James VillasReseñas

1.5*

From the book jacket: Ella Dubose is a Southern lady of a certain age – an age at which memories of youth can rush in at every turn and overwhelm the present. But while Ella’s two younger children are concerned for her health and want to limit her independence, Ella – elegant, unconventional, and unrepentantly willful – has very different ideas. And she’s not about to be controlled by anyone, not when there are tasks she needs to complete and loose ends that must be tied. The first step is to leave her family and take a road trip back to the places where key chapters of her life unfolded.

My reactions
I was hoping for a charming, “old Southern lady” romp of a story. Instead, I got a tedious, repetitive meander that went nowhere. I have no idea why Villas included Goldie, Miss Ella’s companion, and especially have no idea why he chose to make her a Native American, other than to give some people an excuse to call her Squaw and Ella a reason to chastise them for that.

I did like all the references to the music of the ‘40s and ‘50s. I’ll give him an extra ½ star for that, though it wasn’t enough to save the book for me.½

James Villas has written over a dozen cookbooks and books about food, as well as writing in Town & Country, Bon Appétit, Gourmet and Esquire. With such credentials, what in the world possessed him to write this dud? Although he’s a southerner, this book comes across as if written by someone who reviles the south. He didn’t miss a cliché.

From country music (did he choose to name certain ones because they sound funny to him? - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dwight Yoakam) and songs (Jesus Take the Wheel, Mama, Get the Hammer) to church hymns (by name).

From food that southerners cook - collards, okra and jalapeno cornbread, and snacks like Cheese-Its,

From roller derby, watching Paula Deen on tv, NASCAR, line dancing, to Dixie Stampede.

I found the tone of this book denigrating.

More than 150 recipes for crab cakes, fried chicken, hush puppies and more

More than 150 recipes from arouond the world for everyone's favorite food.

Every recipe in this book looks divine and scrumptious and drool-worthy. The intro, the short history, the sources for bacon...all interesting and helpful. I may put this on my "to be purchased" list of cookbooks. The biggest disappointment in the book is the lack of pictures. There's only one photo about every five to eight recipes. I much prefer cookbooks with a lot (every recipe or every other recipe) of glorious food photos. I like to drool over the styling as much as the food.

Includes profile of M.F.K. Fisher by James Villas titled
"Country Lunch With MFK Fisher".

I loved the beginning of this book, and liked at least half of it very much. Villas' staunch defense of okra, fruitcake and canned tuna made me grin. He's a good writer, and a funny one. The book began to pale, for me, when he ventured out of his ancestral foodways and into restaurant criticism touched with some what felt to me like gratuitous sneering at the less fortunate who can't jet off to the France for the latest wine.

James Villas's latest collection is dedicated to ground, shredded or minced meat and fish. All the usual suspects are here (meatloaf, Bolognese sauce, meatballs), in addition to more exotic fare like French seafood quenelles (ground fish or shellfish mixed with egg white, formed into ovals and poached in a fish broth), a Brazilian salt cod souffle, and Moroccan Bisteeya (phyllo pastry with a spicy/sweet chicken filling). I haven't had time to try any of the recipes yet, so I'll have to make some photocopies before I return the book to the library.½

From the Ground Up by James Villas features recipes using all kinds of ground or minced meats. If you are thinking this is a cookbook full of burgers and meatloaf think again! There are literally recipes from around the world including dumplings, turnovers, quiches and croquettes with a few comfortable favorites like chilis and meatballs through in. I was surprised by the number of fish and seafood recipes included. There are no pictures and the soft cover cookbook is pretty plain, but the recipes are easy to follow and he mentions substitutions making finding ingredients simpler. Below are the recipes I tried and what I thought of them.

Spanish Chorizo- Stuffed Mushrooms -
This is the best stuffed mushroom recipe I've tried! The salty, meaty sausage combined with the mushrooms make for an unami delight. This will become a regular appetizer at my parties.

Greek Lamb, Raisin, and Pine Nut Spanakopitas -
I liked the idea of this dish better than I liked the reality. The flavors didn't seem to go together very well and the phyllo was messy to work with. This is the one recipe I tried that I likely won't repeat.

Maryland Deviled Crab -
Very rich and not too spicy. This was a decadent way to start a fancy meal. I won't make this often, but when a need something rich and fancy to start, maybe New Years Eve, I'll make this again.

