Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
A Memoir of Food and Longing
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kathleen Gati
-
By:
-
Anya von Bremzen
About this listen
A James Beard Award-winning writer captures life under the Red socialist banner in this wildly inventive, tragicomic memoir of feasts, famines, and three generations
With startling beauty and sardonic wit, Anya von Bremzen tells an intimate yet epic story of life in that vanished empire known as the USSR - a place where every edible morsel was packed with emotional and political meaning.
Born in 1963, in an era of bread shortages, Anya grew up in a communal Moscow apartment where 18 families shared one kitchen. She sang odes to Lenin, black-marketeered Juicy Fruit gum at school, watched her father brew moonshine, and, like most Soviet citizens, longed for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy - and ultimately intolerable to her anti-Soviet mother, Larisa. When Anya was 10, she and Larisa fled the political repression of Brezhnev-era Russia, arriving in Philadelphia with no winter coats and no right of return.
Now Anya occupies two parallel food universes: one where she writes about four-star restaurants, the other where a taste of humble kolbasa transports her back to her scarlet-blazed socialist past. To bring that past to life, in its full flavor, both bitter and sweet, Anya and Larisa, embark on a journey unlike any other: they decide to eat and cook their way through every decade of the Soviet experience - turning Larisa’s kitchen into a "time machine and an incubator of memories". Together, mother and daughter re-create meals both modest and sumptuous, featuring a decadent fish pie from the pages of Chekhov, chanakhi (Stalin’s favorite Georgian stew), blini, and more.
Through these meals, Anya tells the gripping story of three Soviet generations - masterfully capturing the strange mix of idealism, cynicism, longing, and terror that defined Soviet life. The stories unfold against the vast panorama of Soviet history: Lenin’s bloody grain requisitioning, World War II hunger and survival, Stalin’s table manners, Khrushchev’s kitchen debates, Gorbachev’s disastrous anti-alcohol policies. And, ultimately, the collapse of the USSR. And all of it is bound together by Anya’s passionate nostalgia, sly humor, and piercing observations.
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is that rare book that stirs our souls and our senses.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2013 Anya Von Bremzen (P)2013 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
National Dish
- Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home
- By: Anya von Bremzen
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this engrossing and timely journey to the crossroads of food and identity, award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen explores six of the world’s most fascinating and iconic culinary cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—brilliantly weaving cuisine, history, and politics into a work of scintillating connoisseurship and charm.
By: Anya von Bremzen
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Doppelganger
- A Trip into the Mirror World
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Naomi Klein
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if you woke up one morning and found you’d acquired another self—a double who was almost you and yet not you at all? What if that double shared many of your preoccupations but, in a twisted, upside-down way, furthered the very causes you’d devoted your life to fighting against? Not long ago, the celebrated activist and public intellectual Naomi Klein had just such an experience—she was confronted with a doppelganger whose views she found abhorrent but whose name and public persona were sufficiently similar to her own that many people got confused about who was who.
-
-
Elite Psychobabble
- By A Reviewer on 09-30-23
By: Naomi Klein
-
On Tyranny (Expanded Audio Edition)
- Updated with Twenty New Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine
- By: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this exclusive audiobook edition, which includes eight hours of new content, Snyder combines the original essays from On Tyranny with twenty new lessons that answer the questions everyone is asking about this war. With forays into history, he clarifies the causes of the Russian invasion and the meaning of Ukrainian resistance, and explains the war's connections to threats to democracy here in the United States and around the world. Linking past and present, speaking only from notes, he guides the listener into the larger moral universe of On Tyranny.
-
-
Best book of the decade
- By Chuck on 04-21-22
By: Timothy Snyder
-
Longitude
- The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
- By: Dava Sobel
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Neil Armstrong
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....
-
-
To hear Neil Armstongs Voice
- By Boots on 01-19-13
By: Dava Sobel
-
The Man Without a Face
- The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
- By: Masha Gessen
- Narrated by: Masha Gessen
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Man Without a Face is the chilling account of how a low-level, small-minded KGB operative ascended to the Russian presidency and, in an astonishingly short time, destroyed years of progress and made his country once more a threat to its own people and to the world.
