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| Plot Summary of Toast |
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"This is an autobiography about a food columnist for a London newspaper covering his life from boyhood to early adulthood showing how his interest in and love for food developed through or perhaps, despite the experiences of his family life. It begins with his mother who always burnt the toast and describes her often frustrated efforts at cooking an appetizing meal. There are details of the foods which the author liked and disliked as a child. A North American may not recognize some of the foods by name, but the descriptions are so detailed the reader can almost taste the food. The innovations of 1950s and 60s modern convenience foods met with mixed results under the hands of his mother and the author's finicky palate.
After his mother's death when he was still young, the author found comfort in food since his father was emotionally distant and sometimes abusive. His father soon remarried their cleaning lady, creating a rift with extended family members and doing nothing to provide the author with a nurturing home life. But his stepmother could cook, sometimes over doing it with a table groaning under the weight of so many rich dishes.
Chapters also abound with hilarious incidents such as his nightly walks with the dog and a candy bar to observe couples making out in the back of cars - until his father discovered what he was doing. He eventually finds a substitute family working after school in the kitchen of a hotel restaurant. The memoirs end as the author, just out of school, has found employment in a restaurant in London."
L. Watson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Toast |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession:
- chef
Job/profession/poverty story
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- a kid
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other people
Physique
- quite fatty
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 3 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Century:
- 1960's-1970's
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel?
- thoughtful
Is book humorous?
Yes
If humorous, kind of humor
- gentle
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
If this is a kid's book:
- Age 16-Adult
Autobiography?
Yes
How much dialogue in bio?
- significantly more descript than dialog
How much is philosophy rather than life story?
- 0-25% of book
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Click here for more information about this book
Nigel Slater Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 L. Watson
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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