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes -
Easy, healthier and tastier than average sloppy joes. I made these for kids and they were gobbled up. This recipe is perfect for a weeknight supper.

Italian Proscuitto and Spinach Frittata -
This was my favorite recipe from this cookbook. Delicious flavor combination, quick and easy to make, and I would be happy to eat it breakfast, lunch or dinner!

This is a good cookbook for spicing up your regular routine!

I received this book through Librarything Early Reviewers. I was looking forward to a good southern read. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. Loretta was a character I could not relate to or care for. When Loretta's husband leaves her for a thin woman, she decides to have lapband surgery. Loretta learns that her weight wasn't the only thing causing her to be unhappy. I was expecting a light, southern read with an uplifting message. Instead, I found myself reading a book about shallow characters. Maybe this just wasn't the book for me.

It took me a very long time to get through this book. It is not that it was a difficult read. In fact, it should be a quick read. It was just that I could not get into it. The idea behind the story is a good one. A formerly overweight woman learning to live in her new skin. Unfortunately, the characters were not likable and the story was not intriguing. As much as I wanted to like this book, I just could not bring myself to enjoy it.

James Villas's Hungry for Happiness gives us a glimpse into the life of Loretta, a formerly obese woman dealing with the changes weight-loss surgery has introduced into her life, including increased career opportunities and interest from men. The book is narrated by Loretta, so we see not only the events that transpire, but her every thought and fear. Unfortunately, given the fact that almost every thought she has is about food or body image, this quickly grows tiresome. Barely a paragraph goes by without some mention of appetite or fat. Within sentences of introducing a new character, we will know what they weigh. Her fear of people knowing she wasn't always thin borders on irrational, especially given the pride most people take in extreme weight loss.

Loretta is presented as a strong resilient character (at least that's what I gather from the Reader's Guide). I have to say I don't agree. Her constant willingness to be run over by her mother, her sister, her romantic interests and her friends left me with the impression of a perpetual willing victim. After a time, most of her problems seemed of her own making. She explains her actions over and over as "showing I have manners" or "letting them know I was raised right" when to any observer it reads as allowing herself to be taken advantage of and abused. Villas also foreshadows far too strongly so that most of the plot "twists" were so expected by the time I reached them that Loretta seemed somewhat foolish for not guessing them earlier.

Hungry for Happiness did have a few strengths. The dialogue and narrative was charmingly naturalistic. Loretta's interactions with others, including characters coming and going throughout the entire book rather than sticking with one static cast of characters, made the plot seem very true-to-life. I would love to see the author apply these qualities to a story with a less repetitive focus and a stronger central character.

I received Hungry for Happiness through LibraryThing's Member Giveaway program.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. Instead, I found it to be quite offensive.

Loretta Crawford has lost significant weight after a gastric bypass. Life remains a struggle, as she ties to get her catering business off the ground and navigate the dating scene as a thinner woman. Loretta has a terrible self-image, and discovers that life as a thinner woman is not as easy as she expected.

The main problem with this book was the characters. They were at best unlikable, at worst offensive. The worst of the lot is Loretta, who expresses tremendous hatred of fat people. She is constantly criticizing overweight people, including her friends and family. Loretta genuinely believes that fat people do not deserve happiness, and she thinks that her overweight friends and family are disgusting, a sentiment she repeats ad nauseum. She expresses anger and disbelief when good things happen to her fat friends. Loretta Crawford is certainly not someone I would want to be my friend. Hatred of fat women seems to be coursing through this book. The male character who prefers to date fat women is repeatedly described as "a pervert," and treated much more harshly than the male characters who commit rape.

This book also employs a strange dialect. I've lived in the south. I'm used to heavy accents. I've never heard anything like this. Loretta calls everyone "Bub," "Buster," or "Buckaroo." I have no idea what the intention was, but I have yet to hear a Texan speak lie this.

I honestly cannot recommend this book.

As a bigger girl, I wanted to like this book, I really did. However, I found Loretta extremely unlikeable and very hard to relate to. Weight loss surgery and massive weight loss will not solve all your problems. There are always reasons as to why the weight is there and solving those is a much better solution. I really have nothing positive to say about this book, so I would take a pass.....