-
-
A Preview of Authoritarianism in the USA
- By Jimmy O on 06-08-19
By: Masha Gessen
-
National Dish
- Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home
- By: Anya von Bremzen
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this engrossing and timely journey to the crossroads of food and identity, award-winning writer Anya von Bremzen explores six of the world’s most fascinating and iconic culinary cultures—France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and Turkey—brilliantly weaving cuisine, history, and politics into a work of scintillating connoisseurship and charm.
By: Anya von Bremzen
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Doppelganger
- A Trip into the Mirror World
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Naomi Klein
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if you woke up one morning and found you’d acquired another self—a double who was almost you and yet not you at all? What if that double shared many of your preoccupations but, in a twisted, upside-down way, furthered the very causes you’d devoted your life to fighting against? Not long ago, the celebrated activist and public intellectual Naomi Klein had just such an experience—she was confronted with a doppelganger whose views she found abhorrent but whose name and public persona were sufficiently similar to her own that many people got confused about who was who.
-
-
Elite Psychobabble
- By A Reviewer on 09-30-23
By: Naomi Klein
-
On Tyranny (Expanded Audio Edition)
- Updated with Twenty New Lessons from Russia's War on Ukraine
- By: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this exclusive audiobook edition, which includes eight hours of new content, Snyder combines the original essays from On Tyranny with twenty new lessons that answer the questions everyone is asking about this war. With forays into history, he clarifies the causes of the Russian invasion and the meaning of Ukrainian resistance, and explains the war's connections to threats to democracy here in the United States and around the world. Linking past and present, speaking only from notes, he guides the listener into the larger moral universe of On Tyranny.
-
-
Best book of the decade
- By Chuck on 04-21-22
By: Timothy Snyder
-
Longitude
- The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
- By: Dava Sobel
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Neil Armstrong
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....
-
-
To hear Neil Armstongs Voice
- By Boots on 01-19-13
By: Dava Sobel
-
The Man Without a Face
- The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
- By: Masha Gessen
- Narrated by: Masha Gessen
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Man Without a Face is the chilling account of how a low-level, small-minded KGB operative ascended to the Russian presidency and, in an astonishingly short time, destroyed years of progress and made his country once more a threat to its own people and to the world.
-
-
A Preview of Authoritarianism in the USA
- By Jimmy O on 06-08-19
By: Masha Gessen
-
Red Famine
- Stalin's War on Ukraine
- By: Anne Applebaum
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1929 Stalin launched his policy of agricultural collectivization - in effect a second Russian Revolution - which forced millions of peasants off their land and onto collective farms. The result was a catastrophic famine, the most lethal in European history. At least five million people died between 1931 and 1933 in the USSR. But instead of sending relief, the Soviet state made use of the catastrophe to rid itself of a political problem.
-
-
Horrifying
- By Mendy on 01-21-18
By: Anne Applebaum
-
A Tale for the Time Being
- By: Ruth Ozeki
- Narrated by: Ruth Ozeki
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Tokyo, 16-year-old Nao has decided there's only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates' bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who's lived more than a century. A diary is Nao's only solace—and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox - possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami.
-
-
Engaging story beautifully read
- By Karen on 01-30-14
By: Ruth Ozeki
-
Consider the Fork
- A History of How We Cook and Eat
- By: Bee Wilson
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights.
-
-
For the foodie/science geek/history buff in you
- By Nothing really matters on 08-30-14
By: Bee Wilson
-
My Life in France
- By: Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This memoir is laced with wonderful stories about the French character, particularly in the world of food, and the way of life that Julia Child embraced so wholeheartedly. Above all, she reveals the kind of spirit and determination, the sheer love of cooking, and the drive to share that with her fellow Americans that made her the extraordinary success she became.
-
-
What a pleasure!
- By Sara on 07-03-08
By: Julia Child, and others
-
Food: A Cultural Culinary History
- By: Ken Albala, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Ken Albala
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."
-
-
One of my top 3 favorite courses!
- By Jessica on 12-28-13
By: Ken Albala, and others
-
Arabs
- A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes, and Empires
- By: Tim Mackintosh-Smith
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language, rather than the advent of Islam, Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic, both spoken and written, has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia.
