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Да готвиш за Пикасо

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"Вълнуващ, динамичен и омагьосващ, "Да готвиш за Пикасо" е роман, който предлага жив портрет на френския юг. Интриги, изкуство, храна и грижливо пазени тайни са вплетени заедно в една история за любов и измама около живота и наследството на Пикасо. Затрогващо и истинско, това добре изградено повествование ме накара да изпитам носталгия по петела с вино на майка ми и слънцето на жуан ле Пен.
Жак Пепен

"Феновете на Питър Мейл безусловно ще харесат "Да готвиш за Пикасо". Камий Обре ни предлага един литературен вариант на буябес - гореща и пикантна смес от изкуство, интригуваща семейна сага, вкусна френска храна и любовен романс, "сготвена" в обления от слънце Прованс.
Ерика Бауърмайстър, автор на "Училище за вкусове и аромати"

Paperback

First published August 9, 2016

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About the author

Camille Aubray

3 books418 followers
Camille Aubray is the author of THE GODMOTHERS and COOKING FOR PICASSO. Both novels were a People Magazine's Pick for the Best New Books. THE GODMOTHERS was also chosen for Best Books lists by Newsweek, Buzzfeed, Parade, and Veranda. COOKING FOR PICASSO is an Indiebound bestseller and won a spot on the Indie Next Reading Groups List.

Camille Aubray is an Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship winner and was a writer-in-residence at the Karolyi Foundation in the South of France. She studied writing with her mentor Margaret Atwood, and was a finalist for the Pushcart Press Editors' Book Award and the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.

To see Camille Aubray's events, book club kits, photos, recipes and the locales that inspired her, visit her at her website: www.camilleaubray.com

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5 stars
2,530 (29%)
4 stars
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3 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 979 reviews
Profile Image for Angie .
272 reviews49 followers
December 10, 2021
Ένα από τα ωραιότερα λογοτεχνικά ταξίδια που έχω κάνει. Οι εικόνες και τα χρώματα στους πίνακες του Πικάσο μπλεγμένα με τις μυρωδιές από τα φρέσκα μυρωδικά της Προβηγκίας στα φαγητά της Οντίν έδεσαν και δημιούργησαν τον πιο ωραίο συνδυασμό. Πραγματικά κάθε σελίδα ήταν και μια νέα έκπληξη για μένα. Μου προκάλεσε τόσα συναισθήματα αλλά το πιο βασικό από όλα ήταν η αισιοδοξία!!! Αυτή η αίσθηση ελευθερίας ήταν μοναδική, δεν διάβαζα απλά...ταξίδευα! Υπέροχη η γραφή της Camille Aubray, δεν σε κουράζει ούτε δευτερόλεπτο,δεν θες να χάσεις ούτε μια λέξη!!! Δεν πρόκειται απλά για ένα βιβλίο αλλά για ολόκληρη εμπειρία που τη βιώνεις!!!!
Profile Image for Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page).
602 reviews1,038 followers
May 23, 2016
2.5

I want to start my review by saying that I expected to love this book. I loved the last series that this author wrote, writing as CA Belmond, starting with A Rather Lovely Inheritance. I also have a great fascination with art and artists so I fully expected that this would be the book for me. However, sadly it was not.

The story takes place across the decades, the modern story completely in 2016 and the historic part starting in 1936 until shortly before the main character in 2016 is born. Both women are weak and not very likeable. Celine, the main character in 2016, cannot even stand up to her step siblings and lets them ferry her own mother away (step mother to the step siblings) with hardly a word and no action. Meanwhile she goes to France with her aunt on a trip the sick mother was supposed to take. Huh?! Meanwhile back in the 1930’s, Ondine vacillates between being free spirited as she engages in a relationship (if you can call it that) with Picasso and silly and lacking a backbone.

Another part of the story that did not ring true for me was the dialogue between Picasso and Ondine. It was awkward and stilted, and I just can’t believe he spoke that way. Picasso was not portrayed kindly, and that viewpoint I did find more realistic. He struggled in his personal life, and the author portrays this accurately.

I am sorry I did not like this book more. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Mollie.
297 reviews19 followers
May 20, 2016
Aubrey's painterly writing style awakens the senses to the beauty of the South of France, to the sensuality of a multi flavored meal, to the brush caressing the canvas.

The reader is seduced by Picasso while being repelled by him at the same time. His story includes the effects of war and abusive relationships along with his passion for painting.

The author teases the reader with a mystery that, if solved, will be life-changing. How will betrayal and abuse affect the process? Will the solution, if found at all, come too late? The reader's only solution is to upkeep turning the page.

My one disappointment was that I found myself caring more about the grandmother..her character seemed more fleshed out. Since it was the granddaughter who was faced with solving the mystery, I wish I could have felt drawn to her.

Overall, in the "big picture," there is an art to writing and Cooking for Picasso is well framed.

I received this book through NetGalley.
Profile Image for Robyn.
2,013 reviews129 followers
July 16, 2021
Cooking for Picasso

A wonderful 4 star read for me! It checked several boxes I needed by providing a smart and timely plot, some information I didn't know, a bit of romance, some humor, some heartache, a few themes of money can't provide everything, love, family, and honesty. I am not a big art fan, not that I don't like it.. I just don't have a great deal of exposure or knowledge, so this was great. While I don't know much about art, I wasn't raised in a bucket, I have heard of Picasso so it was definitely a draw for me.

