Details

I'm not a detail person.  "Good Enough!" is one of my most usual expressions."  But The Nightingale by Kristan Hannah was so well written, down to the minuteness of details, that she had me drooling.  I see the importance of details in writing, at least.  What a writer!  Her written expression seems so effortlessly done.  The story is about living in occupied France during World War II.  The Nightingale refers to the code name given to the guide who helped people cross over the Pyrenes.

Hannah's descriptions of the hardships endured had me suffering.  And what I particularly noted was the description of cooking.  This is not a book about cooking, nor hardship.  It's a story of two young women and their differences, especially their different ways of approaching the war.  They both get drawn into the battle.  Hannah deftly describes the scenes so well that you're there.  Although, food was rationed, and they grew what they could, the people had to make do.  Being French, I suppose, meant adding spices when cooking.  Even with using only root vegetables, I was drooling over the description of the vegetables braised in the pan.  This made me personally resolve to be a better cook.  If French cuisine can be adhered to during deprivation, then I have no excuse.

I went through my spices and threw out the old to make room for the new.  I plan to try some new ones too.  I'm even thinking of moving the spices to a more convenient reach, so I'll use them more often.

Actually, cooking has nothing whatsoever to do with the book, The Nightingale.  However, it is
a novel that I'm sure will whet your appetite.