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Francie delights in her cozy marriage. She and her husband, Harry, are content as they approach their 25th wedding anniversary. They are big-time foodies: Harry is a master gourmet cook and Francie is his adoring fan. The two of them host neighborhood dinner parties, family get-togethers and other calorie-driven fests. When Harry wants to show his love for Francie, he cooks her luscious tidbits.
Their life is shaken when Harry wins a digital scale in a raffle --- and actually weighs himself. He and Francie are aghast to discover that he is one hundred pounds overweight. At his doctor's they hear terrifying news about his cholesterol, triglycerides and his chances of developing diabetes and heart disease. When the doctor discusses diet, all Harry can say is, "Is there any diet where I could still have butter?"
Harry cheats on his low-fat, low-calorie diet. Francie, horrified that her beloved husband will eat himself into an early grave, offers to do all the cooking. She also talks him into joining a university hospital diet study.
Luckily for Harry, the diet study program lets him have butter --- and steaks, cheese, sour cream and so on. It's a low-carbohydrate program, and Harry thrives on it. Fat begins melting off of him faster than grease from frying bacon.
Francie is so happy. Or is she? Sure, her husband is getting slimmer, but he's also gone all the time. He's constantly off at work or at the gym or getting together with his diet group. At home he's distracted. Francie doesn't want to believe it of her adorable husband, but now that he's looking so tasty, is his love life sizzling elsewhere?
I adored witty, down-to-earth Francie. I initially loved Harry, but as I read further I felt that I didn't know him very well (no doubt mirroring his wife's feelings). The author draws us in to the family dynamics in a realistic, humorous way. However, while two of the couple's children were truly people to me, the brief appearance of two other less-realized children served no discernible purpose. I also had some quibbles with the relationships toward the end of the book. Two cardboardish characters, Krys and Tommy, appear to be devices invented for the plot's convenience. I had a similar reaction to a rather contrived cruise scene and felt the ending to be just a bit too pat. These problems after the midway point of the story weakened a wonderfully original premise and a great voice.
However, despite my disappointments with the last half of the book, COOKING FOR HARRY is a quick, fun story. I recommend it to anyone looking for the reading equivalent of a light, fluffy no-carb snack.
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)
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