Margaux Vialleron Livres

Expectation meets Julie and Julia, The Yellow Kitchen is a brilliant exploration of food, belonging and friendship. London E17, 2019. A yellow kitchen stands as a metaphor for the lifelong friendship between three women: Claude, the baker, goal-orientated Sophie and political Giulia. They have the best kind of friendship, chasing life and careers; dating, dreaming and consuming but always returning to be reunited in the yellow kitchen. That is, until a trip to Lisbon unravels unexplored desires between Claude and Sophie. Having sex is one thing, waking up the day after is the beginning of something new. Exploring the complexities of female friendship, The Yellow Kitchen is a hymn to the last year of London as we knew it and a celebration of the culture, the food and the rhythms we live by.

Set over a single weekend, the narrative follows four women as their lives intertwine, exploring themes of desire and consent. Each character faces personal challenges and revelations, reflecting on their identities in a contemporary context. The clever structure emphasizes the complexity of their relationships and the societal pressures they navigate, ultimately highlighting the nuances of womanhood and self-discovery.

One weekend. Four women. A novel about desire and consent. Cleverly structured and told over the course of one weekend, Breaststrokes will see the four women’s lives overlap and interweave as they grapple with who they are in this modern world.