Friend of the Devil Mark Spivak Books
Download As PDF : Friend of the Devil Mark Spivak Books
It’s 1990, and some critics believe that America’s most celebrated chef, Joseph Soderini di Avenzano, cut a deal with the Devil to achieve fame and fortune. Whether he is actually Bocuse or Beelzebub, Avenzano is approaching the twenty-fifth anniversary of his glittering Palm Beach restaurant, Chateau de la Mer, patterned after the Michelin-starred palaces of Europe. Journalist David Fox arrives in Palm Beach to interview the chef for a story on the restaurant’s silver jubilee and quickly becomes involved with Chateau de la Mer’s hostess, Alessandra, unwittingly transforming himself into Avenzano’s rival. When the chef invites David to winter in Florida and write his authorized biography, he gradually becomes sucked into the restaurant’s vortex—shipments of cocaine coming up from the Caribbean; the Mafia connections and unexplained murder of the chef’s original partner; and the chef’s ravenous ex-wives, swirling in the background like a hidden coven. As Alessandra plots the demise of the chef, David tries to sort out hallucination and reality, while Avenzano plays with him like a feline’s catnip-stuffed toy.
Friend of the Devil Mark Spivak Books
Friend of the Devilby Mark Spivak
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get on so well in life? How they surmount obstacles that would crush an ordinary person? How disasters happen all around them, and never seem to touch them? Teflon people, as it were. Almost as if they had made that Faustian bargain, a pact with the devil?
If you are willing to believe this is possible, or at least to suspend your disbelief, then Mark Spivak's Friend of the Devil is a must-read for you. Here is a thriller written by a food writer - on the surface a perfect airplane or beach read. But beneath the surface lies a much deeper subject, the ultimate temptation.
The story begins in rural Mississippi in 1947, as young Joseph, a poor boy who wants wealth and power, enters into a contract with an unknown man — presumably the devil— through the offices of an old Black couple (capital letter is Spivak's). The old Black man sends his son as Joseph's guide because the guide "got to be somebody with a pure heart. Somebody the man can't touch." At this point, I realized that Friend of the Devil is an allegory as well as a thriller. And thrilling it is.
The story moves ahead to 1990, to Palm Beach in Florida, where we meet David Fox, a New York journalist who has come to write about a world famous and successful chef, Joseph Soderini di Avenzano. Yes, it is that same Joseph, wildly successful, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his top-rated restaurant, Chateau de La Mer. We also meet Alessandra, an alluring woman who belongs to Joseph, and Kate, a motherly woman who exudes goodness and kindness. David is unable to resist Alessandra's sexy body. But she is Joseph's property, and Joseph seems to have the ability to read minds. Will Joseph retaliate? The chef and David play a cat and mouse game. David courts danger, physically and spiritually, as Alessandra's connection with the drug trade and the resulting enmity of a Mafia family raise the stakes.
Through the novel, which moves between New York and Palm Beach, Spivak blends authentic dialogue with excellent description, depicting Palm Beach privilege, African American perceptiveness, and New York cynicism with equal aplomb. As a marvelous bonus, Spivak provides entertaining history and philosophy lessons. Allusions abound. I am not sure I've caught all of them, but they made me stop, think, and google. For example, the now famous Chef Joseph discourses at length about Catherine de Medici, the Italian who taught the French to cook, and Napoleon, who won the battle of Marengo by sacrificing Italian troops in Sicily. (A famous dish, Chicken Marengo, was served to Napoleon after that battle.) Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed all the food references and menus. Wish the food could have been downloaded!
Drugs, sex, and murder are among the strands that contribute to this intricate tapestry, and all come together in a satisfying conclusion. As the imperturbable Kate says, "good and evil require the same level of commitment." If you are prepared to look into the face of evil with an open mind, if you enjoy reading about food, about crime, and about what it means to be human, then Friend of the Devil is the book for you.
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Friend of the Devil Mark Spivak Books Reviews
A little Kitchen Confidential, a little Real Housewives of Palm Beach, and a little Faust. This is a wonderful story set largely in Palm Beach in Chateau de la Mar, a very loosely disguised Mar-a-Lago. The plot centers around the most talented chef in America who opens a restaurant in the old historic mansion But where did he come from, and is his talent natural, or is it the result of a bargain with you-know-who?
This well written yarn grabbed me from the first page and kept me going as if I was possessed. If you are into Culinary Thrillers, complete with tips on technique, wine pairings and menus, it doesn't get any better.
"Friend of the Devil" is not only a good read but also one that is thought provoking. On first glance, I was expecting a good beach read, but somewhere along the way, I realized this"beach read" had me thinking about spirituality. How much are we willing to give up for what we want? And do we ever really lose faith, or does faith eventually find us in spite of ourselves.