I loved both timeline stories and found the tie quite brilliant if the ending was a bit too contrived! I was on Ondine's side the whole time and found she was easy to like and connect with. Her struggle against her parents is ancient and quite believable. Ondine works in the family cafe and is given the job of taking the lunch of the cafe's newest customer to him, the customer turns out to be Picasso .
Picasso, a womanizer is nothing short of his reputation and gets Ondine to model for him both in the art room and the bedroom. This will form the tie to the future.

In New York, Céline's mother Julie is ill and it seems the stepchildren are in charge of their mother's life and able to refuse Celine even seeing her. Upset and looking for an answer, Celine accompanies her aunt in Julie's place back to France to learn if her Grandmother's words of having cooked for and known Picasso can be proven.

The story is enhanced with amazing characters in supporting roles and beautiful descriptions of the area. There are some outings that helped catch me up on art, and art history and I really enjoyed the book. Overall I thought the book was smart and provided a strong moral theme about love, trust, and several relationships, one of which is who to borrow money from.

4 stars

Happy Reading!
Profile Image for Julie Boudreau.
54 reviews12 followers
June 16, 2016
I had such a hard time putting this book down. although this book is technically fiction. It felt so real and informed that you want to believe it with everything you have. the author's ability to whisk you away into her own fantasy is uncanny. make sure you start reading this when you have no plans for the next say 12 hours.. because it is THAT good
Profile Image for  Teodora .
403 reviews2,134 followers
November 17, 2022
DNF-ed it because I could bear no more.
Although I am a sucker for the French Riviera and the good food and fancy lifestyle there I just couldn't stand to read through the so-called action of this book. It's just not for me.
Profile Image for Lorna.
808 reviews607 followers
February 25, 2018
Cooking for Picasso was a diversion that I enjoyed to take me to a place that I love, namely the beautiful French Riviera as the backdrop of the multigenerational saga of three women. At it's heart is the young and spirited 16-year old Ondine helping out in her parents' restaurant Café Paradis where she cycles daily taking one of their spectacular luncheons to a mysterious guest from Paris, an artist who is going by his family name of Ruiz but is the famous Pablo Picasso. Ondine begins to prepare a cookbook with the recipes and notes of Picasso's comments to tweak the recipes with a Spanish twist to these traditional Provencal recipes. We also meet Celine as she comes to the Cote d' Azur to explore the mysteries of her grandmother Ondine and her mother Julie as she takes a cooking class in the village where her grandmother lived to try to resolve the mystery of whether Picasso painted a portrait of Ondine those many years ago. If you love art, the Cote d' Azur, Provencal cooking and a sweet story, this is it.

"For, no matter how many times I see this view, I still catch my breath at the way the Riviera's intense-but-soft sun fires up every color it touches to dazzling perfection: the pomegranate-red tiled roofs on candy-colored stone houses snuggled against terraced hills; the green of dense pine that clings to the shoreline and mountains; and most of all, blue--that infinite canopy of cobalt-blue sky over my head, and a wide-open aquamarine sea lapping at the shores, each reaching out to the other until they meet in a blurry watercolor embrace at a violet-blue horizon."
Profile Image for Catherine Vamianaki.
429 reviews47 followers
September 2, 2021
Κυριολεκτικά το λάτρεψα!! Αν μπορούσα θα έβαζα 6..
Τρεις γενιές γυναικών και ο Πικάσο. Η συγγραφέας μας μεταφέρει στα Νοτια της Γαλλίας. Η περιγραφή των περιοχών και των κατοίκων, ακόμα και αναφορές σε γαλλικά πιάτα. Ειναι στιγμές που νομίζεις οτι είσαι εκεί. Η ιστορία είναι πολύπλοκη και υπάρχει αρκετή αγωνία. Καθώς διαβάζεις θέλεις να πας παρακάτω... Θα το αγαπήσετε!!
Profile Image for Debra.
555 reviews18 followers
January 7, 2017
If you are a Francophile and food and art lover, you will adore Cooking for Picasso by Camille Aubray.

I received a free audio book from Blogging for Books for this review. All opinions, exclamations, gushings and rants are my own.

Let me just say that I didn’t realize I would receive an audio book and was a bit disappointed when it came in the mail. My mood soon changed. Since it was the holiday season and I had no time to read, I popped the first CD in the car and I was soon hooked. (This unabridged version is 13 1/2 hours long.) The book is narrated by Mozhan Marno, an actress whom I was familiar with from The Blacklist and House of Cards. Her voice is so melodic that I was wishing my drive to work every morning would go on and on.

Aubray’s tale is told from two points of view and covers three generations of women:

1. Ondine, first portrayed as a young woman whom we follow into her sixties.
2. Julie, Ondine’s daughter.
3. Celine, Julie’s daughter, a thirty-something Hollywood make-up artist.

The flashbacks of Grandmother Ondine’s tale are told in third-person. Celine tells her story in first-person. The action of the novel swaps back and forth between Celine’s modern world (set in New York, Nevada, and France) with Ondine’s tale of the mid-thirties in the quaint village of Juan-les-Pins.

Where does Picasso figure into this tale? The young Ondine cooked for Picasso when he spent time on the Riviera. She starts out as a personal chef but is soon posing for Picasso.

Many years later, Ondine’s granddaughter, Celine, treks to the same French town to seek the truth about her grandmother’s connection with Picasso. She is also there to hopefully find a better life for her mother, Julie. Celine finds herself in an upscale cooking class (accompanied by her Aunt Matilda) taught by a Gordon Ramsey-like chef.

