This morning, I’m very pleased to welcome The Write Reads Blog Tour for Donia Rusti’s novel, The Book of Perilous Dishes. In addition to this Spotlight, my first post about the book will be coming along a little later. The Tour started yesterday and will be going on for a few more days, and there are going to be plenty of interesting things said about the book. So check out https://twitter.com/WriteReadsTours (see also the snazzy image below) to catch other people’s perspective. But for now, let’s learn a little bit about the book, shall we?
Book Details:
Title: The Book of Perilous Dishes by Donia Rusti, translated by: James Christian Brown
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romanian Literature
Release date: February 2017, March 3, 2022 (Neem Tree Press edition), May 21, 2024 (U.S.)
Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
About the Book:
1798: A magical, dark adventure. Fourteen-year-old Pâtca, initiated in the occult arts, comes to Bucharest, to her uncle, Cuviosu Zăval, to retrieve the Book of Perilous Dishes. The recipes in this magical book can bring about damaging sincerity, forgetfulness, the gift of prediction, or hysterical laughter. She finds her uncle murdered and the book missing. All that Zăval has left her is a strange map she must decipher. Traveling from Romania to France and on to Germany to do so, Patca’s family’s true past and powers are revealed, as is her connection to the famous and sublime chef, Silica.
Book Trailer:
Book Links:
Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Neem Tree Press ~ Goodreads
About the Author:
DOINA RUŞTI, important contemporary Romanian novelist, is unanimously appreciated for epic force, for originality and erudition of her novels. She received all major Romanian awards, including the Romanian Academy Prize, and was translated into many languages (even in Chinese).
She wrote ten novels, including: Fantoma din moară (The Phantom in the Mill, 2008), Lizoanca (2009), Zogru (2006).
The novels Manuscrisul fanariot (The Phanariot Manuscript, 2015), Mâța Vinerii (The Book of Perilous Dishes, 2017) and “Homeric” (2019) can be a Phanariotic Trilogy (18th century). The most recent novel: Paturi oculte (Occult beds), 2020.
Good international reviews in: La Stampa, Stato Quotidiano, Il Venerdì di Repubblica. Il Libero, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Magyar Nemzet, La Opinion, Turia. Il Mercurio etc.
My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.
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