Cakewalk: A Memoir

by Kate Moses
Dial Press, 368 pp., $26

Though award-winning novelist Kate Moses and I have almost nothing in common, I recognized her as a kindred spirit when she described how the practice of baking helped her make sense of an otherwise difficult world. Moses’ artfully told stories about a painful childhood, a disastrous early marriage, and the eventual discovery of her own distinctive voice as a writer are framed with inviting recipes. The baker in me was primed to explore the recipes, and the writer in me could certainly appreciate the quality of the prose. But I soon realized that a cover blurb likening the book to stories from the childhood of Augus­ten Burroughs crossed with the culinary education of Julie & Julia wasn’t entirely a compliment. Moses’ writing is lyrical, but a steady diet of 200-plus pages of childhood and adolescent angst became difficult to digest. On the other hand, I found myself envious of her relationships with legendary writers M.F.K. Fisher and Kay Boyle, and some of the recipes inspired me to fire up the oven on a hot, muggy day – a recommendation in and of itself.

This article appears in May 28 • 2010.

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