Wrestling With Gravy
by Reynolds, Jonathan
In this inviting feast of a memoir, former New York Times food columnist Jonathan Reynolds dishes up a life that is by turns hilarious and tender--and seasoned with the zest of cooking, family, eating, and lounging around various tables in tryptophanic stupors. Growing up on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a child of material privilege and emotionally distant parents, young Jonathan discovers that food serves as a catalyst for adventure, a respite from loneliness, and a fail-safe way to navigate his often eccentric surroundings. When Jonathan is thirteen, his uncle Bus, a surrogate father of sorts, treats him to his first fine dining experience, at the old Westbury Hotel on Madison Avenue. The suspicious teen orders pheasant under glass--and from the moment the glass dome is lifted, Reynolds's culinary curiosity takes off. Always absorbing, often hilarious, and surprisingly affecting, Wrestling with Gravy is full of wonderful characters and anecdotes. With droll self-effacement and a sharp eye for detail, Reynolds relives the time that his own father made a move on his girlfriend during a meal at Maxim's in Paris; extols the surprising virtues of baseball stadium cuisine (with the exception of New York); and recounts how he once whipped up a seductive meal for a woman, only to have her excuse herself after dessert because she had another date lined up, buffet-style, later in the evening. Even on a glum Christmas day in New York City, or at the deathbed of his dear cousin the actress Lee Remick, food offers solace and a cathartic sense of home.Rare among culinary memoirs, Wrestling with Gravy speaks eloquently about food without affectation, while striking a note of cosmic comedy and honest regret. And of course, the recipes are all here, too--from a perfect water-smoked Thanksgiving turkey to a barbecued Chinese duck, from an old-fashioned malted to Flaming Babas au Armagnac. Like a truly great meal, Wrestling with Gravy will entertain and satisfy any reader's appetite.For five years, Jonathan Reynolds brought oxygen to the food page of The New York Times Magazine. He was smart and buoyant as he rummaged around in memory's trunk for food-worthy anecdotes to chew upon. The pieces were highly personal, showcasing his quirks and irreverence as much as any foodstuff. His theatrics (fittingly --- Reynolds is a seasoned actor and playwright) were endearing; no surprise, then, when readers took personal interest in his passage, with its hints of darkness lurking amid the drollery.Reynolds' memoir, "Wrestling With Gravy," is as consistently entertaining, in a grim way, as his columns, unveiling the many familial, romantic and professional land mines he discovered --- too late! --- under nearly every step he took, each fitted with emblematic recipes, balms for his wounds: "Food is controllable, while most of life isn't."His father was absent, off performing "entrepreneurial calisthenics"; his mother was lost to depression. There were boarding school expulsions, and a jail stay prompted by his youthful infatuation with actress Kim Novak. Hollywood was a bitter pill --- "The stars sip their strawsful of sugarless broth fumes and vapor of fetal watercress leaf helicoptered to their trailers" --- part and parcel of his "insanely and unrealistically ambitious" screenwriting career. Friends and family died; his marriage went south.The gloom is beveled, thankfully, by his children, a guiding-star uncle, a second marriage, sweet playwriting success, all artfully etched with a hand as graceful as his progress clubfooted. (Said clubfoot precedes him during an ill-advised, weirdly nescient chapter analyzing American politics,...
Reviews
Review this book and you'll be entered for a chance to win $50!
Available copies
Wrestling with Gravy `
by Reynolds, Jonathan
- Seller
- J. E. MILES, A BOOKSELLER
- Published
- 2006
- Condition
- Collectible - Very Good/Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition First Printing
- Item Price
-
$35.00
Show Details
Description:
Random House. Collectible - Very Good/Very Good. 2006. First Edition First Printing. Hard Cover. (R218) .