There are lots of French delicacies and good hearty peasant food in the novel, but it was hard for me to keep up with all the food as I was driving and listening. Honestly, as the intrigue and drama (and heartache) escalated in the novel, I found myself forgetting to notice the food as I was swept away by the story. (This tale is vast and encompasses 1936-2016 and settings of France, Monaco, Las Vegas, New York City, and New Rochelle.)

If you have a long drive ahead of you pick up this audio book. If you have a few days to spend on the French Riviera, you might also want to pick up the novel and become entranced with the lives of Ondine, Julie and Celine.

You can see my full review at Cooking For Picasso: A Book Review
Profile Image for Liz.
2,322 reviews3,153 followers
August 10, 2016

One of my regrets was not taking an art appreciation class in college. So, I have a thing for novels about artists. This book alternates between two time periods. The first is 1936 in Juan-les-Pins during the time Picasso was creating his Minotaur series. The second is modern day, as the granddaughter of the cook researches the prior period.

It helps to have access to visuals. Thank God for Google and being able to view the paintings in question. It's almost a shame novels like this can't include pictures of the art.

At first, Ondine, the main character, seems to be more conduit than real person. She is the eyes into Picasso’s life, but she seems almost two dimensional. At the beginning, the author does a better job describing the meals than her thoughts. It's not until she becomes the subject of his paintings that her thoughts become meaningful and she seems real.

The second story of Ondine’s granddaughter, also takes a while to become interesting. But a siblings’ fight over their parents’ finances rang very true. And at that point, as Celine goes on the hunt for her grandmother’s story and possible treasure, the plot line picks up.

A recurring theme is the lack of equality between the sexes. Picasso was not a believer in women as equals and saw them solely as a means to satisfy his needs. Pure and simple, he was a misogynist. To quote him “your job is to remain by my side, to devote yourself to me and the children. Whether it makes you happy or unhappy is no concern of mine.” Celine’s father is worse, as he is also abusive.

Once things get going, this is a fast and easy read, a little heavy on coincidences. I can't say that it totally grabbed me. It was the kind of book you didn’t regret having to put down.

My thanks to netgalley and RH Ballantine for an advance copy of this book.
Profile Image for erica.
295 reviews
July 10, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. It had all of the elements I like: France, art, cooking, and a mystery. But overall the book was just ok. The storyline was just too unbelievable with way too many coincidences. Sigh.
Profile Image for Dana-Adriana B..
683 reviews291 followers
September 18, 2018
O poveste de dragoste tipic frantuzeasca in care arta plastica se imbina cu arta culinara. Bineinteles nu lipseste "happy ending"-ul.
Profile Image for Shaghayegh.
333 reviews90 followers
August 15, 2021
بین چهار یا پنج ستاره دادن مرددم، شما چهار و نیم در نظر بگیریدش.
وسط این همه کتاب جنایی و روانشناختی مواجه شدن با کتابی به این شیرینی مثل پرسه زدن تو بهشت برین بود.
داستان شیرین و ساده تو کوچه پس کوچه‌های فرانسوی، شناخت بیشتر پیکاسو و پشت سرش کلی بد گفتن از لذت‌های این هفته بود.
Profile Image for Sajede.
121 reviews10 followers
October 27, 2022
مناسب حال و احوال الان نبود.فکر می‌کردم کار خوبیه که برای جدا شدن از زندگی واقعی، چیزی بدون موضوع جنگ و انقلاب و این‌ها بخونم، اما نه اشتباهه. وقتی وسط جنگیم فقط خوندن درباره جنگ‌ها و انقلاب‌های پیشین راضیم می‌کنه.
Profile Image for Evi.
80 reviews35 followers
April 28, 2022
Από τα πιο όμορφα βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει!
Profile Image for gigi_booksworld.
131 reviews16 followers
August 24, 2021
Μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ!!! Αν και 591 σελίδες πραγματικά δεν βαρέθηκα στιγμή. Μπορεί να μην είχε πολλές στιγμές κορύφωσης αλλα πήγαινε με εναν τέτοιο ρυθμό που απολάμβανες την ιστορία και τις περιγραφές της Γαλλίας και των φαγητών, που δεν ήσουν σίγουρος για το που θα καταλήξει η ιστορία. Με τόσες λεπτομερείς περιγράφεις με έκανε να θέλω να πάω κι εγώ στην Γαλλία και να δοκιμάσω όλες αυτές τις συνταγές. Μου άρεσε το ποσό δυναμική και τολμηρή ήταν η Οντιν για εκείνη την εποχή και οι διάλογοι με τον Πικάσο και γενικά λεπτομέρειες της ζωής του που δεν ήξερα. Ίσως να με χάλασε λίγο όσο αφορά το θέμα με τα αδέρφια της, νιώθω πως δεν ήταν τόσο ρεαλιστικό και απλά τους παρουσίασε ως τους κακούς της ιστορίας. Όμως είναι ένα βιβλίο που θα σε συντροφευσει και θα σε κάνει να μυρίσεις μυρωδιές που δεν ήξερες!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mary.
667 reviews
February 5, 2017
This was a wonderful story. Told in 2 timelines, we have Ondine in the 1930's in a lovely seaside town in France. She is willful, and not satisfied with what life has handed to her. Her fiancee disappears while trying to raise money to marry her, and she slaves at her parents' cafe, hoping he'll return, and that her life will be different one day. Picasso is in hiding in that town, and she takes him lunch daily and a relationship develops. I have to say this. The sexual relationship made me feel a bit "icky". Ondine is, after all, only 17. The fact that she was not a virgin is the only thing that made me not throw up when the old man takes her as his lover. Although it still made me feel kind of dirty. He really was horrible to women, and the author was brutally honest about that. That being said, Ondine's eventual pregnancy is what made the whole book work.

