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
