Books to Read Before the Summer Blockbuster Movies Come Out
Some of our all-time favorite novels and memoirs are about to have their debuts as films. Here's what to enjoy on the page, as well as on the screen.
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The Hundred-Foot Journey
By Richard C. Morais
272 pages;
Scribner
In Richard C. Morais' food-centric world, nights are as "black as a boudin
noir"; the sun sets like "a mango sorbet dripping over the horizon."
If you love to eat—particularly French or Indian
food—you'll be right at home in that world, tagging along with
Hassan
Haji and his family, as they taste their way from India to England to rural
France. There, they open Maison Mumbai and engage in a culinary culture war
with a snooty French madame who runs the elegant, Michelin-starred restaurant
across the street. The film version (produced by none other than Oprah,
Steven Spielberg and Juliet Blake) delivers lush alpine landscapes and Helen Mirren as the
prickly epicurean. But enjoying the fantastical nature of the
dishes—for example, the roasted pigeon—takes a little
imagination. Devour all 200-odd pages in one sitting.
— Lynn Andriani and Leigh Newman
Published 05/19/2014