tutticonfetti

Summary (from the dust jacket): "Matthew Barber, forty-three, is by day vice president for new product development at Manning & Rafter Toy Co.. By night he is B. W. Beath, pseudonymous restaurant reviewer for Boston Biweekly magazine. To follow Matthew from one dining experience to another is to progress through Matthew's life and loves and the culture of contemporary America. And what a socio-erotic-gastronomic pilgrimage it is!... _Reservations Recommended_ is a wickedly nasty parody of reviewing and the motives of reviewers, and a modern morality play." My review: This novel works on so many levels, and is a joy to read. Packed with humor and psychological insight, the book chronicles several months in the life of the protagonist as he grapples with various female relationships and an impending midlife crisis. Each chapter is titled after a restaurant which he's been assigned to review. The author explores subjectivity/objectivity through the clever device of printing the text of the review at the close of each chapter. A great read, of its time (late 80s) and universal all at once.

2022-08-30 17:30