-
-
Good book bad narration
- By Anonymous User on 09-18-19
-
Mycophilia
- Revelations From the Weird World of Mushrooms
- By: Eugenia Bone
- Narrated by: Aimee Jolson
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mycophilia, accomplished food writer and cookbook author Eugenia Bone examines the role of fungi as exotic delicacy, curative, poison, and hallucinogen, and ultimately discovers that a greater understanding of fungi is key to facing many challenges of the 21st century.
-
-
Absolutely awful, insufferable, racist author
- By Rs 🦇 on 11-25-19
By: Eugenia Bone
-
Lone Star Nation
- How a Ragged Army of Courageous Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lone Star Nation is the gripping story of Texas' precarious journey to statehood, from its early colonization in the 1820s to the shocking massacres of Texas loyalists at the Alamo and Goliad by the Mexican army, from its rough-and-tumble years as a land overrun by the Comanches to its day of liberation as an upstart republic.
-
-
Texas: From Spanish colony to statehood
- By Brian Shivers on 04-06-05
By: H.W. Brands
-
American Midnight
- The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis
- By: Adam Hochschild
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a groundbreaking reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threated by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor
-
-
Disturbing yet Reassuring
- By Sams95 on 11-18-22
By: Adam Hochschild
-
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- A Novel
- By: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.... As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends - and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is.
-
-
MUCH better than I ever expected! Give it a try!
- By Kent on 10-19-09
By: Mary Ann Shaffer, and others
-
Winston Churchill
- A Captivating Guide to the Life of Winston Churchill
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Sean Daily
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Any general biography of Winston S. Churchill will provide an overview of his greatest achievements, but Churchill had other goals and desires that are often ignored and forgotten. What were they? Churchill had a family - a childhood and children of his own - and a political career that began at a young age. He spoke with and entertained some of the biggest names in the world, within both the political and social realms. How did he interact with Franklin D. Roosevelt?
-
-
Had A Great Time With It
- By Mark on 09-23-17
-
Beautiful Ruins
- By: Jess Walter
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot - searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.
-
-
My mind wandered
- By Ella on 11-25-12
By: Jess Walter
Editorial reviews
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
Lunch in Paris
- A Love Story, with Recipes
- By: Elizabeth Bard
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman - and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs - one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.
-
-
ok to pass the time
- By Robin on 03-25-13
By: Elizabeth Bard
-
The Hundred-Foot Journey
- A Novel
- By: Richard C. Morais
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps.
-
-
Great details & writing in a flawed story
- By David Shear on 02-12-14
-
Buttermilk Graffiti
- A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine
- By: Edward Lee
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American food is the story of mash-ups. Immigrants arrive, cultures collide, and out of the push-pull come exciting new dishes and flavors. But for Edward Lee, who, like Anthony Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton, is as much a writer as he is a chef, that first surprising bite is just the beginning. What about the people behind the food? What about the traditions, the innovations, the memories? A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the country.
-
-
Good listen for the aspiring food snob
- By thurman r. on 02-09-22
By: Edward Lee
-
The Christmas Pearl
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Celia Weston
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodora is the matriarch of a family that, in her opinion, has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. They've all come together to South Carolina to celebrate Christmas. But this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey Christmases Theodora grew up with.
-
-
Never too old to learn or to love
- By Debbie on 12-20-13
-
The Way Life Should Be
- A Novel
- By: Christina Baker Kline
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angela can feel the clock ticking. She is single in New York City, stuck in a job she doesn't want and a life that seems to have somehow just happened. She inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, but she never seems to have the time for it - these days, her oven holds only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a photo from a magazine of a tidy cottage on the coast of Maine - a charming reminder of a life that could be hers if she could only muster the courage to go after it.
-
-
Simple story
- By Dianna Bogart on 06-09-15
-
Cooking as Fast as I Can
- A Chef’s Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness
- By: Cat Cora
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Cooking as Fast as I Can, Cat Cora reveals, for the first time, coming-of-age experiences from early childhood sexual abuse to the realities of life as a lesbian in the Deep South. She shares how she found her passion in the kitchen and went on to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and apprentice under Michelin-star chefs in France. After her big break as a cohost on the Food Network's Melting Pot, Cat broke barriers by becoming the first-ever female Iron Chef.
-
-
Great listen for a chef
- By Nikki on 04-10-24
By: Cat Cora
-
Lunch in Paris
- A Love Story, with Recipes
- By: Elizabeth Bard
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman - and never went home again. Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch in Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs - one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine.
