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Book Review of Recipes from the Dump

Recipes from the Dump
reviewed on


From Library Journal
Stone's first novel is about life in the climbing lane. Gabby Fulbriten, a single mother of three, lives near the dump in Leadbelly, Vermont. She is hungry-for life, for love, for fulfillment. To appease this hunger she conjures recipes using human beings, emotions, and states of being as ingredients. This and Shakespeare get her through her days of quilting, soul-searching, and work at the Hurry Up Market. Gabby is searching for meaning-a way to explain poverty, war, illness, loneliness, and death. She wants a man but fears the consequences of having one. She feels stuck but can't overcome the inertia that keeps her in place or the demands that drive her day. Stone's novel is frightening and funny, depressing and delightful. Recommended for popular collections.