THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY by RICHARD C. MORAIS.

SOURCE: Received for review from Publishers, Alma Books.

THE BOOK {According to Alma's press release}: The Hundred-foot Journey is the story of Hassan Haji, a boy from Mumbai who embarks, along with his boisterous family, on a picaresque journey first to London and then across Europe, before they ultimately open a restaurant opposite a famous chef, Madame Mallory, in the remote French village of Lumière. A culinary war ensues, pitting Hassan’s Mumbai-toughened father against the imperious Michelin-starred cordon bleu, until Madame Mallory realizes that Hassan is a cook with natural talents far superior to her own.

FIRST SENTENCE {Mumbai: Chapter 1}: I, Hassan Haji, was born, the second of six children, above my grandfather's restaurant on the Napean Sea Road in what was called West Bombay, two decades before the great city was renamed Mumbai.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {33}: But still they came, begging for work, their gaunt faces pressed against the back door, Papa chasing them away with a roar and a swift kick.

MY THOUGHTS: Soon to be a major motion picture (I believe it opens here in the UK on September 12th) The Hundred-Foot Journey is available in different covers including the paperback version I received and, for those who like the idea of a movie edition, a cover featuring three of the films stars.

A tale of humble eateries, a novel of fine dining, that takes the reader from India to France via England and other parts of Europe. With a narrative that is by turn poignant (I actually found myself shedding tears over one character's decline) and sumptuously mouth-watering (not to mention occasionally laughably cheesy) this should have been a veritable feast of a story and yet ultimately I found it unfilfilling.

Full of descriptions that were incredibly vivid if at times a little too lengthy and a portrayal of Indian cuisine that was impressive (the French element less so) I'm afraid it was the plot, so obviously a secondary consideration, that was lacking. The fact that the author acknowledged he had high hopes the book would become a film telling in as far as it went some way to explaining why at times the novel read like a screenplay.

With narrative such as a pan seethes with “prattling onions and furiously spitting lemon grass" and scenes which see clams no bigger than babies fingernails being served I'm sure this is many a foodies idea of literary heaven, its just unfortunate that it wasn't to my taste.

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Disclaimer:  Read and reviewed on behalf of publishers, Alma Books, I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.