Unavailable
Unavailable
Unavailable
Audiobook5 hours
That Part Was True
Written by Deborah McKinlay
Narrated by Katherine Kellgren and L.J. Ganser
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
When Eve Petworth writes to Jackson Cooper to praise a scene in one of his books, they discover a mutual love of cookery and food. Their friendship blossoms against the backdrop of Jackson's colorful, but ultimately unsatisfying, love life and Eve's tense relationship with her soon-to-be married daughter. As each of them offers, from behind the veils of semi-anonymity and distance, wise and increasingly affectionate counsel to the other, they both begin to confront their problems and plan a celebratory meeting in Paris--a meeting that Eve fears can never happen.
Unavailable
Related to That Part Was True
Related audiobooks
Of Love and Crime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnder the Summer Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTime Is Eternity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove is Not Pie: Variations on a Monogamish Theme Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Awakening Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Guests of August Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDear Mothman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Who Can't Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCasting Off: A memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Reluctant Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wait for Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ravens in the Rain: A Noir Love Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLooking for the Durrells: A heartwarming, feel-good and uplifting novel bringing the Durrells back to life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bird Snare Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScars of the Heart: A Clean and Sweet Romance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsErika's Night Classes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStellar Serenade: A Celestial Love Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrumb Cake Café & Latte Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWayward Girls Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thalia Book Club: Jamaica Kincaid: See Now Then Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jane and Prudence: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moonlit Whispers: A Forbidden Love Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Love Letter: A Romantic Encounter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWild Pets Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sense & Sensibility Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Love And Murder: An Oxford Murder Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Love Enthusiast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Literary Fiction For You
The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Poisonwood Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yellowface: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hang the Moon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for That Part Was True
Rating: 3.56097268292683 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
41 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5[That Part Was True] by [Deborah McKinlay] is a charming little book, perfect for rainy day reading. Eve Petworth, a 55 year old English woman, was married at a young age, divorced shortly thereafter, and has never remarried. She is financially well off, and has been able to pursue her favorite things; gardening, cooking and reading, at her home in the English countryside. She begins a friendship through correspondence quite unintentionally when she writes a short fan letter to Jackson Cooper, the American author of a very popular detective series. Jackson has recently separated from his second wife and is facing both his 50th birthday and a midlife crises. In the first letter Eve quotes this description of eating a peach from Jack's latest book: "leaning over and holding back his green silk tie with one arm while the juice christened the shirt cuff of the other". From that they learn they share an interest in good food, in this case tree ripened fruit. Eve is an accomplished cook and Jack is learning, so they begin to share cooking tips and recipes. The letters, interspersed through the book, become a balm for both of them in their sometimes troubled lives and in addition to expanding their knowledge of cooking they help guide each other to a happier existence. I like books that have a twist at the end, and this even has that.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Two stories in dialogue with each other. First is the British single mother who is dealing with her anxiety issues and insolent adult child. Then there is Jack, the American author recently divorced from a mediocre marriage, trying to find himself and independence. The two write back and forth trading recipes and life observations. Then the narration fills in their stories. Decent, but nothing spectacular.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Delightful and charming The perfect book to recommend for a sweet, well written read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I found this to be a delighful story. Eve Petworth is a shy divorcee subject to panic attakcks who has one daughter. She has never felt herself to be a good mother, and it was Eve's mother Virginia, who has just died, that her daughter Izzy felt closest to and she was a woman everyone else had found difficult' Eve writes to famous author Jackson Cooper to tell him how much she liked his book and he replies. Following that a correspondence develops between the two of them as they discover they have a common interest in food and share recipes. Over time they become much closer and are able to share the difficulties in their lives. Jack suggests that they meet in Paris and as I continued to read the book I thought they might possibly do this but the book ended in a different way that I thought was equally satisfying and maybe more believable knowing the characters.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Part Was True is the charming story of Jackson Cooper, an American writer, and Eve who has spent her life feeling shy, in the background and unable to cope with her life. She writes to Jack to compliment him on his work and enter into correspondence, finding that they have cooking and a love of food in common.I was expecting quite a different book to the one I actually got. I thought the two of them would meet up, find that they got on well and then fall in love, but the story is more about them finding out how to be themselves before being able to fully open up to each other. Nevertheless, I got to the end of the book feeling a kind of satisfaction and the final paragraph is lovely and uplifting. An understated, yet heartening personal read and I think a group would be able to discuss the hang-ups of the various characters.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a charming story about a lonely British divorcee, Eve Petworth, who writes a fan letter to an American author, Jackson Cooper and he replies. A long distance virtual friendship develops between Eve and Jack, beginning with their mutual love of cooking and food, and gradually growing into something deeper. As time passes, the two come to look to each other for support through the highs and lows of their lives.We get to know their hopes and dreams, their families, and their culinary tastes. And we wonder, of course, if their virtual relationship will ever develop into anything more.Discussion: The story is told partially in an epistolary format, chronicling Jack and Eve's developing bonds. (In a humorously meta way, Eve’s writing is much more literary than Jack’s, although it is Jack who is the successful author.) They also frequently exchange recipes, two of which are included at the end of the book. Some of the non-epistolary writing is quite fun as well, such as this exchange in which Eve’s daughter Izzy is talking to her fiance Ollie about her mother::"‘She’s changed.’‘Changed good? Or changed bad?’‘Just changed.’‘Be specific.’‘Last night, when I telephoned her about the weekend, there was music playing in the background.’‘Well, that’s bloody suspicious.’”Evaluation: Just lovely; a treat for all the senses. BBC Films, the U.K. public broadcaster's stand-alone filmmaking unit, has optioned the rights to the novel. I hope that means a sequel is in the works as well!