-
-
ok to pass the time
- By Robin on 03-25-13
By: Elizabeth Bard
-
The Hundred-Foot Journey
- A Novel
- By: Richard C. Morais
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born above his grandfather’s modest restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan first experienced life through intoxicating whiffs of spicy fish curry, trips to the local markets, and gourmet outings with his mother. But when tragedy pushes the family out of India, they console themselves by eating their way around the world, eventually settling in Lumière, a small village in the French Alps.
-
-
Great details & writing in a flawed story
- By David Shear on 02-12-14
-
Buttermilk Graffiti
- A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine
- By: Edward Lee
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American food is the story of mash-ups. Immigrants arrive, cultures collide, and out of the push-pull come exciting new dishes and flavors. But for Edward Lee, who, like Anthony Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton, is as much a writer as he is a chef, that first surprising bite is just the beginning. What about the people behind the food? What about the traditions, the innovations, the memories? A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the country.
-
-
Good listen for the aspiring food snob
- By thurman r. on 02-09-22
By: Edward Lee
-
The Christmas Pearl
- By: Dorothea Benton Frank
- Narrated by: Celia Weston
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Theodora is the matriarch of a family that, in her opinion, has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. They've all come together to South Carolina to celebrate Christmas. But this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey Christmases Theodora grew up with.
-
-
Never too old to learn or to love
- By Debbie on 12-20-13
-
The Way Life Should Be
- A Novel
- By: Christina Baker Kline
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Angela can feel the clock ticking. She is single in New York City, stuck in a job she doesn't want and a life that seems to have somehow just happened. She inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, but she never seems to have the time for it - these days, her oven holds only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a photo from a magazine of a tidy cottage on the coast of Maine - a charming reminder of a life that could be hers if she could only muster the courage to go after it.
-
-
Simple story
- By Dianna Bogart on 06-09-15
-
Cooking as Fast as I Can
- A Chef’s Story of Family, Food, and Forgiveness
- By: Cat Cora
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Cooking as Fast as I Can, Cat Cora reveals, for the first time, coming-of-age experiences from early childhood sexual abuse to the realities of life as a lesbian in the Deep South. She shares how she found her passion in the kitchen and went on to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and apprentice under Michelin-star chefs in France. After her big break as a cohost on the Food Network's Melting Pot, Cat broke barriers by becoming the first-ever female Iron Chef.
-
-
Great listen for a chef
- By Nikki on 04-10-24
By: Cat Cora
-
Out of Line
- A Life of Playing with Fire
- By: Barbara Lynch
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Out of Line describes Lynch's remarkable process of self-invention, including her encounters with colorful characters of the food world, and vividly evokes the magic of creation in the kitchen. It is also a love letter to South Boston and its vanishing culture, governed by Irish Catholic mothers and its own code of honor. Through her story, Lynch explores how the past - both what we strive to escape from and what we remain true to - can strengthen and expand who we are.
-
-
Hardheaded, arrogant, profane.
- By Minneapolis listener on 10-26-22
By: Barbara Lynch
-
Housebroken
- Admissions of an Untidy Life
- By: Laurie Notaro
- Narrated by: Laurie Notaro
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Number-one New York Times best-selling author Laurie Notaro isn't exactly a domestic goddess - unless that means she fully embraces her genetic hoarding predisposition, sneaks peeks at her husband's daily journal, or has made a list of the people she wants on her Apocalypse Survival team (her husband's not on it). Notaro chronicles her chronic misfortune in the domestic arts, including cooking, cleaning, and putting on Spanx while sweaty (which should technically qualify as an Olympic sport).
-
-
Wonderful
- By Carlie on 07-28-16
By: Laurie Notaro
-
The Devil in the Kitchen
- Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef
- By: Marco Pierre White, James Steen
- Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Devil in the Kitchen, White tells the story behind his ascent from working-class roots to culinary greatness, leaving no dish unserved as he relays raucous and revealing tales featuring some of the biggest names in the food world and beyond, including: Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Michael Caine, Damien Hirst, and even Prince Charles.
-
-
A chef / restaurateur must.
- By Brandon on 07-18-16
By: Marco Pierre White, and others
-
Black Dog of Fate
- A Memoir
- By: Peter Balakian
- Narrated by: Peter Balakian
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia. He was immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced: the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians.
