Discussion Questions, etc.
Introduction
Beverly Hills cookbook author Miriam Levy’s life is a fallen soufflé. The last of her three kids just left for college, her husband is a couch potato who has no more desire for sex than she has, plus she’s co-writing a cookbook that she’s embarrassed to put her name on. Miriam’s best friend Kate McGrath is a two-time divorcee with no children and more money than happiness. One day, Kate tracks down her first lover—the love of her life—on Google. They exchange emails and to her surprise he admits that though it’s been over 25 years, he still has deep feelings for her. He invites her to visit him half-way around the world in Malaysia, where he’s an ambassador. When his wife won’t be there.
Kate begs Miriam to go with her, but Miriam refuses. A typically neurotic, guilt-ridden middle-aged Jewish wife, she can’t leave her husband. Who will make his dinner? Make sure his socks match? Then Miriam’s oldest daughter and aging mother hit her with unreasonable demands on the same day. Miriam realizes that soon she’ll be trapped at home—that if she doesn’t go off on a trip with her best friend now, she never will.
In Malaysia, Kate reunites with her true love and Miriam finds herself acting as their cover. Miriam, who can’t remember the last time she had an orgasm, is rattled by Kate’s renewed passion. It spurs her to re-examine her marriage and who she is in mid-life. As Miriam becomes increasingly self-aware, she gets involved in a romance of her own—and in big trouble. After Kate’s rescue attempt is foiled, Miriam concocts an ingenious plan involving her cooking skills that not only saves them, but shows how strong she has grown. Before it’s over, Miriam and Kate’s Malaysian adventure teaches them unforgettable lessons about love, friendship, and what’s important in life.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why did Kate decide to go to Malaysia to see Erik? Given that he had a wife, do you think she made the right decision?
2. When Miriam initially refuses to go to Malaysia with Kate, what does that say about her personality? Why does she finally agree to go? Do you think it was the right decision, given the warnings and her family’s objections?
3. Miriam’s mother believed that if you compliment your daughter too much on her looks, you’ll spoil her. How did this affect Miriam’s personality? How did it affect the way Miriam raised her own children?
4. Why is Miriam attracted to Vijay? Why does she decide to sleep with him? Do you think she made the right decision?
5. How do Kate, Miriam, and Vijay differ in their attitudes about fate? What role does fate play in the novel?
6. Throughout the novel, Miriam and Kate discuss the notion that there is one “right” man for every woman. How does their belief in “The One” affect their lives? Lisa’s life? How do their views about “The One” change by the end?
7. What role does food play in Miriam’s life? How does it change by the end? Do Miriam’s recipes enhance the novel?
8. What role does humor play in Miriam’s life? In the book as a whole?
9. Miriam likes people who live life with a sense of “ironic detachment?” What does this mean? Which of the characters she meets have the most ironic detachment? The least? How does it affect their personalities?
10. By the end of the novel, do you think that Kate makes the right decision in regard to Erik? Do you think that Miriam makes the right choice between Vijay and Alan? Do their decisions lead to a suitable conclusion for the novel?
11. What is novel’s attitude about the importance of women’s friendships? About women’s lives in mid life?
