with the times,” said Chef Piquot.”

Books I’ve read with the letter H:

1. Holy Bible
2. The Happy Prince – Oscar Wilde
3. House of Flowers – Truman Capote
4. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame – Victor Hugo
5. The Help – Kathryn Stockett

Here you can find more blogs that signed to this Challenge.

And also, you can see my read books, on Goodreads, here.

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