Simple Recipes - Softcover

The seven stories in Simple Recipes, 26-year-old Madeleine Thien's debut collection, show an imaginative depth and sympathetic wisdom beyond her years. The title story is a deceptively simple tale of a girl remembering how her father used to cook rice: sorting and cleaning, then measuring the water by resting the tip of his index finger on the surface of the rice so that the water reached the bend of his first knuckle. Her father impresses his young daughter with the dexterous way in which he magically transforms a few ingredients into something that satisfies basic needs and sustains life. When those same skillful hands turn violent, though, and beat her rebellious older brother, the daughter struggles to hold onto the memory of the kitchen ritual she shared with her father as it shatters into metaphors for abuse, intolerance, and shame.

Another story, "Alchemy," conveys a complex friendship between school-age girls, as one seeks to understand love and the other contends with an eating disorder and sexual abuse at home. The dynamic between these girls is subtly described and never overstated. Revelations, when they come, are as startling, complex, and mysterious as in real life. Thien is a genuine talent to watch. --Nigel Hunt

Madeleine Thien is the Canadian-born daughter of Malaysian-Chinese immigrants. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.