The Arrangement

In the 1930s, M.F.K. Fisher practically invented the genre of food writing, making connections among the many types of human appetites. Narrator Cassandra Campbell highlights the complex personalities in this fictional account of Fisher's early adulthood, which focuses primarily on the author's awakening passions for love, eating, and writing. Although a love triangle is at the heart of Fisher's coming of age, Campbell is careful to color her performance with respect for the many layered emotions, allowing listeners to understand the trio's distress, caused by feelings they can't control. This audiobook is perfect for Fisher's fans, though it offers little new material. For those less familiar with Fisher, it provides a look at an earlier time when strong women were not supported in their endeavors. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from December 21, 2015
This stellar novel from Warlick (Seek the Living) fictionalizes the beginnings of the seminal food writer M.F.K. Fisher—known to her friends as Mary Frances—amid the triangle of her professor husband, Al, and their friend Tim Parrish in 1930s Los Angeles. Though Al is a writer, or perhaps because he is one, he proves to be a poor source of creative support for Mary Frances. He dismisses her essays as a hobby. Both find a connection with their published neighbor Tim, who is married to a much younger aspiring actress named Gigi. Tim nurtures Mary Frances’s talents, and their affection soon turns physical. Shortly afterward, Gigi suddenly leaves Tim for another man, sending Tim reeling. He flees back east to recover, but later reconnects with Mary Frances. They become lovers again, though Mary Frances states that she can’t leave Al, who is at his lowest after the death of his father, unable to write or find work that he likes. The trio then find themselves living together at Tim’s behest in Switzerland, shortly after Mary Frances scores a book deal. Warlick handles her protagonists’ affair with complexity: it’s clear that Mary Frances and Tim both love Al and don’t want to hurt him. It’s a treat to find such a beautifully written treatment of love in its different forms amid M.F.K. Fisher’s tale of unlikely success. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff & Associates.