about the book
Lucy Knisley loves food. Brought up in New York City by a chef mother and an epicurean father, with an uncle who ran a food store, Lucy never had a doubt that her world would revolve around eating. And when she got older and decided to write about her life, it just naturally was divided into episodes defined by treasured dishes, culinary trips, and cooking experiences.
Her graphic novel records her growth from infant to adult by the aromas in the pots. Mixed with recipes and food memories are whimsical insights into human weaknesses and cultural trends.
When her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to upstate New York where she learned to garden, worked at the farmer’s market, and gained an appreciation of freshly harvested produce and a true love for foie gras…after a life-changing incident with a rather nasty nipping goose.
It was also during this particularly bratty period in her life that she flagrantly devoured a Big Mac in the streets of Paris in front of her horrified father. Learn how she coped with soy sauce in Japan, discovered Mexican cuisine, acquired a taste for Ramen noodles, and overcame her abhorrence of sautéed mushrooms
It’s a quick read, just 173 pages, including twelve recipes. But slow down and relish this book. It’s sure to have you tripping down memory lane savoring your own culinary flashbacks!
about the author
Lucy Knisley (the K in Knisley is silent) is a foodie, a writer, an illustrator, a comic artist, a puppeteer, and a ukulele player. She was born in New York City and raised during her teen years in Rhinebeck.
Lucy graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she went to study fine art and ended up making comics. She went on to earn a MFA at the Center of Cartoon Studies. She started drawing comics when she first picked up a pencil as a toddler and may have been influenced by her love of Archie, Tintin, and Calvin and Hobbes.
Growing up in a food obsessed home, she never gave cooking much thought until she was in middle school and had an epiphany that baking equaled many friends.
Her first book, French Milk, was about eating and living in Paris with her mother. The book Relish is more about growing up in the food industry.
Lucy is currently back in her old stomping grounds, Manhattan. There she lives in a tiny apartment not far from where her mother currently works as a chef. Lucy does a food/travel comic for the magazine Saveur and occasionally teaches comic workshops. Besides food and comics, Lucy likes ornery cats, nice pens, and Oscar Wilde!
Sources:
Author website
Author page : Macmillan
Author biography : Wikipedia
Also by Lucy Knisley:
An Age of License. Fantagraphics. 2014.
French Milk. Touchstone. 2008.
read more!
French Milk by Lucy Knisley
Using photographs intermingled with the author’s illustrations, Knisley chronicles the month-long journey she and her mother took to Paris. With a fifth-story flat as their base of operations, the duo sets out to explore the city and its many wonders, from museums and unique works of architecture to sweet-tasting French milk.
Inside Out : Portrait of an Eating Disorder by Nadia Shivack
This graphic novel memoir traces the author’s experience while struggling with bulimia. Nadia’s tale provides details about her relationship with her mother, the development of her eating disorder, her daily routine, and her inner turmoil. Facts about the illness and a list of resources are included.
Julie & Julia : My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
Julie Powell describes her efforts to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in the space of one year. Powell came across the cookbook on her mother’s bookshelf and is convinced it is the perfect remedy to the current rut she is in. She traces every recipe, and her mission to track down every single ingredient, no matter how obscure. Along the way, she learned to “live with gusto.”