What people are saying about …
"Ms. Ward is a gifted writer, and Hunger is a zippy read, especially for foodies."
“In this lyrical debut novel, Jane Ward examines the complications of family life and proves that food is love. HUNGER offers up a mouthwatering array of delicacies that will satisfy the palate and still leave readers hungry for more.”
- Mameve Medwed, author of The End of an Error and How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life "
“Simple recipes for meals and marriages add charm to this first novel. . . . Like Anna's cooking, Ward's style is simple and direct, with carefully selected enhancements. Childhood memories, such as young Anna taking refuge from her parents' overcooked meals in a neighbor's kitchen, or adult nightmares, like the dinner party that inevitably ends in a fight, show a keen sense of detail.”
-Publishers Weekly
“Ward's debut novel blends family and marital problems with the different flavors and textures of food. Anna Rossi feels dissatisfied in her marriage, and her husband, Michael, rarely has time for their relationship. Attempting to make their life appear perfect, Anna creates elaborate dinners in the hope that the food will attract needed attention from her distant and overworked husband. Although an excellent cook, Anna does not truly appreciate the subtle joys of eating and working with food until she begins to satisfy her emotional appetite. Reassessing her childhood memories and the early college years with her husband, Anna begins to learn how to live her life anew.”
-Michelle Kaske, Copyright © American Library Association.
“All Anna Rossi ever wanted from life was not to repeat her parents' bland inanimate existence. She thought when she married Michael that she found everything with him and through her love of cooking. However, after a few blissful years together, Anna finds herself in that same rut of her childhood that still haunts her today. Trying to put some flavor back into her marriage, Anna persuades Michael to go on vacation, but that only substantiates that they have nothing in common except a six-year-old child. Deciding to start fresh, Anna leaves Michael to accept a job as a cooking assistant. She soon has an affair with her chef-boss even as Michael pleads for her to return to him in his letters. Confused, Anna finally must decide between Michael and cooking even as her mother suffers a debilitating stroke, making her decision much easier to accept. HUNGER is an adult coming of age tale starring a frustrated and bewildered individual seeking happiness and solace in life. Readers will react to the demoralized Anna with mixed feelings as they will sympathize with a great to say you are finally getting a life vs. wanting to shout to her to be an adult already. Though Anna over-muses at times, Jane Ward has written a tale that will provide much enjoyment to those readers who relish an intriguing personal crisis.
-Harriet Klausner, March 2001 for Amazon