Reviews of The Banquet of Esther Rosenbaum
Penny Simpson is Mslexia Woman to Watch for 2009
{An} extravaganza where the real and the imagined take turn and turn about... sumptuously detailed and fantastical... {this novel is} at once full of disturbing delicacy, and at the same time {forceful}... {marked by its} humour, verve and hallucinatory strangeness.Clare Morgan, Times Literary Supplement, 25/7/08
A feast of language, in some ways akin to the feasts depicted in the Biblical Book of Esther. Simpson's novel, though, is served on a platter embellished with similes and metaphors so strong that their aromas permeate the text with every page. Jewish Book World (USA), Spring 2009
Simpson takes full advantage of [the] possibilities [for lovers of the absurd and grotesque]... an intriguing first novel.Marta Segal Block, www.booklistonline
Moving and inspiring... very much recommended reading.Library Bookwatch, The Midwest Book Review
Marks new ground for Welsh fiction in English. Not one mention of our tiny country. Instead a supremely entertaining, often moving, fantastic roll through European history.Peter Finch, Cambria
Casts an intoxicating spell, blending tragedy, satire and magic realism to create a sensuous exploration of food, revolution and the resurrection of community through memory.- New Welsh Review
Compelling... superb talent for storytelling and an almost Zola-esque delight in detailed and richly sensuous description of the material culture of both rich and poor. - Wales Literature Exchange 2008 selection, www.walesliterature.org
Magic realism at its political best, finely echoing the sense of unreality and disorientation that reigned as Hitler and the Nazis gradually gained power in a country still reeling in the aftermath of the Great War. True to the genre, Simpson uses plain language and an understated narrative voice to speak of extraordinary things. When I turned the last page, I found myself wanting to start the book all over again. - Suzy Ceulan Hughes, www.gwales.com
The fictional heroine of this remarkable novel is a seven-foot Jewish girl with a genius for cookery, and the resistible rise of Nazi thuggery is the backdrop for her recipes and menus. The fact that Esther is also anorexic adds a contemporary twist to its period setting. Comparisons with magic realism come immediately to mind and the author manages to balance the fantastical elements with the gritty realism of the descent into fascism... the real and imaginary characters are equally magical, as are the incredible creations of this precursor of today's celebrity chefs.Karl Dallas, Morning Star
The 7ft plus heroine of Simpson's book The Banquet of Esther Rosenbaum contrasts strikingly with familiar fact-or-fiction cabaret personalities like Sally Bowles or Marlene Dietrich... Working for the most famous chefs and bakers of her day, {Esther} expresses both political and personal yearnings through her increasingly {fantastical} recipes, served to Jews and Gestapo alike... Esther's survival depends partly on her brilliant culinary skills, but also on her ability to 'pass' as non-Jewish. It is not a natural ability; she adops a man's greatcot and top hat, beneath which she becomes increasingly emaciated. Simpson vividly conveys how the optimistic creator of 'Kiss-of-Hope biscuits' hides, denies, and finally regains her larger-than-life identity.
Amanda Hopkinson, Jewish Chronicle
Rich description brings Esther's world to life for the reader, and it's worth savouring every word... The Banquet of Esther Rosenbaum is a feast of words, painting vivid pictures of people and places, and full of passionate characters that you can't help but care about. Well worth a read, if only for Simpson's beautiful prose - just make sure you give it the time it deserves... A colourful tale of love and loss.Big Issue Cymru
A born story-teller; she has created a richly-imagined tale of 1920s Berlin cabaret culture, written with a zest reminiscent of the best magic realism, but with a flavour all of her own.Nicholas Murray
A feast of language, in some ways akin to the feasts depicted in the Biblical Book of Esther. Simpson's novel, though, is served on a platter embellished with similes and metaphors so strong that their aromas permeate the text with every page. Jewish Book World (USA), Spring 2009
Simpson takes full advantage of [the] possibilities [for lovers of the absurd and grotesque]... an intriguing first novel.Marta Segal Block, www.booklistonline
Moving and inspiring... very much recommended reading.Library Bookwatch, The Midwest Book Review
Marks new ground for Welsh fiction in English. Not one mention of our tiny country. Instead a supremely entertaining, often moving, fantastic roll through European history.Peter Finch, Cambria
Casts an intoxicating spell, blending tragedy, satire and magic realism to create a sensuous exploration of food, revolution and the resurrection of community through memory.- New Welsh Review
Compelling... superb talent for storytelling and an almost Zola-esque delight in detailed and richly sensuous description of the material culture of both rich and poor. - Wales Literature Exchange 2008 selection, www.walesliterature.org
Magic realism at its political best, finely echoing the sense of unreality and disorientation that reigned as Hitler and the Nazis gradually gained power in a country still reeling in the aftermath of the Great War. True to the genre, Simpson uses plain language and an understated narrative voice to speak of extraordinary things. When I turned the last page, I found myself wanting to start the book all over again. - Suzy Ceulan Hughes, www.gwales.com
The fictional heroine of this remarkable novel is a seven-foot Jewish girl with a genius for cookery, and the resistible rise of Nazi thuggery is the backdrop for her recipes and menus. The fact that Esther is also anorexic adds a contemporary twist to its period setting. Comparisons with magic realism come immediately to mind and the author manages to balance the fantastical elements with the gritty realism of the descent into fascism... the real and imaginary characters are equally magical, as are the incredible creations of this precursor of today's celebrity chefs.Karl Dallas, Morning Star
The 7ft plus heroine of Simpson's book The Banquet of Esther Rosenbaum contrasts strikingly with familiar fact-or-fiction cabaret personalities like Sally Bowles or Marlene Dietrich... Working for the most famous chefs and bakers of her day, {Esther} expresses both political and personal yearnings through her increasingly {fantastical} recipes, served to Jews and Gestapo alike... Esther's survival depends partly on her brilliant culinary skills, but also on her ability to 'pass' as non-Jewish. It is not a natural ability; she adops a man's greatcot and top hat, beneath which she becomes increasingly emaciated. Simpson vividly conveys how the optimistic creator of 'Kiss-of-Hope biscuits' hides, denies, and finally regains her larger-than-life identity.
Amanda Hopkinson, Jewish Chronicle
Rich description brings Esther's world to life for the reader, and it's worth savouring every word... The Banquet of Esther Rosenbaum is a feast of words, painting vivid pictures of people and places, and full of passionate characters that you can't help but care about. Well worth a read, if only for Simpson's beautiful prose - just make sure you give it the time it deserves... A colourful tale of love and loss.Big Issue Cymru
A born story-teller; she has created a richly-imagined tale of 1920s Berlin cabaret culture, written with a zest reminiscent of the best magic realism, but with a flavour all of her own.Nicholas Murray