I just don’t think I enjoyed this book at all. Loretta was a miserable woman and the way she talked about overweight people was dreadful, I could understand if it was about herself like an inner dialogue we all have that but the way she spoke about her mother, her sister and her friends got to be too much. It’s one thing to worry about their health but to call then fat tubs o’lard or fatties was just over the top. Also I really doubt everyone is called bub, southern people calling you hun yes but I guess everything in this book was just over the top.

The description of this book is deceiving especially saying this is moving, witty and uplifting there is nothing uplifting in this book and it says it will resonate with woman of any size well it resonated with me and NOT in a good way.

I was also a bit offended by the discussion questions in the back of the book, the first one talks about Loretta’s social status and does she try to elevate it, well yes she does that’s all through the book but the way these questions are worded is offensive. I am not from Texas or from the south but I think Texan woman would be very offended by this book or at least should be.

Maybe if this book was written by a woman who has been through weight loss and stomach banding it may have been uplifting but it was written by a man who definitely doesn’t like women with a little meat on their bones.

2 Stars

Hungry for Happiness is the story of Loretta Crawford, a 36-year old woman who's husband leaves her for another, thinner woman. Loretta decides to change her life and starts by having lap band surgery. Before her surgery she weighed 280 pounds (and was only 5'4"). Even though Loretta is losing weight, she still loves to cook and word gets around that she's one of the best cooks around. Soon she has her own catering business. Also, as she loses more and more weight, she catches the eye of more and more men.

I noticed some reviewers didn't like Loretta's Texas dialect and thought it was over the top. I'm not Texan so I can't say for sure if it was realistic but even if it wasn't I thought it was charming and funny.

I think the overall message of this book was that there are no simple solutions to life's problems. Loretta thinks that weight loss surgery and losing weight will automatically make her happy but she doesn't realize that she has underlying issues that caused her to gain the weight in the first place. However, I don't feel like Loretta ever really understood that and I would have expected her to eventually have some sort of revelation. This book started out with a bang and ended with kind of a whimper.

It is really hard to like a book, or at least relate to a book, if you don't like the main character. I would not be Loretta's friend and put up with her judgemental nature if someone paid me. That being said, I was surprised at how well this man wrote a woman. Just because I didn't like her does not mean that she was not believable. Loretta had a gastric band put on her stomach and basically lost half of her weight. Now she looks at anyone overweight and sees them as disgusting. Granted, she previously saw herself as disgusting (and really still does), so she is not just hateful. She judges everyone on their weight and appearance without really getting to know anyone in the book. When a boyfriend leaves her for her "disgusting" friend, she is appalled and thinks that something is wrong with him. This is her journey and the realization that skinniness does not bring automatic happiness takes a while. I enjoyed the book, but would not read anymore about Loretta or company.

I received Hungry for Happiness as an Early Reviewer book and was quite happy since it covers two of my favorite subjects, southern fiction and food. Unfortunately, the book seems to exploit every unflattering stereotypical character that you can think of. I quickly grew tired of the characters use of Hun and Bub. The story line was OK but somewhat predictable. If you’re looking for a fast read involving family dysfunction and food, this might be the book for you.

I really wanted to like this book, and I tried to. I'm a southern girl myself who loves food and fights the scales, so going by the description I thought I'd love the novel. Or at the very least connect with the main character. But each time I picked it up and started reading, I felt like I was on the phone with some lady who kept calling to update me on her crazy life since her surgery and her many wacky friends and dates and work experiences. I didn't even find it humorous; it was mostly just sad. Perhaps it simply wasn't my preferred style or storyline. Also, as other reviewers have mentioned I could not get over the dialogue, which was way beyond normal southern twang or drawl (trust me, I know).½

Loretta Crawford, in an effort to change her life, decides on weight loss surgery. With a silicone ring around her stomach, she is well on her way to losing weight and feeling better about herself. Though, along the way, she has to battle the negative views of her mother and sister, date some pretty shady men and discover what in life truly makes her happy.

The plot line of the book sounded interesting to me - the trials and tribulations of a woman battling her weight, her efforts to keep the weight off while circumnavigating her hectic and at times strange life. For those who love cooking, there are lots of recipes at the end of the book and descriptions of scrumptious-sounding dishes throughout the novel. It's quite clear Loretta knows her way around the kitchen and uses her knowledge to create a blossoming business. I did get lost in the writing style, particularly the characters' dialogue - it's not my typical type of book and probably would have put the book down after reading the first couple of pages. But, overall it was an okay book.; I ended the book hoping that Loretta did truly feel happiness and/or acceptance with her life changing decision and the consequences that followed.