An exceptional read, a thriller with mystery, intrigue, and suspense. Celebrated Palm Beach chef Joseph Soderini boldly cuts a deal with the Devil for fortune and fame. The characters have complex personalities, that are well developed throughout the book. David Fox, a New York journalist on assignment becomes obsessed with the chefs beautiful, sexy wife, Alessandra.She's connected to the South Florida drug trade, and the shadowing reach of the Mafia. Friend of The Devil is a riveting story, that you simply can't put down.
Click purchase and enjoy. I purchased my book on , and received no compensation for this review. I just loved Mark Spivak's book, Friend of the Devil - you will too!
Living near Palm Beach, I was eager to read this book. I was awed by the amount of research and description that enhances plot, characters, and connection. Can anyone else see this as a TV series? I was casting it in my mind. It's not surprising that the author has such great command of food description as he has written about food and wine for years and written for Palm Beach Illustrated, a luxury lifestyle magazine. Love the category of Culinary Thriller. Will recommend to my book club
What a great find! Loved the book. A warning though, do not read this book hungry. The food descriptions are so tantalizing you will battle between putting the book down to search out some of the great dishes described in the book or to keep on reading. The world the author conjures has many levels of intrigue, style, and Palm Beach mystique. Yes, the book is a play on good vs evil and on the internal conflicts of ones owns desires but it manages to straddle all the grey areas of these battles. The characters and the conflicts are multi-layered and the answers and motives are well......you will have to read to find out!
In Friend of the Devil, Mark Spivak takes a nostalgic look at Palm Beach, circa 1990, while rolling out an intriguing cast of characters that draws you into the fictional universe of Chateau de la Mer restaurant. His novel entertains wittily, while simultaneously making one hunger for the creations of famed Chef Joseph Soderini di Avenzano.
If Chateau de la Mer's menu, reproduced in the appendix, were to actually be prepared at a real life French restaurant today, it would instantly become the finest temple of haute cuisine in town.
And, like a truly fine meal, one wishes that the story didn't have to end.
Highly recommended.
This is a really interesting book. It's described as a culinary thriller, and that's true - there's lots of food and wine related material, and a great deal of suspense that keeps you engaged all the way through. But it's also about peoples' spiritual nature, and about the age-old conflict between good and evil and which one wins is, as one of the characters says, "in the eye of the beholder". Either way, it's a really engaging story with believable characters and plot.
Friend of the Devil
by Mark Spivak
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get on so well in life? How they surmount obstacles that would crush an ordinary person? How disasters happen all around them, and never seem to touch them? Teflon people, as it were. Almost as if they had made that Faustian bargain, a pact with the devil?
If you are willing to believe this is possible, or at least to suspend your disbelief, then Mark Spivak's Friend of the Devil is a must-read for you. Here is a thriller written by a food writer - on the surface a perfect airplane or beach read. But beneath the surface lies a much deeper subject, the ultimate temptation.
The story begins in rural Mississippi in 1947, as young Joseph, a poor boy who wants wealth and power, enters into a contract with an unknown man — presumably the devil— through the offices of an old Black couple (capital letter is Spivak's). The old Black man sends his son as Joseph's guide because the guide "got to be somebody with a pure heart. Somebody the man can't touch." At this point, I realized that Friend of the Devil is an allegory as well as a thriller. And thrilling it is.
The story moves ahead to 1990, to Palm Beach in Florida, where we meet David Fox, a New York journalist who has come to write about a world famous and successful chef, Joseph Soderini di Avenzano. Yes, it is that same Joseph, wildly successful, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his top-rated restaurant, Chateau de La Mer. We also meet Alessandra, an alluring woman who belongs to Joseph, and Kate, a motherly woman who exudes goodness and kindness. David is unable to resist Alessandra's sexy body. But she is Joseph's property, and Joseph seems to have the ability to read minds. Will Joseph retaliate? The chef and David play a cat and mouse game. David courts danger, physically and spiritually, as Alessandra's connection with the drug trade and the resulting enmity of a Mafia family raise the stakes.
Through the novel, which moves between New York and Palm Beach, Spivak blends authentic dialogue with excellent description, depicting Palm Beach privilege, African American perceptiveness, and New York cynicism with equal aplomb. As a marvelous bonus, Spivak provides entertaining history and philosophy lessons. Allusions abound. I am not sure I've caught all of them, but they made me stop, think, and google. For example, the now famous Chef Joseph discourses at length about Catherine de Medici, the Italian who taught the French to cook, and Napoleon, who won the battle of Marengo by sacrificing Italian troops in Sicily. (A famous dish, Chicken Marengo, was served to Napoleon after that battle.) Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed all the food references and menus. Wish the food could have been downloaded!
Drugs, sex, and murder are among the strands that contribute to this intricate tapestry, and all come together in a satisfying conclusion. As the imperturbable Kate says, "good and evil require the same level of commitment." If you are prepared to look into the face of evil with an open mind, if you enjoy reading about food, about crime, and about what it means to be human, then Friend of the Devil is the book for you.
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