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In Kigali, Angel runs a bustling business: baking cakes for all occasions—cakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver.…A CIA agent’s wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweeter…a former boy-soldier orders an engagement cake, then, between sips of tea, shares an enthralling story…weary human rights workers…lovesick limo drivers. Amid this cacophony of native tongues, love affairs, and confessions, Angel’s kitchen is an oasis where people tell their secrets, where hope abounds and help awaits.
In this unlikely place, in the heart of Rwanda, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned…a heartbreaking mystery—involving Angel’s own family—unravels…and extraordinary connections are being made among the men and women who have tasted Angel’s beautiful cakes…as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel’s life—and the lives of those around her—in the most astonishing ways.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 18, 2009 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780307577801
- File size: 301186 KB
- Duration: 10:27:28
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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The voice of Angel Tungaraza is kind, sympathetic, and always authoritative as she goes about her business of baking cakes in the Rwandan city of Kigali. For Angel, baking cakes is more than a way to earn money for her family; it's how she connects with the people around her, cares for her friends, and eases the pain of the past. Adenrele Ojo narrates the story with precision, switching among the different accents--African and American--without pause. She gives middle-aged Angel a warm, comforting tone as she takes care of her five orphaned grandchildren while never forgetting that she is a "professional somebody." Parkin gives just enough background on the Rwandan civil wars to provide an understanding of what Angel and her neighbors have lived through, but the heart this book is a wonderful listen for anyone who enjoys food and the closeness of family. R.A. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine -
June 29, 2009
Set in an international apartment complex in Rwanda, Parkin's appealing but overstuffed debut throws together university professors, U.N. employees and CIA agents among a panoply of traditions and cultures. Heroine Angel Tungararza has moved from Tanzania with her husband, Pius, who's taken a job at the local university; before long, she develops a reputation as a masterful baker and a sagacious friend. Though haunted by the deaths of her grown daughter and son, Angel plunges back into motherhood, caring for her five grandchildren, tending to Pius, baking cakes and dispensing advice. Meanwhile, the sour undercurrents of AIDS and genocide play quiet but instrumental parts in shaping Angel's world. In Parkin's eagerness to introduce a rainbow of cultures and personalities, she crowds her enjoyable but terminally dedicated heroine, forcing Angel to take a saccharine supporting role in her own story; almost simultaneously, she's soothing survivors of Rwandan genocide, reconciling a local prostitute and her client, and serving as an honorary mother-of-the-bride.
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