Eat Cake

by Jeanne Ray

Book Overview

Ruth loves to bake cakes. When she is alone, she dreams up variations on recipes. When she meditates, she imagines herself in the warm, comforting center of a gigantic bundt cake. If there is a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451211979
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.9" x 0.6" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

A sweet, fun read

This is such a sweet, charming and fun book. Anyone who has ever had to deal with juggling any combination of home, family, and work will be able to relate to Ruth's ups and downs with her elderly parents, teenaged daughter, and suddenly unemployed husband. It provides a reminder that dealing with change - while stressful - can be both a delightful and challenging adventure as well as a kick-in-the-pants that staying in one's comfort zone isn't always the best or only option. This book provides an entertaining escape during the hectic holidays!

Deliciously entertaining

Ruth is having a bad day. Her estranged father Guy calls to announce that he broke both wrists, needs help caring for himself, and is moving in with her for a while. Her mother Hollis, who already lives with her and who detests Guy, announces her displeasure over it. Her husband Sam announces that he just lost his job. Her daughter Camille is a moody teenager who never announces much of anything. Ruth's family experiences a lot of turmoil as Hollis and Guy face off against each other, Sam starts thinking about a career change, and the financial concerns begin to mount. To attempt to cope with all this, Ruth does what she always does when under stress: she bakes cakes. For Ruth, cakes are her escape from the pressures of daily life. She even imagines being in the center of a huge warm bundt cake as a means of relaxing meditation. Can Ruth's cakes save the day in this crisis? This may be a story of a family in crisis, but I wouldn't really call it a dysfunctional family. It is a family struggling to deal with the same pressures and problems that so many families do: aging parents, balky adolescents, unemployment, and midlife career crises. Jeanne Ray's novels are feel-good books full of warmth, humor, and wisdom. "Eat Cake" is no exception. In fact, as I read it I felt as warm and comfortable as if I were in the center of that fresh-from-the-oven bundt cake with Ruth. At the end of the book is a collection of recipes for cakes mentioned in the story. They include such delights as "Sweet potato bundt cake with rum-plumped raisins and a spiced sugar glaze" and "Almond apricot pound cake with amaretto." Read this delectable book, which can be devoured in a sitting or two, and then try your hand at one of the cake recipes. Bon appetit! Eileen Rieback

A delightful confection from a very talented author.

"Eat Cake" is the third thoroughly charming book from the wonderful Jeanne Ray. Each of her books has featured two main themes. One is that everyone should find a vocation or a passion in life, such as selling flowers, tap dancing, or in this case, baking sumptuous cakes. Ray also explores the theme of how people fall in and out of love.Ruth Hopson, the main character in "Eat Cake," is a primo baker. Her family wishes that she would stop baking already, since they are up to their ears in cakes. Suddenly, Ruth's husband, Sam, loses his job, and the family is seriously strapped for cash. Ruth's mother, Hollis, lives with her. Hollis is mortified when her long-long husband, an irresponsible drifter who plays piano in lounges, shows up at his daughter's house to recuperate from a freak accident. Hollis has no desire to live with her despised husband under one roof.Jeanne Ray takes all of these ingredients and mixes them up into a delicious souffle. The comic exchanges between the characters are priceless. Ray beautifully depicts how the members of this family slowly begin to look at one another in a new light. She demonstrates how we take our relatives for granted until we realize how precious and indispensable they really are. An added treat, for those who love to bake, is the section in the back of the book that is chock full of cake recipes.For a pleasant read that will tickle your funny bone and make you ravenous for a delicious piece of cake, pick up this enchanting novel.

Nothing Half-Baked Here

Jeanne Ray has cooked up another delightful novel with Eat Cake. A pinch of humor here, a dash of surprise there make her latest novel pure pleasure for the reader's palate. The book is never overly sweet or disappointingly sour, and that's no small feat when dealing with weighty issues such as coping with a laid-off spouse, taking care of elderly parents, and dealing with teenagers. One bite of this book will keep you munching away until it's finished. The only problem then is the wait until Jeanne Ray serves up another slice of life, novel-style.