-
-
Great book!
- By Lm on 06-27-13
By: Peter Balakian
-
The Baker's Daughter
- By: Sarah McCoy
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1945, Elsie Schmidt is a naive teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she is for her first kiss. She and her family have been protected from the worst of the terror and desperation overtaking her country by a high-ranking Nazi who wishes to marry her. So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep in the dead of night on Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door would put all she loves in danger.
-
-
great story
- By Stevon on 03-15-15
By: Sarah McCoy
-
Stir
- My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home
- By: Jessica Fechtor
- Narrated by: Jessica Fechtor
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 28, Jessica Fechtor was happily immersed in graduate school and her young marriage and thinking about starting a family. Then one day she went for a run, and an aneurysm burst in her brain. She nearly died. She lost her sense of smell and the sight in her left eye and was forced to the sidelines of the life she loved. Jessica's journey to recovery began in the kitchen as soon as she was able to stand at the stovetop and stir. There, she drew strength from the restorative power of cooking and baking.
-
-
Wonderful powerful read
- By Amazon Customer on 01-13-24
By: Jessica Fechtor
-
Bruno's Challenge
- And Other Stories of the French Countryside
- By: Martin Walker
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Walker presents his first collection of Bruno stories featuring all the familiar characters from the novels, the glories of the Périgord, and ample helpings of food and wine.
-
-
Outtakes and Ephemera
- By SW Clemens on 03-23-22
By: Martin Walker
-
Angelina's Bachelors
- A Novel, with Food
- By: Brian O'Reilly
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Far too young to be a widow, Angelina D’Angelo suddenly finds herself facing a life without her beloved husband, Frank. Late one night shortly after the funeral, she makes her way down to the kitchen and pours all of her grief and anger into the only outlet she has left - her passion for cooking.
-
-
A Mouthwatering Comfort Listen
- By Blee Medel on 01-30-12
By: Brian O'Reilly
-
Breakfast in Burgundy
- A Hungry Irishman in the Belly of France
- By: Raymond Blake
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laced with compelling writing about French food and its ways, Breakfast in Burgundy is part travel memoir, part foodie detective story, and part love song to Raymond's adopted home. This audiobook tells the story of the Blake's decision to buy a house in Burgundy. Raymond describes the moments of despair such as the water leak that cost a fortune and the fantastic times too. Blake has admitted to being fascinated by flavor and how it is created."
-
-
surprisingly lulz and interesting
- By Amazon Customer on 12-02-21
By: Raymond Blake
-
Catering to Nobody
- By: Diane Mott Davidson
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even though working a wake isn’t Goldy Bear’s idea of fun, the Colorado caterer throws herself into preparing a savory feast featuring Poached Salmon and Strawberry Shortcake Buffet designed to soothe forty mourners. Her culinary efforts seem to be exactly what the doctor ordered … until her former father-in-law, gynecologist Fritz Korman, is struck down—and Goldy is accused of adding poison to the menu.
-
-
So, so bad...and yet...
- By Scarlett on 10-16-14
-
The Bastard of Istanbul
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her second novel written in English, Elif Shafak confronts her country's violent past in a vivid and colorful tale set in both Turkey and the United States. At its center is the "bastard" of the title, Asya, a 19-year-old woman who loves Johnny Cash and the French Existentialists, and the four sisters of the Kazanci family who all live together in an extended household in Istanbul.
-
-
A tender gift from far away
- By Barbara on 11-07-07
By: Elif Shafak
-
Super Sushi Ramen Express
- One Family's Journey Through the Belly of Japan
- By: Michael Booth
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Japan is arguably the preeminent food nation on earth, a Mecca for the world's greatest chefs, with more Michelin stars than any other country. The Japanese go to extraordinary lengths and expense to eat food that is marked both by its exquisite preparation and exotic content. Their creativity, dedication, and courage in the face of dishes such as cod sperm and octopus ice cream is only now beginning to be fully appreciated in the sushi and ramen-saturated West.