Her grandaughter Celine is in the current story line, and she is trying to save her mother from her horrible siblings greedy grasp as well as trying to find a priceless painting of Ondine painted and "gifted" (for lack of a better word) by Picasso himself.

There are some parralels with me and this book. I am also embroiled in a legal battle with my siblings over custody of my mother who is in a nursing home. I also happened to grow up in beauiful New Rochelle, NY. I love to cook and dream of living in a lovely seaside town someday. These things made this book more personal for me. Ah, if I only had a hidden Picasso somwhere to solve my problems and rescue my "Maman" sigh.... :)

The older storyline was my favorite. I loved Ondine and her passionate love for Luc and little Julia, and for her cooking. Aubray's writing is really good, the descriptions brought everything alive for me, fragrances, tastes, emotions. Her characters were all wonderful in their own way. Celine's storyline was definitely more modern, and vaguely reminded me of "Stephanie Plum meets Gordon Ramsey". Hers had more humor, more sass.

I really loved this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
436 reviews27 followers
June 17, 2016
I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads in exchange for a fair review.
I was lost in the story and enjoyed reading this book so much that I could hardly put it down. Although I don’t care for stories going back and forth in time, two parallel time lines expanding from 1936 to 2016, covering the lives of four generations of women, great grandmother, grandmother, mother, and the daughter, is done so skillfully and personality traits of each woman are portrayed so intimately, one feels like living events in the lives of the characters instead of reading them in the pages of a book. What is so exceptional is the way the complexities of the characters’ personalities and the twists and turns of their lives are written.
Normally the real life is so complex and so unpredictable that most novels don’t come close to capturing the complexities of real life, unlike this book which does an amazing job of doing just that. The story telling, the intricate details of the feelings of the characters, and psychologically consistent personality descriptions make this book a pleasure to read. While reading, I felt transported in time and place living the events right along with the characters in the book.
483 reviews2 followers
October 22, 2016
Pretty awful– trite, predictable, and clichéd. Also, I am tired of books that flash back to tell a parallel story from the past every other chapter. That's this year's trend in fiction, and it's annoying.
March 9, 2020
" Μαγειρεύοντας για τον Πικάσο"


Τα μεγαλύτερα ταξίδια στη ζωή μου, τα έχω κάνει με μεταφορικό μέσο τα βιβλία.
Και είναι και τα πιο όμορφα και διδακτικά.



Ήξερα ότι αυτό το ταξίδι θα είναι μεγάλο και πολυεπίπεδο.
Γαστρονομία, τέχνη, αλλαγή εποχής και μικρά μαθήματα ζωής, φίλες, οικογενειακές σχέσεις και διλήμματα με ένα μυστήριο να πλανιέται μέσα σε μια τρυφερά, μαγική ατμόσφαιρα.

📌 Α look at history. ⬇️

Τρεις εποχές. Τρεις διαφορετικές γενιές. Τρεις διαφορετικές γυναίκες.
Τρεις γυναίκες τόσο ίδιες.

Οντίν.
Ζιλί.
Σελίν.

Το κίνητρο τους η αγάπη.
Η δύναμή τους η Σοφία.
Φίλος τους το συναίσθημα.
Εχθρός του η απώλεια.

Κάπως έτσι ξεκινά το δικό τους ταξίδι στον κόσμο της επιβίωσης και των στιγμών της ζωής.

Ο Πικάσο είπε:

}Για να πετύχεις κάτι πρέπει πρώτα να σκοτώσεις κάτι άλλο.}


Και εκείνες σκότωσαν.
Σκότωσαν ακόμη και τον ίδιο τους τον εαυτό για, να σώσουν την αγάπη.
Την ελευθερία του να ζεις όλα αυτά , που ονειρεύεσαι, έστω και με απώλειες.


Το μεγαλύτερο ενδιαφέρον σε αυτό το βιβλίο για μένα, είναι ότι γνωρίζουμε μία διαφορετική πτυχή του μεγάλου ζωγράφο. Του Πικάσο.

Βλέπουμε έναν άνθρωπο πίσω από τον μύθο.
Έναν άνθρωπο με τις μικρές ατέλειες του, με τις παραξενιές του. Γνωρίζουμε τις μεγάλες στιγμές του.

Έναν άνθρωπο, που σε αυτό το βιβλίο μπορώ να πω ότι για λίγο απομυθοποιήθηκε.


Η δική του πινελιά είναι αυτή, που κάνει το βιβλίο λίγο πιο πικάντικο, δίνει ένα άρωμα μυστηρίου. Μία εσάνς πιο μελαγχολική μα και πιο ρομαντική.

Η αρχή ξεκινά με ένα ωραίο φαγητό.
Άλλωστε όλα τα όμορφα πράγματα στη ζωή ξεκινούν με ένα πολύ ωραίο πιάτο

Οι μεγαλύτεροι έρωτες ξεκίνησαν από ένα τραπέζι.
Οι καλύτερες δουλειές κλείστηκαν σε ένα τραπέζι.

Και οι μεγάλες αγάπες κλήθηκαν να μονιάσουν σε ένα τραπέζι.