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$35.00
Wrestling With Gravy: A Life In Food
by Reynolds, Jonathan
- Seller
- Contact Editions
- Published
- 2007
- Condition
- As New
- Edition
- First Edition
- Item Price
-
$30.00
Show Details
Description:
Westminster: Random House, 2007. First Edition. Hard Cover. As New/As New. 8vo.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$30.00
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Ergodebooks
- Published
- 2008-10-07
- Condition
- Used:Good
- Edition
- Reprint
- ISBN
- 9780812972887
- Item Price
-
$20.77
Show Details
Description:
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008-10-07. Reprint. Paperback. Used:Good.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$20.77
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Ergodebooks
- Published
- 2008-10-07
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN
- 9780812972887
- Item Price
-
$19.76
Show Details
Description:
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008-10-07. Paperback. Good.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$19.76
The Squatter and the Don (Modern Library Classics)
by Burton, Maria Amparo Ruiz de; Castillo, Ana [Introduction]
- Seller
- M and N Media
- Published
- 2004-11-09
- Condition
- Acceptable
- ISBN
- 9780812972894
- Item Price
-
$17.25
Show Details
Description:
Modern Library, 2004-11-09. Paperback. Acceptable.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$17.25
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Ergodebooks
- Published
- 2006-10-10
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$14.36
Show Details
Description:
Random House, 2006-10-10. Hardcover. Good.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$14.36
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Jane Addams Book Shop
- Published
- October 2006
- Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$13.00
Show Details
Description:
Random House, October 2006. First Edition. Hardcover Hardcover. Very Good/Good. Very Good Hardcover with Good Dustjacket. DJ shows moderate soil (can include dust, dirt, rubbing, and spots) Light Shelfwear to covers. Ex-Library with usual stamps. Pages clean and tight in binding. Pictures Available Upon Request.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$13.00
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Montclair Book Center
- Published
- October 2006
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$13.00
Show Details
Description:
Random House, October 2006. Hardcover. Good .
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$13.00
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Reynolds, Jonathan
- Seller
- M and N Media
- Published
- 2008-10-07
- Condition
- New
- ISBN
- 9780812972887
- Item Price
-
$12.80
Show Details
Description:
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008-10-07. Paperback. New.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$12.80
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Reynolds, Jonathan
- Seller
- Wonder Book
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$9.63
Show Details
Description:
Random House. Used - Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$9.63
Wrestling With Gravy: A Life In Food
by Reynolds, Jonathan
- Seller
- Pistil Books Online
- Published
- 2007
- Condition
- Fine
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$9.42
Show Details
Description:
N.Y.: Random House Inc, 2007. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. Signed by Author. A clean, unmarked copy. Signed by author on the title page.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$9.42
Wrestling with Gravy : A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- ThriftBooks
- Published
- 2008
- Condition
- Very Good
- ISBN
- 9780812972887
- Item Price
-
$9.11
Show Details
Description:
Random House Publishing Group, 2008. Paperback. Very Good. Disclaimer:May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$9.11
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Powell's Bookstores Chicago
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- ISBN
- 9780812972887
- Item Price
-
$7.50
Show Details
Description:
Random House Trade Paperbacks. Used - Very Good. 2008. Paperback. Very Good. (Subject: Books).
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$7.50
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Powell's Bookstores Chicago
- Condition
- Used - Like New
- ISBN
- 9780812972887
- Item Price
-
$7.50
Show Details
Description:
Random House Trade Paperbacks. Used - Like New. 2008. Paperback. Fine.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$7.50
Wrestling with Gravy : A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- ThriftBooks
- Published
- 2006
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$7.45
Show Details
Description:
Random House Publishing Group, 2006. Hardcover. Good. Disclaimer:Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$7.45
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Reynolds, Jonathan
- Seller
- Books End
- Published
- 2006
- Condition
- Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition; First Printing
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$6.00
Show Details
Description:
Random House. Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket. 2006. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 1400062748 . 352 pages .
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$6.00
Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food
by Jonathan Reynolds
- Seller
- Discover Books
- Condition
- GOOD
- ISBN
- 9781400062744
- Item Price
-
$1.49
Show Details
Description:
Random House. Hardcover. GOOD. Spine creases, wear to binding and pages from reading. May contain limited notes, underlining or highlighting that does affect the text. Possible ex library copy, will have the markings and stickers associated from the library. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included.
Add to Wishlist
Item Price
$1.49