-
-
Interesting material that's well-narrated
- By John S. on 11-09-16
By: Michael Booth
What listeners say about Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- NOEL
- 08-02-22
Slow start
Starts a little slow but I ended up really enjoying the audio book as it went on.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hurra Huse
- 08-09-20
Brilliant
Well written, extremely interesting and a somewhat unique point of view. The history lesson, combined with brilliant food writing, makes this a joy to listen to. This is even funny in some parts. Warmly recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daryl
- 10-08-13
Captivating look at the USSR
Where does Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Very high. One of the best autobiographhies, surely. The choice of food as a look into Soviet life was both brilliant and tragic, and Anya's self-realization, even as a young child, is portrayed with all its pain and glory.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking?
When Anya's family emigrated to the USA, and she went to an American supermarket for the first time. I was struck by the idea that (paraphrasing) there was no meaning behind the food, you could just get what you wanted when you wanted it, and how she longed for the intimate meaning of the foods she enjoyed in the USSR, even though it would mean waiting hours in line for it if you could get it at all.
What about Kathleen Gati’s performance did you like?
All of it! She was an incredible narrator choice; I will definitely check out more of her performances!
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Both!
Any additional comments?
READ THIS BOOK! If you're interested in Soviet history, food, or simply the coming of age bio, this book will appeal to you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A. Potter
- 01-12-16
It could have been great!
Any additional comments?
This book brimmed with personal detail and on-the-body story telling but lost its way several times, forcing the reader into numerous tangents on Soviet history that would interest only enthusiasts of that era. Argh. It could have been great!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Julian H.
- 08-16-19
Fantastic!
A wonderful blend of memoir and history. The narrator was a perfect selection as well!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nobody's business
- 03-31-14
Russian political history with great recipes
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't quite what I had expected. There are descriptions of Russian food, cooking, and recipes, but that only accounts for about 25% of the book. The rest is devoted to the author's experience of Russian political history and how that influenced her view on the world around her and in particular, on food.
The narrator, Kathleen Gati, was simply marvelous. She could not have done a better job. I really enjoyed her accent, and I felt that her soothing voice brought the material to life. This is a book I probably would not have read in print version, and if I had, I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much.
The author and her family are Russian Jewish immigrants to America and the story of their life and subsequent immigration is captured so beautifully that you feel yourself in the middle of Russia with them. While there are some frightening parts to the book, I don't recall anything particularly gory. The only objection that I have is that there is unnecessary foul language. It is few and far between, but it takes a lot away from the book, which is why I took away a couple of Overall stars.
In general, if you are interested in Russian political history or Russian cooking, this is a good book for you. Don't overlook the PDF that comes with it that contains various Russian recipes that were mentioned in the book. If you're really interested in the recipes, the PDF is worth the cost of the credit to purchase the audiobook.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vince
- 12-05-13
Wonderful Book, Excellent Performance
Would you listen to Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking again? Why?
Again? Weird question. It's a fantastic book though. Engrossing memoir of a Soviet childhood told in an interesting way.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking?
Hey, how about you just let me write a review instead of asking dumb questions?
What about Kathleen Gati’s performance did you like?
She didn't over act and she did all the accents beautifully. I only noticed her in a positive way.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Sure. Hey, Audible, these questions are dumb. A lawyer would object to them as leading, and they'd never hold up.
Any additional comments?
I am the walrus, coo coo ka-choo.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JLJ
- 01-15-14
LOVE THIS BOOK!
Where does Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I was fascinated by the details describe by Anya Von Bremzen in which the Soviet people had to live. After a recent visit to Russia this summer I became more and more interested in the story of the people of todays Russian and yesterday's USSR.
The story is funny and sad and shocking at times. Truly moving.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
no I listened to slowly actually and often times relistened to get all of the details.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David T. Klein
- 01-11-22
A Meal Can Always Be Vehicle For A Story
It's a memoire of three generations, wars, denunciations, famine, black marketeering and survival, as told through cuisine, titled "Mastering The Art Of SOVIET Cooking". It’s poignant, without being saccharine; honest, without being bitter. За здоровье!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary
- 11-23-13
Does Pronunciation Matter?
Any additional comments?
Very good, very sad book. Kathleen Gati has a warm voice and reads smoothly, but makes no attempt at getting Russian pronunciations right. People, places and Russian words range from slightly off to laughably wrong. Why do audiobook producers believe that one East European accent is the same as another? I'd have enjoyed it more with a Russian-speaking reader.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful