If there are a few things in my life that I can't live without; food and books surely fall under the first two spots. When I first saw the promotions and then the cover of the book, I knew, there was no return for me. I had to read it. One fine morning, the publisher presented me with the book and I couldn't hold back my temptation. Sarina Kamini’s Spirits in a Spice Jar has, as I like to say: sugar, spice and everything nice about the book.
About the book- For Sarina Kamini’s Kashmiri family, food is love, love is faith, and faith is family. It's cause for total emotional devastation when ten years after her Australian mother is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, unaddressed grief turns the spice of this young food writer's heritage to ash and her prayers to poison. At her lowest ebb, Sarina's Ammi’s typed-up cooking notes become a recipe for healing, grief and loneliness- the daal that is too fiery and lumpen; the raita, too sharp; her play with salt that pricks and burns. In teaching herself how to personalise tradition and spirituality through spice, Sarina creates space to reconsider her relationship with Hinduism and God in a way that allows room for questions. She learns forgiveness of herself for being different, and comes to accept that family means change and challenge as much as acceptance and love.
For this long a blurb, all you need is a great book to follow. This one, was no different. I would like to first comment on the cover of the book. Wait. Let's take a moment to adore the cover first. Adorned with spices in a dark blue background, the cover is soothing to the soul. One of the finest covers of a book I've received in 2018, I must say. Then, you go to the contents and being the food lover I am, the names of the chapters made me fall in love with the book.
As I went through the prologue and the book chapter by chapter, I could feel myself to be a part of Sarina’s life. The best part I liked about the book was the descriptions of every spice. I could feel that I am using those spices in real time as I went through the book. Claimed as nonfiction and rightfully so, this book was more of a story/autobiography if I can call it. The book is a journey from how Sarina evolved as a human being, most of all, because of her relationship with spices.
Her relationship with salt and the other spices matches with mine and that made the book all the more worth it. I had a smile at the corner of my lips throughout my time of reading the book. The book, also, has recipes that are milestones for her life. Kashmiri recipes, cooked her way made me itch to cook. (Check my Instagram for a picture of this book along with a picture of aloo paratha that I made using the recipe mentioned inside). I feel that I was a part of seeing her children grow up, her relationship with her family and husband.
For the cons of the book I felt that I shouldn't comment on it since it was a personal account. But then again, keeping the review free of any kind of biasness I feel that the book should've had a bit more on the family scene (about the brothers) and of her husband. Also, a bit more of recipes and the connection with food. Barring these two, I loved the book and will go back to it from time and again. Looking forward to more from Sarina, I would rate this book 4.5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment