Anna Rossi grew up in a home where every meal was boiled until the flavor was gone. Now, years later, a gifted cook, she finds her own appetite draining away as her marriage dissolves into blandness. Desperate to hold her lawyer husband's attention for more than five minutes, she convinces him to go on a second honeymoon in New Hampshire, only to find that, in the end, they have nothing left to say to each other. Taking her six-year-old daughter, Sara, Anna begins a new life as a kitchen assistant in a friend's busy ski-area New Hampshire restaurant. With the help of the critical sous chef, James, Anna begins to rediscover the simple pleasures of a life lived on one's own terms - along with the sweetness of fresh blueberry jam, the salty tang of blue cheese, and the warm, comforting and earthy taste of mushrooms. But, just as Anna's appetite begins to make a healthy reappearance, a phone call from her less vibrant past forces her to make an important choice. Anna's decision may change the way she has come to view the world, and have devastating effects on the flavor of her future.
"Ms. Ward is a gifted writer, and Hunger is a zippy read, especially for foodies."
The Dallas Morning News
"Simple recipes for meals and marriages add charm to this first novel. . . . Like Anna's cooking, Ward's style is simple and direct, with carefully selected enhancements. Childhood memories, such as young Anna taking refuge from her parents' overcooked meals in a neighbor's kitchen, or adult nightmares, like the dinner party that inevitably ends in a fight, show a keen sense of detail."
