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I managed to fit in another quick audiobook this week and one that I wasn’t expecting to read. I found it on BookBeat and knew nothing about it going in. I basically went to their Pride collection and picked a book that I could fit into my remaining hours. It’s a slightly risky way of picking your next read but it can have a great pay off if you find something great. It sounded like it would have the same vibes as my typical reads, so I was looking forward to seeing how it went. It also featured three women who are around my age, which is always going to be an interesting one. Would they represent me and my female friends? Or would this book show an alternative experience of millennial gal pals?

The side effect of writers like Sally Rooney becoming popular is that everyone wants to publish the next Sally Rooney. I don’t want to dismiss Margaux Vialleron as a Rooney wannabe but it feels as though somebody expected this book to be the next Normal People or something. It’s the story of 3 female friends and how their connections evolve and change over the years. It shows the complexity of female friendship and the complications surrounding being a woman in this era. The women have known each other for years and have created their own sense of family. Everything comes together in the yellow kitchen. There they are able to be together comfortably. Claude, the baker, tries to take care of her friends and provides plenty of food. Giulia is an Italian immigrant coming to terms with Brexit and showcasing her strong political views. Finally, there’s Sophie who comes from a wealthy family and has very specific goals to follow.

The three women don’t always get along perfectly but they love each other. In some cases, that love goes beyond friendship. After spending years caring for each other, Sophie and Claude sleep together and it causes waves throughout their friendship. Not only do they have to navigate their new relationship but they have to come to terms with who they are. In many cases, letting the world finally see who they have always been. The novel starts in 2019, so it also takes us through Brexit, the general election and the pandemic. The book focuses on friendship, romance, politics and more. It’s a very ambitious novel but I’m not sure it entirely worked for me. It didn’t help that I was listening to the audiobook so it wasn’t always apparent whose perspective we were following. That could have been me not paying enough attention but it didn’t help that the narrators sounded very similar.

Even though there is some wonderful writing on show here, I didn’t fully engage with the book. It just tried to do so much but, at the same time, didn’t really know what it was doing. It was a critique of Brexit but it wasn’t doing anything new or unique. It wanted to get political but it also didn’t do take it very far. The book also delves into the personal side but I don’t think we learn enough about these women. Yes, we go into their history a little but it just feels superficial. I don’t think that every book needs to have a point but there needs to be some development. All of the development seems to come at the end of this book and it’s all so quick.

It’s not that this book is bad but it’s just underwhelming. It could have been so much more than it was but it felt kind of derivative. Margaux Vialleron does some wonderful things when she’s using food and taste. It can be quite an evocative book at times and shows the importance of food for bringing people together and how cooking promotes a sense of comfort. It’s got some really exciting ideas but then the rest just feels so unoriginal and uninspired. It was a fine addition to my Pride TBR but not one that I’ll remember for too long.