Και εδώ όλα ξε��ίνησαν από το φαγητό.
Έγινε η αφετηρία και ο τερματισμός του ταξιδιού.


Τρεις γυναίκες, λοιπόν.

Η καθεμία διαφορετική.
Μία επαναστάτρια.
Μία πιο χαμηλών τόνων.
Και μια μαχήτρια.

Όλες τους παλεύουν για την αγάπη.

Η καθεμία με διαφορετικό τρόπο.

Η Οντίν ψάχνει την αγάπη μέσα σε εποχές δύσκολες. Προσπαθεί να σηκώσει ανάστημα σε μία εποχή, που η γυναίκα δεν έχει τη δύναμη και το κύρος που έχει στη σημερινή εποχή.

Η Ζιλί από την άλλη ψάχνει απεγνωσμένα την αγάπη σε λάθος άτομα.
Δίνει χωρίς να ζητά
Χαρίζει απλόχερα χωρίς να παίρνει.
Είναι από εκείνους τους ανθρώπους, που είναι δε φοβούνται να πονέσουν οι ίδιοι αλλά τρομάζουν μήπως πληγώσουν τους άλλους.


Και η Σελίν.
Η αγαπημένη μου Σελιν.
Ένα μικρό παιδί στην ψυχή, πού οι συγκυρίες την ωθούν στο να μεγαλώσει απότομα.
Να παλέψει για εκείνη και για τα πρόσωπα, που αγαπά.
Να δείξει ότι είναι άτρωτη ακόμα και αν στο διάβα της, της ρίχνουν πέτρες.
Παλεύει για τη ζωή της αλλά πιο πολύ παλεύει για αυτούς , που αγαπά.
Παλεύει για την αγάπη.
Τη συντροφική αγάπη.
Τη μητρική.
Την ερωτική.
Την αγάπη, την ανθρώπινη.
Την αγάπη, που δεν πλάθεται μόνο εκείνη την αγάπη, που της ζεις, Όταν είσαι έτοιμη να τη γνωρίσεις.



Το μυθιστόρημα: Μαγειρεύοντας για τον Πικάσο, είναι ένα ταξίδι.
Ένα πραγματικό ταξίδι.
Ένα ταξίδι στη Γαλλική Ριβιέρα.
Ένα ταξίδι που γνωρίζεις ανθρώπους, που έχουν αφήσει ιστορία πίσω τους στα χρόνια, που πέρασαν.
Μα είναι και ένα συναισθηματικό ταξίδι.
Ένα ταξίδι στον έρωτα, στην αγάπη και στη γαλλική γαστρονομία.
Ένα ταξίδι, που σε γεμίζει.
Κλείνοντας το βιβλίο νομίζεις ότι ξαφνικά προσγειώθηκε κάπου, που δε θέλεις.
Πώς να αφήσεις άλλωστε τα τοπία;
Πώς να αφήσεις τη μαγεία για να έρθεις πίσω στην κανονικότητα σου;

Φτάνοντας στο τέλος αυτού του ταξιδιού νιώθω ότι κάτι μου λείπει.
Νιώθω σαν να έφυγε ένα κομμάτι από μέσα μου, να έμεινε πίσω.
Κάπου εκεί στη Γαλλία.
Ανάμεσα σε πίνακες, ανάμεσα σε φαγητά, ανάμεσα σε αρώματα και συναισθήματα. Ανάμεσα σε μυστήρια και ψυχές που δε θα λησμονήσω.


Και γυρίζοντας πίσω, νιώθω γεμάτη.
Γεμάτη αγάπη.
Γεμάτη μαγεία.
Με λίγο περισσότερο σοφία και γνώση.
Γεμάτη μυρωδιές.
Ερωτευμένη με τους ήρωες, που άφησα πίσω.
Πιο δυνατή, γιατί μου δίδαξαν ότι τίποτα δεν είναι ακατόρθωτο, αρκεί να μπορώ να διαχωρίσω, τα θέλω από τα πρέπει, τα μπορώ από το φοβάμαι, τη δύναμη της ψυχής από τη δύναμη της στιγμής.
Το συναίσθημα από την εκδίκηση.
Και να μπορώ με τα μάτια της ψυχής να δω την καθαρή αγάπη, αυτή, που πηγάζει από μέσα μας, όχι εκείνη της τη στιγμής και του φόβου, αλλά τη σπάνια και την αληθινή.
Την αγάπη, που νικιέται μόνο αγάπη.

Σαν την αγάπη της Οντίν. Μικρή αλλά ολόχρυση.
Σαν την αγάπη της Ζιλη. Ταπεινή αλλά μεγάλη.
Σαν την αγάπη της Σελίν δύσκολη μα πιο δυνατή από όλα τα συναισθήματα.
Την αγάπη πού γίνεται κίνητρο, ρίσκο, εχθρός και φίλη.
Την αγάπη, που σε ξυπνάει λίγο, πριν κλείσεις τα μάτια και αφεθείς στα δικά σου σκοτάδια.
Εκείνη, που κάποτε φιλώντας μας, μας ξύπνησε από την λήθη

