Nigel Slater Toast - what do you think?

[crochetmonkey74]

Have had this on my wishlist for ages, finally got round to it and I feel a bit underwhelmed. Its had such great reviews and is often on various best of lists. I'm disappointed, am I missing something? What did you lot think?

I was disappointed too and to be honest he comes across awfully in the book. I think anyway.
The writing is quite nice but as you say underwhelming.

lonely I agree, and I thought every woman in it was so nastliy described. It was so sneering

ABSOLUTELY! It is years since I've read it but now you mention it I remember this was one of the worst things about it. Terrible.
I have looked on him differently ever since.

I do remember thinking, 'well, he was a kid', but actually he wrote it as an adult describing his experiences so for him to feel comfortable exhibiting his worst sides I felt says a lot.

Yes I was pondering on this for a while, who was he writing as? Was he writing as the kid who had the misogyny of the time? But then his narration is more knowing and that of himself now looking back. All the men, even the ones who were behaving badly or acting illegally were at least neutrally written, if not positively yet even the once mentioned girls or women were really horribly described. I was really disappointed