The Birdwoman’s Palate by Laksmi Pumuntjak came to me as my Kindle First choice for January.
In all honesty, I don’t know what to make of this book. I couldn’t work out what the book was actually about, I actually asked myself what the story was around two-thirds of the way through reading this. It’s part investigative (a very small part) about the beginning of the H5N1 outbreak, part love story, in the sense that the main character ends up in a relationship with a guy she couldn’t stand in the beginning and largely devoted to the food of Indonesia. It read largely like the first part of Eat, Pray, Love. Having never been to Indonesia and not being particularly educated about Indonesian food, culture or geography, the book was confusing in places and downright boring in others. However, if you’re a foodie, it’s a book you’ll probably love.
Sometimes, the Kindle First books I pick out, I really love and sometimes they fall a bit flat. I feel a bit ungrateful complaining that I didn’t like a book I got for free, even if Hubby points out that the annual subscription fee covers the cost of the book.