Μαγειρεύοντας για τον Πικάσο.
Ή αλλιώς Μαγειρεύοντας για τη ζωή.
Profile Image for Susan Heim.
Author 24 books260 followers
September 5, 2016
"Cooking for Picasso" is a fascinating blend of fact and fiction. The author's imagining of what occurred during Picasso's stay in the French Riviera in the spring of 1936 felt compellingly real. Those few months had a lasting impact on Ondine, the seventeen-year-old who cooked for him, and the generations that followed. Although the parts about Ondine were my favorite, it was also a delight to read about her granddaughter's quest to find out more about Ondine's life. The characters were vividly realized and are still fresh in my mind after finishing the book. The scenery and the food were also deliciously portrayed. Readers will want to book a trip to Juan-les-Pins after reading this book! "Cooking for Picasso" is a sumptuous feast featuring France, food, and family -- an unforgettable combination. [I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher but was not obligated to write a review. All opinions are 100% my own.]
Profile Image for Laura Beth.
730 reviews30 followers
November 19, 2019
I tried and tried to get through this book and finally realized life is too short and there are too many good books out there calling my name. The description looked promising but the writing is dreadful and where it was headed just made me upset. Seriously, I think my 9th grader has a better writing style. On a minor note, the characters talk out loud, in quotes all the time. That doesn’t happen in real life unless it’s an expletive or they’re crazy. Sorry to digress but wouldn’t waste time nor money on this one.
Profile Image for Marjorie.
557 reviews60 followers
February 17, 2017
This book is a complete imagining of what might have transpired during a short period of Picasso’s life. It’s true that Picasso took some time away from society in Paris in the spring of 1936. He anonymously rented a villa in the French Riviera. He was going through some nasty marital problems (having a mistress didn’t help there) and he hadn’t been able to paint for months but that spring he was able to paint again. Most of Picasso’s paintings referenced in the book are real except for one.

I had so believed that I would love this book. I find the art world a fascinating one and love to read about France. And French cooking – what’s not to love? But I should have known better. I know the reputation Picasso has and feel rather dumb for thinking this would be a charming book actually about cooking for Picasso. Sure, the main character, Ondine, did cook for him but their relationship didn’t stop there. He was 54 and she was only 17. I felt so let down when the story took this turn. It felt far too obvious to me and I had hoped that this would be a different type of book. Apparently, cooking for Picasso = modeling for Picasso = sleeping with Picasso. What else is a young girl to do being around such a great artist? Ho hum.

Of course, there’s much more to the story than that. There’s also the story of Ondine’s granddaughter, Celine, who, when she learns that her grandmother once cooked for Picasso, decides to visit the place where Picasso and Ondine met, sort out a fight for an inheritance and search for a possibly missing painting. And there are lovely descriptions of France and its cooking. But although parts of the book were in fact as charming as I had thought they would be, it wasn’t enough to save this one for me.

I did enjoy looking at the photos on the author’s website at www.camilleaubray.com of the places that inspired some of the locations in her book.

This audio book was given to me by the publisher through Blogging for Books in return for an honest review.
Profile Image for Anca Adriana Rucareanu.
287 reviews53 followers
November 17, 2017
https://ancasicartile.wordpress.com/2...

Romanul de față este o desfătare, o bucurie! Este un roman contagios. Te izbește acea joie de vivre a francezilor și te determină să te îndrăgostești și mai tare de la cuisine francaise. Vă recomand să citiți numai după ce ați mâncat pentru că pe parcursul lecturii vi se va face o poftă teribilă de toate acele delicatese culinare, așa că mai bine să fiți preventivi. 🙂
Profile Image for Moti.
108 reviews11 followers
August 18, 2020
کتاب خوبی بود در کل اما حس یکنواختی نسبت بهش نداشتم تو جای جای کتاب و یه جاهایی خیلی خوشم اومد و یه جاهایی نه .
می تونست خیلی بهتر پرداخته بشه به کاراکترا ،اما با اینکه کتاب قطوری هم هست احساسات شخصیتا خوب در نیومده و عمق نداشتن از نظر من.
فضای کتاب بی نظیره تو یکی از روستا های فرانسه با آشپزی جذاب پرووانسی آشنا میشی و از اون حال و هوا بذت می بری و تو یکی از بهترین کلاس آشپزی هایی که تا حالا تعریفشو شنیدی شرکت میکنی ،اینا همه کتاب و برام دوست داشتنی کرد اما انتظار داشتم راجب این چیزا بیشتر نوشته باشه نویسنده
پیکاسو هم تو کتاب هست اما شخصیت منفوری برای من ازش ترسیم شد البته من خیلی تحقیق نکردم شاید تو واقعیت هم همین بوده جناب پیکاسو
پ.ن :بهتون توصیه میکنم اگه یه روز خواستین بخونینش حتما اسم غذا ها و تابلو ها رو سرچ کنین و ببینین تا به ملموس تر شدن داستان و لذت بخش تر شدنش کمک کرده باشید
Profile Image for Stella82.
126 reviews24 followers
June 24, 2020
Roman me je privukao zbog Pikasa, kuvanja, francuske Rivijere, i prva polovina knjige mi je bila samo OK. Kada sam procitala oko 60%, pomislila sam kako ce knjiga dobiti trojku od mene ali sto se vise blizila kraju, to mi je postajala zanimljivija a desavanja dinamicnija. Ljubavni delovi su mi bili pomalo nametnuti na silu, povezanost likova u ljubavnoj vezi nisam osetila ni do kraja romana (ali ja i inace ne citam i ne volim ljubavne romane pa je moj utisak mozda takav i zbog toga). Ali, baka Ondina me je kupila, njen karakter mi se veoma dopao. Zadnja cetvrtina romana je znatno bolja od ostatka, bas me je vuklo da citam, te otud i vece ocene od mene. :) Ali, ovo je u sustini jedno sasvim prosecno pisanije.
Profile Image for Nilo0.
429 reviews94 followers
July 10, 2020
4.5/5
چقدر این کتاب زیبا و دلنشین و البته خوشمزه بود. تلفیقی از واقعیت و خیال که یه داستان قشنگ رو روایت کرده. واقعیت‌ها شامل شخصیت پیکاسو، تاریخ اتفاقات و اطلاعاتی درباره زنان و معشوقه‌های پیکاسوست و خیال، اتفاقات مربوط به آندین و جولی و سلینه که خیلی زیبا با واقعیت ترکیب شده و در کنار همه این‌ها کشف رازهایی درباره نقاشی پیکاسو هم کتاب رو جذاب‌تر کرده
اگه به هر کدوم از این موضوعات علاقه دارید، این کتاب براتون لذت بخش خواهد بود: پیکاسو، نقاشی، آشپزی، غذا، فرانسه، مناظر زیبا، رمز و راز و... این کتاب ترکیبی از همه این‌هاست و فضایی زیبا و شیرین و رویایی ساخته که شما رو به فرانسه می‌بره و شامل دو بازه زمانی حال و گذشته میشه که اینم از جذابیت‌های دیگه کتابه
در طول خوندن کتاب، همه غذاها، مکان‌ها و نقاشی‌ها و زنان و معشوقه‌های پیکاسو رو سرچ کردم که تصور دقیق‌تری از واقعیت‌های کتاب داشته باشم.
و در کل از خوندن این کتاب لذت بردم
Profile Image for Razieh Hafizi.
30 reviews2 followers
August 5, 2020
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کتابی پر از مزه ، بو و رنگ ‌...
شاید خیلی سریع داستان برایت قابل پیش‌بینی بود ، حتی انتهای کتاب از همان فصل‌های اول کاملا قابل حدس بود ولی خب خواندن آن همه زیبایی و خوشمزگی خالی از لطف نبود...
Profile Image for Paraskevi Parissi.
121 reviews10 followers
February 19, 2020
Μια γυναίκα που αγαπιέται δείχνει πάντα ευτυχισμένη.

