Amarcord

Starred review from September 1, 2008
In 1969 Hazan gave the private cooking class that launched her career as the Italian Julia Child. In an evocative memoir, she recounts her life from childhood to Florida Gulf Coast retirement. Hazan spent her earliest years on another coast, in Cesenatico, a village on the Adriatic; during WWII the family moved to a lake in the mountains between Venice and Milan. Fresh out of the university, she taught college math and science and met a young man who had returned to his Italian homeland after more than a decade in America. He loved food, and his worldliness and sophistication made a good match for the comparatively earthbound author. After they married, the couple moved several times between various places in Italy and America. During a long stay in New York, Hazan began to offer the Italian cooking lessons that later caught the attention of such chefs as New York Times
food writer Craig Claiborne. This led to the writing and publication in 1973 of The Classic Italian Cookbook
. Hazan's memoir is a terrific history of the expansive, postwar period when Americans were still learning the difference between linguine and Lambrusco, and an engaging chronicle of professional perseverance, chance and culinary destiny. Photos.

In the dialect of Italy's Romagna region, "amarcord" means "I remember," and remember Marcella Hazan does. Now 84, she reflects on a life that has taken her around the world as she has shared her love of food and authentic Italian cooking. Hazan's memoir recalls a life that celebrates food, family, and community. Concetta Tomei narrates this memoir in a voice reminiscent of a conversation with an old friend. Tomei's enthusiasm comes through as she talks of recipes, cookbooks and cooking classes that will make listeners' mouths water. Her facility with the Italian language as she pronounces the names of people and places brings the story to life. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from March 1, 2009
Best-selling Italian cookbook author Hazan ("Marcella Cucina") recalls in this charming memoir the adventures of her life's journey, sharing significant events as though reminiscing with a longtime friend. Actress/narrator Concetta Tomei's wonderfully enveloping voice transports the listener from Italy to New York and back to Italy, into kitchens and restaurants, all the while conveying the passion and dedication Hazan brings to her cooking. Transitional music bookends each disc; recommended for public libraries with larger audiobook collections, or where interest bears. [Audio clip available through www.harperaudio.com.Ed.]Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL

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