Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots - Softcover

Soffer, Jessica

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0544289730 ISBN 13: 9780544289734

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2014

Synopsis

"Sassy, brash, acrobatic and colorful . . . I want to read it again and again." --Time

"Impressive . . . Soffer's style is natural and assured." --Meg Wolitzer, All Things Considered, NPR

Lorca spends her life poring over cookbooks to earn the love of her distracted mother, a chef, who is now packing her off to boarding school. Desperate to prove herself, Lorca resolves to track down the recipe for her mother's ideal meal. She signs up for cooking lessons from Victoria, an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant profoundly shaken by her husband's death. Soon these two women develop a deeper bond while their concoctions--cardamom pistachio cookies, baklava, and masgouf--bake in Victoria's kitchen. But their individual endeavors force a reckoning with the past, the future, and the truth--whatever it might be.

In Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots we see how food sustains not just our bodies, but our hopes as well. Bukra fil mish mish, the Arabic saying goes. Tomorrow, apricots may bloom.

"A profound and necessary new voice. Soffer's prose is as controlled as it is fresh, as incisive as it is musical. Soffer has arrived early, with an orchestra of talent at her disposal." --Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin

"Moving [and] extraordinary." --Atlantic

"A work of beauty in words . . . Soffer is a master artist painting the hidden hues of the human soul." --New York Journal of Books

About this title

Review:

"Soffer's breathtaking prose interweaves delectable descriptions of food with a profoundly redemptive story about loss, self-discovery, and acceptance."
--O: The Oprah Magazine

"Sassy, brash, acrobatic and colorful. . . I want to read it again and again--a novel about an elderly Iraqi Jewish immigrant and a 14-year-old pain addict, a novel of redemption and joy, a novel of history and belonging, beautifully written and sharply felt. It is a love song to both American and Iraqi culture, a sly political allegory and a homage to loneliness."
--Colum McCann, Time

"Beautifully written."
--Atlantic

"In this novel of shifting point of views, you want to linger longest with Lorca; both her shortcomings and her desires are so identifiable you can't help but root for her."
--Vogue.com

"Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots is an astounding accomplisment for a young, new voice. Undoubtedly this is the beginining of a spectacular career."
--Woodbury Magazine

"Told in Victoria and Lorca's alternating first-person voices, the character driven novel... offers fully realized, multidimensional characters who invite empathy and compassion."
--Booklist

"Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots is an exceptional novel, filled with well-wrought characters and sharp, beautiful prose. This profound story of two lonely people who find common ground in food, told in Soffer's singular voice, is unforgettable."
--Largehearted Boy

"An unhappy teen and a shellshocked widow make a vital connection, though not the one they initially think, in Soffer's somber debut....Well-written and atmospheric."
--Kirkus

"An incredibly talented and promising new author. Soffer's writing. . . sears across the page."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"This powerful debut sheds light on the meaning and power of family, whether its members are blood-related or "created" by nonrelatives. Food is what strengthens relationships here. . . However, it is not just the love of food but understanding and acceptance that help to make this such a lovely novel."
--Library Journal, starred review

"Lovers of food-centered fiction should find some nourishment in Soffer's debut."
--Publishers Weekly

"This first novel by Jessica Soffer is a work of beauty in words. There is no dead wood in this story; not a word is indispensable. Ms. Soffer is a master artist painting the hidden hues of the human soul. Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots is an intelligent work in the vein of Azar Nafisi where the humanity of the characters transcends cultural or national differences and illustrates commonalities."
--New York Journal of Books

"Soffer's descriptions of food as well as emotional connections are richly layered."
--Jewish Week

"Soffer's wonderful debut paints an elegant portrait of two women lost in the crush, who find themselves and each other through food. Delicious in more ways than one."
--Flavorwire

"A poignant story of love, acceptance and memory. . . Beautifully written with a deep understanding of both woman and girl, the book is a first novel for Jessica Soffer, daughter of an Iraqi Jewish artist, whose imagination and versatility bode well for her future."
--Moment Magazine

"Lush and layered...This is story about family and love, and how food feeds both of these, but also a story of loss and pain and the empty stomachs of those still learning how to feel. For that I find it, much like life, alive and sobering, buoyant and blue, at times dark, but only until the light fills the room."
--The Millions

"[A story] of love, craving and family lost and gained, all through the experience of food -- particularly the tangy, smoky, cardamom and saffron-spiced dishes of the Persian Gulf....[Soffer's] writing is as painful as it is exquisite, and [her book] exposes the raw power of love."
--The Forward

"What makes a family? Where do we find our sustenance? Jessica Soffer examines the often debated questions with artful storytelling. She calls on all of our senses to consider the age old issue of nature vs. nurture. But food, laden with history and culture, the legendary path to the heart, is the medium. Mix in a very needy cast of characters and the recipe for a good tale is perfected."
--Jewish Book World

"A delectable tale of the families we choose...indeed, we root for all of Soffer's rich and complex characters."
--BookPage

"A profound and necessary new voice. Soffer's prose is as controlled as it is fresh, as incisive as it is musical. Soffer has arrived early, with an orchestra of talent at her disposal."
--Colum McCann

"Lit by prose of startling beauty and originality, Jessica Soffer's novel of loss, love, food, and finding family is insightful and, as the story unfolds, increasingly moving. This is that rare debut with the capacity to genuinely satisfy the broadest swath of readers--from foodies to poets, mothers to daughters, solitary souls to friends debating subjects close to their hearts. She is a writer to watch; this is a story that matures and expands with each page."
--Nicole Mones, author of The Last Chinese Chef

"This lovely book is the story of lost souls hanging on to each other for dear life, then finding hope and healing. An emotional page-turner with characters who touched my heart and soon felt like old friends, it commandeered my time until the sweet and satisfying ending. Hard to believe such a wise book is a first novel. Here's hoping there's much more to come from this wonderful writer."
--Bo Caldwell, author of The Distant Land of My Father and City of Tranquil Light

"This beautiful, beautiful book calls to mind The Elegance of the Hedgehog, for its artistry and heart, and for its two unlikely soul mates--one old, one young, both harboring private grief, shaping their lives around what is missing, looking for families fate has denied them. A gifted storyteller, Soffer writes with a rare combination of fearlessness and compassion; she has a sage's ability to find absurdity and humor in sorrow. Her characters, as familiar as our own imperfect faces in the mirror, remind us to forgive ourselves our foibles: after all, hope--and the need for human connection--makes fools of us all. I dare anyone to barricade their heart against this enchanting novel."
--Stephanie Kallos, author of Broken for You and Sing Them Home

"I devoured this mouth-watering story of self-discovery, one as deep-rooted as an ancient fruit tree perpetually blossoming anew. With prose sharp as a paring knife, Soffer shows us that love transcends cultural boundaries, age, old wounds and new seasons. So, too, does this novel. A savory debut!"
--Sarah McCoy, author of The Baker's Daughter

"Jessica Soffer's gorgeous and word-wise novel shows us how a single sentence can contain wonders, and a kitchen can contain epics; this is a fantastic debut."
--Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances

"Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots is elegant, sensual, surprising and rich. Jessica Soffer delivers a world to us, populated with indelible characters whose fates, as they become entwined, spur us to read fast, faster, except to do so would be to miss the beauty of Soffer's language, which is to be savored. This is a superb debut."
--Dani Shapiro

Book Description:

A heartbreaking debut about family, love, grief and food

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0544289730
• ISBN 13: 9780544289734
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352