Isabel Vincent

I guess you might call this one of those beach reads (a category I've never understood -- does that mean the binding can withstand wind and sand?), but I don't go to the beach in the summer and always prefer to read at home. Hopefully not giving away too much of a spoiler, the story became predictable, even if it was a true one. Once you saw that there was a divorce, you knew she would find her perfect man. But who knew he would be well-to-do with a house out in the Hamptons and a conversible? Well, maybe that was predictable too.

Vincent has a daughter who appears in the story from time to time. It's hard to understand how it was that the daughter, who was nine or ten by that time? was living with her yet she could go out for dinner once a week, or whatever it was, on her own. And it became very difficult to understand, once she found her true love, how she went out to Long Island on Friday to spend the weekends with him. Where did she stash her daughter?

There was no one in the book I would want to get to know, although I wouldn't mind tasting some of that food or living in that apartment on Roosevelt Island or the one overlooking Central Park.… (mere)

"The Story of a Remarkable Friendship" is the subtitle of this short and heartwarming book about the relationship between Edward and author Isabel, and it really was a remarkable friendship. Written by Isabel Vincent, investigative reporter for the New York Post, each chapter begins with a menu of the dinner that Edward has prepared for them that evening. The book chronicles the weekly meals and conversations that Edward and Isabel share, but more importantly it describes the support each gives to the other. Edward is a 93-year-old widower who mourns the recent loss of his wife Paula, and Isabel is a middle-aged newly divorced single mother. Both live in New York, a city where people are known for being aloof and detached. Yet through the weekly meals savored together, these two people discuss love and loss, grief and cooking skills. Edward's dinners and philosophy nourish Isabel as she heals from heartache. At the same time Isabel's friendship gives Edward hope and purpose - resulting in a sweetly charming, feel-good memoir.

I would have given this 5 stars if recipes had been included.… (mere)