Aphrodite

‘Just as the pleasures of eating can replace the pleasures of sex, so reading about food can provoke as much satisfaction as flicking through some soft porn. Isabel Allende’s charming new book aims to reconcile the two appetites, offering sensual recipes to tempt jaded palates … Not a pot-boiler; rather, a spicy word-salad … Telling stories, playing verbal games and flirting with words like shuttlecocks, these are the real turn-on for Allende. In between offering up light, well-flavoured reminiscences sauced with humour she imparts a certain amount of kitchen lore and suggests new ways to make roast chicken romantic. A delightful book, juicy with affectionately prepared vignettes that turn out well every time like an expert chef’s soufflés.’ Michèle Roberts, The Times

‘In her splendid, succulent and disconcerting study of erotology and foodstuffs … [Allende’s] focus is upon pleasure … a spellbinding work, and … insistently practical’ Daily Telegraph

‘The angels who inhabit Allende’s previous books here turn into alluring aromas, mystifying the air … She transports us into an altogether more agreeable place; a paradise of language’ Observer

‘A book to treasure and savour’ Independent on Sunday

‘A paean to living’ Scotland on Sunday