On the Coffee Table: Lucy Knisley

Title: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
Writer and Artist: Lucy Knisley

via NPR

Cartoonist Lucy Knisley grew up in a family that was all about food.  For Mom, her culinary enthusiasm became a career, catering parties and working farm market stands.  For Dad, it was an appreciation of great restaurants.  In her graphic novel memoir Relish, Knisley shares the food-related formative experiences of her youth.  Interspersed with the stories are illustrated favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookies, carbonara, huevos rancheros, etc.

After her parents divorced, Knisley spent most of her childhood in upstate New York with Mom plus occasional visits to see Dad in the city.  She learned to cook at Mom's elbow.  Mom's was a back-to-basics, do-it-yourself approach so they had a huge vegetable garden and a chicken coop, too.  A lot of Lucy's early food adventures came through family travel.  Dad took her to London and Rome.  Mom took her to Mexico and Japan. 

The tone of the book is very light, almost dreamy at times.  Knisley falls just short of idealizing her childhood.  She admits to being spoiled food-wise but there are the usual struggles we all face growing up, too.  The artwork is simple and uncluttered - a good thing, by my reckoning.  Very colorful, especially the food.  Relish is a fun read.  Fair warning: it will leave you hungry.

On the Coffee Table: French Milk

Title: French Milk
Writer and Artist: Lucy Knisley

via Amazon

French Milk is Knisley's self-illustrated travel diary of the six weeks she and her mother spent living in Paris.  This was my second dip into Knisley's work, having read Relish a few years ago (see here).  Interspersed with her drawings are photographs, often of the same subjects which makes for interesting side-by-side comparisons.  Knisley's art represents simplified and somewhat idealized versions of reality.

I was a little disappointed in this book.  Lots of shopping and eating - okay, I can't say I really mind the eating as I myself do plenty of writing about eating.  But I guess I was hoping for deeper cultural insights whereas most of Knisley's material is about... herself.  The blurb on the back cover promises a personal look at the mother-daughter relationship but I'm not sure we really got much of that either.  Perhaps it is honest and realistic.  It's just not what I wanted. 

On the Coffee Table: Something New

Title: Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride
Writer and Artist: Lucy Knisley

via Amazon

This is my third Knisley graphic novel memoir.  This time, she's getting married.  While she does tell the story of the long, meandering courtship, most of the book is devoted to wedding planning itself.  As with many couples, Lucy and her now-husband John worked hard to personalize the affair.  In their case, that meant DIY decoration projects and relying on the generosity of friends, family and neighbors. 

Our own wedding - also planned for outdoors in the woods - was 18 years ago in June.  I loved our wedding - probably the most beautifully planned and executed day of my life.  All credit to my wife who did the lion's share of the work.  I must say, though, I'm glad to have married well the first time as it's not an ordeal I'm eager to go through again anytime soon.  So much stress that, wonderful as it was, it was all too easy to wonder why more people don't simply elope.

For me, the best reason to have a wedding - rather than just knocking out the paperwork at the county clerk's office and being done with it - was the gathering of loved ones.  Due to our own life meanderings and those of our families, the people who are important to us are pretty well scattered.  The wedding was probably the best opportunity we'll ever have to bring so many of them together in the same place at the same time.  We also had our wedding in the style of the Quakers (gotta love Pennsylvania) which meant we faced our guests during the service.  I am grateful for that choice.

I suppose we have our daughter's wedding to look forward to one day.  I have no doubt that she'll work just as hard to personalize hers.  She read the book, too, and latched onto a couple of ideas: poutine and a wedding dress with pockets.

Knisley's books are always well executed.  Her material is so personal - a plus, big picture - that I am always left wondering what I would think of her.  In all honesty, I don't think I'd care for her - a bit too self-absorbed.  I think I'd like her husband John better.  Even so, the book is fun.