Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4.4/5)
Genre: Literary Fiction, Family Saga, Sri Lankan Literature, Culinary Fiction

Book Review:
Carl Muller, the winner of the 1993 Gratiaen Memorial Prize for ''The Jam Fruit Tree,'' returns to his beloved von Bloss family in this fourth installment of his Burgher chronicles. ''Maudiegirl and the von Bloss Kitchen'' is a delightful, heartwarming, and utterly charming exploration of family, food, and the quirks of Burgher life in Sri Lanka.

At the center of the story is Maudiegirl, the family's extraordinary cook who wields a wizard's wand not only in the kitchen but over every domestic problem imaginable. From predicting the sex of an unborn child to knowing more than a dozen ways to cook eels; from cutting a goat the right way to setting falling marriages straight; from nursing the ailing to health to keeping the best kitchen—Maudiegirl has a solution to every problem. Her home is her castle, and the kitchen is her domain.

Muller's writing is quintessentially irreverent, witty, and heart-warming. He captures the hallmarks of the von Blosses' days and ways with affection and humor—a hungry family and a wonderful cook, a kind paedophile, a cantankerous mother-in-law, a disloyal husband, good-for-nothing uncles, prudish Pentecostals, Dunnyboy's exhibitionism, Somnaboy's show of strength. The characters leap off the page with their eccentricities and humanity.

What makes this book special is how Muller uses food as a lens to explore family dynamics, culture, and love. The kitchen becomes a sacred space where relationships are nurtured, conflicts are resolved, and traditions are preserved. The inclusion of many of Maudiegirl's famous recipes at the end of the book is a delightful bonus—you can actually recreate the dishes you've been reading about.

The novel also serves as a valuable document of Burgher culture in Sri Lanka—their customs, their language, their food, their way of life. Muller captures a community in transition, holding onto its traditions while adapting to a changing world.

For readers who love family sagas, culinary fiction, or simply want to experience the warmth and humor of Carl Muller's writing, this book is a treat. It's a feast for the senses and the soul.