Το ΜΑΓΕΙΡΕΥΟΝΤΑΣ για τον ΠΙΚΑΣΟ της Camille Aubray είναι ένα γλυκό, όμορφο παραμύθι αναζήτησης. Είναι ένα βιβλίο που κυριαρχεί το μυστήριο, ο αγνός έρωτας, η φιλία, οι οικογενειακοί δεσμοί, τα ταξίδια και φυσικά η Γαλλική Γαστρονομία. Το ταξίδι μας ξεκινάει τον Απρίλιο του 1936 σε ένα μικρό χωριουδάκι, σε ένα μικρό λιμάνι στην Κυανή Ακτή, στο Ζουάν-λε-πεν!!!! Σε αυτό το μικρό, γραφικό χωριουδάκι της Γαλλικής Ριβιέρας με το έντονο απέραντο γαλάζιο θα γνωρίσουμε την αγαπημένη μου Ωντίν, η οποία την περίοδο αυτή είναι έφηβη και η ζωή της με την αναπάντεχη γνωριμία με τον διάσημο 54 χρόνων τότε Πικάσο ,θα γίνει αφορμή ��ια ένα μεθυστικό ταξίδι αναζήτησης του αληθινού εαυτού της. Ο Πικάσο εκείνη την περίοδο βρίσκεται σε ένα σημαντικό σταυροδρόμι της προσωπικής του και της επαγγελματικής του ζωής.
Διαβάζοντας το βιβλίο θα ζήσετε και εσείς έντονα τις ζωές τριών γυναικών, της Ωντίν, της Ζιλί και της Σελίν, είναι η γιαγιά, η μαμά και η εγγονή. Προσωπικά λάτρεψα της ζωή της Ωντίν και με έκανε να ανοίξω το κουτί με τις φωτογραφίες μου και να χαζέψω τον εαυτό μου όταν ήμουν στην ηλικία της. Με έκανε να κοιτάω τις παλιές φωτογραφίες μου και να σκέφτομαι ότι δεν πρέπει να ξεχνάω την ομορφιά που αντανακλάται στα μάτια μου. Κάντε το και εσείς και θα με θυμηθείτε …..δείτε παλιές φωτογραφίες σας και θα χαμογελάσετε και εσείς!Επίσης μπορείτε χαζεύοντας τις φωτογραφίες, να ακούτε το τραγούδι the sound of silence του Paul Simon, το οποίο είναι αγαπημένο μουσικό κομμάτι και πιστεύω ότι ταιριάζει πολύ στο βιβλίο.

Στο βιβλίο ξετυλίγονται ταυτόχρονα οι ζωές των γυναικών και η Aubray παίζει με τις χρονικές περιόδους πολύ όμορφα χωρίς να κουράζει τον αναγνώστη, αλλά του δημιουργεί περισσότερο ενδιαφέρον για τις εξελίξεις. Έτσι χρονοταξιδεύουμε από το 1936 στο 2014 που συναντούμε την Ζιλί και την Σελιν, μέχρι οι περίοδοι συμπέσουν η μία πάνω στην άλλη. Πολύ έξυπνο και σε συνδυασμό με τους ευχάριστους διαλόγους του βιβλίου, με τους ιδιαίτερους χαρακτήρες, με την ρομαντική – μυστήριο πλοκή, με την εξαιρετική μετάφραση σε οδηγούν σε ένα ευκολοδιάβαστο, χαρούμενο αναγνωστικό ταξίδι.

