The Plumberry School of Comfort Food (by Cathy Bramley)

I have very much liked the other novels I’ve read by Cathy Bramley, so I added a few more to my wishlist over a year ago. I was given ‘The Plumberry School of Comfort Food’ for my birthday a year ago, and finally read it in the past few days.

Verity is the main character in this book. She narrates the story, and I found her increasingly likeable as the book progressed. We meet her in various situations in the first chapter, which is quite action-packed for a light women’s fiction read. Verity is first in the kitchen with her flatmate Rosie, making junk food. We quickly learn that she doesn’t eat properly, in stark comparison to her super-fit flatmate Rosie.

Then we learn that Verity is a marketing expert who has come up with an excellent idea for the company she works for. However she’s in competition with her boyfriend Liam… and she’s shown him her ideas. Rosie thinks that’s a very bad idea. Next we see Verity panicking - although with a tinge of excitement and hope - as she thinks she might be pregnant. And if that weren’t enough for one chapter, we next meet her on a bittersweet visit to her godson, four-year-old Noah, and his father Gabe. Noah’s mother Mimi was Verity’s closest friend, but she died a couple of years earlier.

Although I found that chapter a tad confusing with so many changes of scene, it turns out to be an excellent introduction to Verity, as we see different people and situations through her eyes. She likes to have a full calendar, she’s full of great ideas, she doesn’t really look after herself… but she’s full of compassion and will do anything for those she loves. She’s also rather easily persuadable, and she’s very trusting.

The bulk of the book is about Verity’s visit to Mimi’s mother Gloria, who was almost like a second mother to Verity when they were growing up. Verity’s own mother is in Canada, and they have a somewhat strained relationship; there are hints about why this is the case through the book, but we don’t learn the full story until near the end.

Gloria is quite similar to Verity in character; although technically retired, she likes to keep active and has always wanted to run a cookery school. She’s finally able to realise her dream, and it’s soon to open… but she’s lacking technical and marketing skills. And it just happens that Verity is able to help her, initially for a few weeks as the school prepares to open.

There are other characters who appear as part of the school: there’s Gloria’s delightfully caricatured neighbour Mags, who dresses in bizarre and colourful ways, and sees innuendoes in almost every conversation. There’s Tom, the michelin-starred chef who has agreed to teach some of the early classes, but has very regimented ideas about food, and doesn’t quite understand the idea of comfort food, or cooking with love. And there’s Pixie, a girl who is eager to help out, and very hard-working, but has no background at all in serious cooking.

So there are many strands to the story, many gradually developing relationships, a low-key romantic thread that isn’t resolved until nearly the end of the book, and changes in many of the characters as they learn from each other, and are able to move beyond some of the episodes in their pasts. There are a few surprises, and some sadnesses, though the author built up to the pivotal one with sufficient hints that I found myself almost relieved when the anticipated traumatic event occurred.

It took me a little while to get into the book; there’s almost too much going on in the first few chapters, and I found it quite hard going. But then I found myself reading at every moment, thoroughly enjoying the different characters, and Verity’s gradual relaxation and enjoyment as she becomes part of the Plumberry School. She and several other people in the book got under my skin so much that after I’d finished I found myself wondering what they were getting up to, and how things were progressing before remembering that the story was over.

As with many books of this kind, there are recipes at the back, but they’re quite dairy-heavy, or contain ingredients we don’t use, so I’m not going to try any of them. Still, it’s always good to see recipes for dishes mentioned in a novel, and there are quite a few of them so it’s a nice touch.

Definitely recommended if you enjoy character-based women’s fiction. It's mostly light-hearted but covers some quite serious issues too.

(Note that this was originally published in four separate parts, so make sure you are ordering the entire novel if you buy it online.)

Review copyright 2020 Sue's Book Reviews