Thursday, May 7, 2009

"I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti" by Giulia Melucci---Book Review

Chick Lit with a helping of Roast Chicken. That's what you'll find in I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci. Her memoir focuses on her failed relationships, where the main attraction lays in the meals she cooks and not between her and her lovers.
Melucci finds herself drawn to the wrong type of men. They are unwilling to commit, and Melucci mistakenly hangs on, constantly feeding their bellies while they neglect to feed her need to be loved.
Interspersed in between her tales are some pretty interesting recipes. They are simple yet sound delicious. The writing, itself, though, left me unsatisfied and wanting more. I wanted to see Melucci reflect on her past dating disasters in a way that would allow her to grow from them. Instead, she seems stuck repeating the same mistakes over and over. In the end, it becomes merely frustrating. It might be forgivable for young girl, but for a woman in her 40s, it just becomes frustrating.
I read this book on and off over four days. There were times at the beginning when I really wanted to keep reading so I could find out that the author had finally found true love, but after realizing that it just wasn't going to happen, the novelty wore off.
I'll keep the book for the recipes. I'd recommend it for a long flight or a mindless summer read. Chick lit fans might like the light-hearted reading, but I just can't see this book making a serious reader's "favorite" list.

1 comment:

  1. thanks for the honest review...I too have been struggling with this one--I keep wanting to ask "where's the beef?" (and I don't mean in the meatballs.) It's going back to the library unfinished. Too many good books.

    ReplyDelete

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I first joined the Marine Corps in February of 1999. I was stationed at Camp Pendleton for three years and in Okinawa for one. I left active duty in 2003 and joined the Reserves that year. I had my first daughter in 2005, and moved from California to Massachusetts in 2006. I left the Marine Corps at that time, and had my second daughter in 2007. I reenlisted in the Corps in September of 2008 and went Active in 2009. I'm currently stationed back in California, loving the weather and the life!