Η ζωή σου και η δουλειά σου πρέπει να είναι πιο σημαντικά από μία μάχη.

Η Ωντίν είναι σαν πυγολαμπίδα που λάμπει στο σκοτάδι. Είναι δυνατή, ρεαλίστρια, επιβλητική, αγωνίστρια, αγνή, με όνειρα , με χιούμορ, η οποία μαγειρεύει για τον Πικάσο, ποζάρει για αυτόν, αλλά τον ερωτεύεται με την τρυφερή της καρδιά. Η Ωντίν είναι σαν τις νεράιδες που όταν ζευγαρώνουν χάνουν την αθανασία τους ,αλλά κερδίζουν την ψυχή τους. Φανταστείτε εκείνη την περίοδο λίγο… να είσαι έφηβη και να έχεις καθημερινή προσωπική επαφή με τον Πικάσο , με τον πιο διάσημο ζωγράφο του 20ου αιώνα …είναι εντυπωσιακό, τρομερό και άκρως επικίνδυνο, αφού ο Πικάσο ήταν από τους μεγαλύτερους γυναικοκατακτητές! Το εντυπωσιακό όμως είναι ότι μέσα από την μαγειρική μαθαίνεις πολλά για την ζωή του Πικάσο.
Ο Πικάσο ήταν κοντός, με μύτη πυγμάχου, με ιδιαίτερο κυκλοθυμικό χαρακτήρα , ο οποίος λάτρευε τις γυναίκες , ιδιαίτερα τις μικρές ηλικιακά. Κυκλοφορούσε με σορτσάκι και με το πουκάμισο ανοιχτό στο στήθος. Μέσα από το εξεταστικό βλέμμα του , κατάφερε να γεννήσει όλες τις απελευθερωτικές ιδέες στην Ωντιν, η οποία τον παρομοιάζει με τον Μινώταυρο που κατασπαράζει τις γυναίκες μέσα στον λαβύρινθο και σαν τον Δία στην κορυφή του Ολύμπου. Μην ξεχνάτε ότι οι περισσότερες γυναίκες θέλουν έναν κυρίαρχο άντρα στην ζωή τους. Ο Πικάσο λάτρεψε την γυναίκα και την ζωγράφισε όσο κανένας άλλος. Με το ίδιο πάθος που ερωτευόταν μία γυναίκα, με το ίδιο πάθος την παράταγε για κάποια άλλη ερωμένη. Ευγενικός, ευαίσθητος και ταυτόχρονα τύραννος. Ο ίδιος έλεγε : Κάθε φορά που αλλάζω γυναίκα, πρέπει να καταστρέψω την προηγούμενη. Όλα τα χρώματα που χρησιμοποιεί στους πίνακες του αντανακλούν τα συναισθήματα του.

Για να πετύχεις κάτι ,πρέπει πρώτα να σκοτώσεις κάτι άλλο...... Πικάσο.

Όμως για κάθε άσχημο υπάρχει πάντα ένα καλό που θα έρθει μην το ξεχνάτε ποτέ. Την έκρηξη αυτοπεποίθησης και πληρότητας την παίρνεις όταν συναναστρέφεσαι με ανθρώπους που σε εκτιμούν, έτσι και εδώ οι ήρωες μας θα βρουν την ολοκλήρωση μέσα από αυτό το ταξίδι αναζήτησης. Η ιστορία έτσι και αλλιώς επαναλαμβάνεται και κάνεις κύκλους , αφού όλα τριγύρω αλλάζουν και όλα τα ίδια μένουν.

Ένα αγαπησιάρικο βιβλίο που σας προτείνω και είμαι σίγουρη πως στο τέλος οι γευστικοί σας κάλυκες, θα θέλουν να γευτούν την ξεχωριστή κουζίνα της Προβηγκίας.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
277 reviews24 followers
March 18, 2017
The setting for most of this book is Juan-les-Pins, a small town outside Antibes, in Southeastern France on the Cote d'Azur. This is where Picasso retreated to in 1936, during a tumultuous period in his personal life in which he actually stopped painting! What inspired him to pick up his paintbrush in the South of France? Was it the scenery? Or maybe it was the Bouillabaisse! Camille Aubray would have you believe it was the delicious Provencal cuisines... and the chef preparing the sumptuous meals... that inspired Picasso during this reclusive period and gave him back his zest for life. Within the year, he would create his masterpiece, Guernica.

But the book is not so much about Picasso as it is about our young chef, Ondine, and the effect those months of interacting and cooking for Picasso had on her life, and the future lives of her daughter and granddaughter. Aubray weaves two stories, the first of Ondine, the young chef, the second, her granddaughter, Celine. Their stories eventually converge, much like the sensuous herbs in a Provencal stew, and the blend makes the story much richer. Naturally, the cuisine of Southern France is what unites these two tales. Ondine leaves her granddaughter a notebook of recipes and a diary of her time cooking for Picasso. Celine traces her roots back to the Cote d'Azur, and meets a chef who has taken over the Mas where Ondine retired. I won't tell you where the story then leads, because I don't want to spoil it....

I did a bit of side research while reading this book, on Picasso's art during this period, his marriage to ballerina Olga Khokhlova, as well as his infamous love affairs with Marie-Theresa Walter and Dora Maar.

Two of the paintings that were created during this time (and which Aubray muses were modeled by our heroine, Ondine) are Femme à la montre and Woman at the Window.
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