Emma Chen’s Emperor Can Wait features on Mail & Guardian books editor Darryl Accone’s list of the top “walls, wars, food and games” reads that 2009 brought us – the only SA book to make the cut. Congratulations to Chen!
I must disclose immediately that I am a friend of Emma’s. It would be remiss, however, not to acknowledge her book. The global hit Sophie’s World by Jostein Garder was described as “The detective novel that thinks it’s a philosophy book”, a formulation that could have been reversed. Emperor Can Wait is a memoir punctuated with anecdotes about food and recipes to accompany those.
Most media coverage has focused on the recipes, but to use the Sophie’s World formulation: “Emperor Can Wait is a recipe book that knows it’s a memoir.” It knows that it is about family, friends and food; about life, love and literature; about where home and the heart are to be found.
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