Product Description
The Sunday Times Bestseller, and the biggest memoir of the year, from Britain's best loved food writer. TOAST is Nigel Slater's truly extraordinary story of a childhood remembered through food. Whether relating his mother's ritual burning of the toast, his father's dreaded Boxing Day stew or such culinary highlights of the day as Arctic Roll and Grilled Grapefruit (then considered somehting of a status symbol in Wolverhampton) this remarkable memoir vividly recreates daily life in sixties surburban England. His mother was a chops-and-peas sort of cook, exasperated by the highs and lows of a temperamental AGA, a finicky little son and the asthma that was to prove fatal. His father was a honey-and-crumpets man who could occasionally go off 'crack' like a gun. When Nigel's widowed father takes on a housekeeper with social aspirations and a talent in the kitchen, the following years become a heartbreaking cooking contest for his father's affections. But as he slowly loses the battle, Nigel finds a new outlet for his culinary talents, and we witness the birth of what was to become a lifelong passion for food. Nigel's likes and dislikes, aversions and sweet-toothed weaknesses form a fascinating and amusing backdrop to this incredibly moving and deliciously evocative memoir of childhood, adolescence and sexual awakening.

This was a fantastic read, but really rather sad. I loved how this was an autobiography with a difference, and centred on food and how it made Nigel Slater feel. The descriptions of his dad forcing him to eat egg made *me* gag! I found the part where he saved his pocket money to buy some fish and cooked it for his dad not long after his mum died really touching. A recommended read, but really quite sad in places.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

A birthday RABCK for Martha. Hope you enjoy it/Haven't already read it!

Bad bookcrosser - forgot to journal this sorry - on mount toobie

I just finished reading this book. I found it was not a good book to read with me trying to eat less - it rang alot of bells with the childhood food and sweets mentioned, but the book did not flow well for me. Many of the stories seemed to end with an abrupt 'punch line' but seemed not to add much to the story.

I plan to take this book along to a talk I am giving about bookcrossing in Ashton Village tonight.

Leaving a few books on the forest shelves.

My Mum picked it from the Salcey shelf on11.08.10 and read it in a couple of days. She's read lots of BC books now. (A silent member!)

My friend and I are both looking forward to reading this.

"Bittersweet collection of autobiographical stories, the majority (unsurprisingly) linked to the food of his formative years. Good when writing about food, touching and mawkish by turns when writing about his family, and cringe-makingly embarrassing when writing about sexual experiences. An easy read, but no recipes."

Journal written by friend of Cinderess

I've loved this book! It conjures up all sorts of 70s and 80s food memories and leaves you wanting to cook some old favourites.
It's genuinely touching and very sad in parts but also made me laugh out loud more than once.

I will look out for other books written by Slater.

If this is your introduction to Bookcrossing, welcome!

Please make as many, or few, comments about the book as you wish. The book is now yours to do with as you choose. Keep it, pass it on, but please leave the label, so we can keep in touch with what's happened to it.

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