Before I even finished the first 10% I knew Seven Recipes for Revolution was something special. Before I finished the first 25% I decided I needed to have a physical copy. Suffice it to say, I loved this one! Keep reading this book review of Seven Recipes for Revolution for my full thoughts.
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Paprick is a common butcher, carving slabs of meat from gargantuan monsters so elite chefs can prepare magic-granting meals for the rich. But Paprick’s true passion is cooking, and if he can learn the secret art, his dreams of liberating his people and sharing the monsters’ magic with the world could come true. He steals the precious ingredients needed to practise recipes at home, but if he’s caught, he’ll be executed.
As his desperation grows, he ventures into the black market and uncovers a spice imported from unknown lands. Combining it with the last of his stolen meat, he cooks a dish the world has never tasted before, with side-effects he couldn’t have foreseen.
The dish’s magic grows Paprick to kaiju-size, and legends of his powers spread among the people. Immediately, the rulers arrest him, but Paprick convinces them to make him a chef’s apprentice―if they ever want to learn his Recipe. However, his exposure to the world of high cuisine reveals the rot at its centre, and with his new power, rebellion is only a few recipes away…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Seven Recipes for Revolution is a breath of fresh air. It’s a unique mixture of cooking and a fantasy world of inequality where we have to eat the rich. The layers of oppression and exploitation make it a ripe breeding ground for dissent. This catch 22 of coalescing the powers at the top without any chance for trickling down and instead propping up their gilded desires with the bodies of the common. Told with a frame narrative, a classic choice, we already know The Butcher’s been captured, that justice is coming, but we are given one last chance to know the story. To hear the story of each decision which has lead us to here, all the excuses, the memories, and the making of a legend.
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This writing technique allows us to see the reflections, the aching of the scars, and the moments that passed us by for a second but were the resounding final crack. The world of Seven Recipes for Revolution is immersive. It’s a society which uses us like chattel. And Paprick becomes a symbol of the lies of the upper classes. They like to tell us that we will never amount to anything more than this indenture, but he’s a symbol of greatness, of ambition, and the stiffled talent beaten down by this system. It’s about the subtle pressure point when insurrection becomes rebellion. The decisions that change our lives.
At its core, Seven Recipes for Revolution exemplifies the fact that food is rebellion, it’s sustenance, it’s art, and it’s a spark. The power to invoke memories, to stoke our bellies, and to inspire. With numerous twists and turns, I devoured Seven Recipes for Revolution and cannot wait for the second book. I fell headfirst and I’m not sure I want to pull myself out. Find Seven Recipes for Revolution on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon(US)(UK), Bookshop. org, & Blackwells.