Our book this episode is the joy bomb that is Victoria Hannan’s I Love the Whole World!
This novel stars Leslie McDonald, 43, newly divorced and feeling diminished by the experience and her ex-husband, physiotherapist Dennis (who left her for his Alexander Technique teacher).
Her art history degree, and her love of art has been put in a box, forgotten for the past twenty years, and her relationship with her adult daughter, Moose, is prickly. Then Leslie starts entering competitions and wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas. Her best friend pulls out at the last minute, and Leslie goes anyway. It’s the year 2000, and she discovers, as the book’s title suggests, that she actually loves the whole world.
It is thoughtful, guileless, funny, generous and earnest. We both loved it.
Books and things we mentioned in this episode
* Germaine is reading Proof of Progress by Elizabeth Castellano and listening to The Agatha Cure by Cathy Rentzenbrink. And she’s dreaming of cooking this buttery apple cake from Elizabeth Hewson.
* Sophie’s been reading The Vegetarian by Han Kang and listening to The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. And she’s been making custard tarts.
* Other books that popped up in our conversation: Nigella Lawson’s iconic How to Eat, and Chocolat by Joanne Harris.
* Author Victoria Hannan about her book on the podcast Book Matters.
* The book Yesteryear also popped up a few times, and in case you haven’t listened to our episide on this one, here’s a link to listen.
* Melissa Broder’s Milkfed also got a mention.
* As did our Feast on Your Life by Tamar Adler episode
Artist Michael Heizer’s famous Double Negative sculpture in Nevada
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Something to Eat and Something to Read is a podcast for people who love reading and eating and reading about eating (and cooking), hosted by Sophie Hansen, a food writer and farmer from Orange in central-west New South Wales and Germaine Leece, a bibliotherapist and psychotherapist based in Sydney.
Germaine and Sophie x
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we are recording today – Sophie on Wiradjuri Country in central-west New South Wales and Germaine on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation in Sydney. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people listening.
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