The tone and writing is good. This book just isn't my cup of tea. There are so many books in the world I can't waste time reading something I don't love. I think this book would be appealing to a 20 something southerner.

I don't know many people from Texas, but I would be surprised if they spoke the way the characters in Hungry for Happiness speak. It seems like every line of dialogue includes someone calling another person "bub", "hun" or "cowboy". Other than that, this was a decent chick lit book. I'm not in love with any of the characters, nor am I surprised at the outcome of the story. However, I wanted to keep reading it and eat some of what Loretta, the main character and caterer, was cooking.

I was interested to read this book for several reason. I like books that purport to be "southern" and this one's blurb talked about southern cooking. I love to cook, and often like the books that tell stories involving food, and cooking (which I almost typed as "fooking", but that's something entirely different.) James Villas is a renowned food writer and cook book author, so at least that aspect of the book promised to be hopeful. I like stories about people who transform themselves, not necessarily physically, but emotionally and mentally, and this book hinted at that. So, when I was sent the book via the wonderful LibraryThing Early Reviewers from Kensington Publishing, I was pleased.

I think I expected something simpler than Villas actually served up. This is the story of Loretta Crawford, and her life after her gastric banding. When the book starts, Loretta's 280 lbs, surgery, recovery, and marriage are already at least 130 pounds in the past. She is determined to lose more weight, reshape her life and find elusive love and happiness. Loretta's misadventures with various men who come into her life, with her somewhat hapless family, her friends and even her seemingly masochistic wish to become a caterer are what fill the pages of the book. (There are recipes at the back.)

While there are some fine moments in the book, I was put off by a few things. First of all, I kept wondering what Loretta's reasons were for the surgery. Not that I question having it, but her motivation wasn't clear: Humiliation because her man left her? Disgust at her size and inabilities to do simple activities? To improve her health? To start a new life? To attract another man? I just wasn't sure. While I think that those who choose to have any type of gastric surgery, be it a gastroplasty or a banding etc, have tremendous courage, I would hope that motivation might be more than getting a date or sex partner. But I suppose whatever motivates is a good thing. For someone who was once so large, Loretta seemed really hypercritical of other large people. But I guess that's pretty common among converts to anything. Your way is best, and those who don't see so are somewhat benighted. Loretta's love life also was a little quirky. (At one point, I got confused -- the author uses the euphemism of "lighting his firecracker" for hanky panky, and Loretta calls a woman a fireplug -- I had to re-read the sentence to make sure the woman wasn't a transsexual.)

But perhaps the biggest thing that bothered me was the use of Texan as Southern. Maybe I'm more of a Steel Magnolias kind of person when it comes to Southern and Southern cooking, but Texas, though southern, is a whole different kettle of grits than the deep south. Kind of like milk chocolate and dark chocolate are both the same thing, but are really quite different.

All in all, I'm glad I read the book. Loretta's a good cook, for sure, and I think basically a good person. Given all the family secrets and stories that emerge and the back history, it's easy to see why the book is titled Hungry for Happiness. I came away feeling that Loretta was a survivor and would find just the right recipe to make her life complete.

Whether you like your biscuits made with shortening, butter, lard, or some combination of the above, you'll find plenty in here to suit you. There are even a few recipes that use whole-grain flours such as whole wheat. Many of the recipes include historical or personal notes that are fun to read and add interesting background to the process. Helpful hints include tips on freezing biscuits, as well as the all-important note for Northerners that finally saved my biscuit attempts when Alton shared it: if you use hard Northern flour, substitute cake flour for some of it.

The book includes plain raised biscuits, flavored biscuits, drop biscuits, cocktail and tea biscuits, scones, and recipes that allow you to cook with biscuits. There are plenty of hearty recipes in here such as biscuits with bacon and cheese in them (one of my favorites). There are also more subtly-flavored choices such as the parmesan-herb drop biscuits and the sweet potato biscuits (which work surprisingly well with canned pumpkin). The scones are far better than any commercial scones I've had before--not too sweet, not too dry.

Whether you want to go all-out with biscuits fried in lard on the top of the stove or make something out of buttermilk or whole grains; whether you prefer traditional favorites or unusual combinations such as parmesan and chutney--you'll find the perfect never-fail biscuit recipe in here. And that's definitely biscuit bliss!

Full review at ErrantDreams