Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love
By Kim Fay
(192 pages, fiction, 2022)
This is a novel told in letters, starting in the 1960s. Twenty-seven-year old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter and some saffron to 59-year old Imogen Fortier. Imogen writes a column about food in the Northwest for a regional magazine. Joan lives in Los Angeles and Imogen lives on Camano Island in Washington state. Saffron is indeed a mysterious ingredient to Imogen. This is at a time when you couldn’t get “exotic” items such as garlic in grocery stores. Imogen writes back that she will have to try a new dish with saffron in it – and mussels!
The two send letters back and forth, sharing their recipes and more and more of their lives as they continue. Their letters of friendship have profound effects on each other. Because of Joan’s letters, Imogen’s marriage of many years sees wonderful changes. And Joan finds love with a person she never would have met if it hadn’t been for Imogen. They comfort each other through the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Kennedy’s assassination. They tell each other their secrets. They were strangers when they started, but are now dear friends.
This story reminded me of the book 84, Charing Cross Road. This is not just a book for foodies, but for anyone who enjoys reading about a friendship developing over time. Love & Saffron leaves you wanting more recipes, and definitely wishing for more letters between the two close friends.
This is a charming book about the power of friendship and food to sustain us during difficult times in our lives.
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Robbin Bailey
