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Животът на Грейс е на кръстопът, когато се мести да живее в Макао със своя съпруг и открива, че желанието й да има дете е неосъществимо, а бракът й започва да се разпада. И като всеки човек, който се намира в преломен момент от живота си, тя решава да направи нещо дръзко и абсолютно необичайно. Бившата сервитьорка отваря кафене, което скоро й носи нов вкус към живота и дава смисъл на дните й. Малкото и уютно заведение не само предлага на посетителите удоволствието да изпият ароматна чаша чай или кафе и да опитат прословутите макарони на собственичката, но се превръща и в притегателно място за новите хора в живота на Грейс, които тя ще обикне и ще нарече свое семейство. Тъниклиф успява да се впише в тенденцията на търсенето на духовно здраве посредством готвенето и храната като използва съвременната страст по макароните - тези фини, кръгли, пъстри сладки с най-различен вкус. Отварянето на малко уютно кафене осмисля живота на Грейс, а предлагането на ароматна чаша чай или кафе, заедно с домашно приготвените макарони, притеглят хората, които създават истинското й семейство. И докато младата жена преоткрива силата в себе си, неразрешените проблеми, свързани с майка й, непрекъснато изскачат на повърхността, а шокиращото предателство на съпруга й заплашва да преобърне целия й живот.
376 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
About the author
Hannah Tunnicliffe
5 books123 followersHannah Tunnicliffe was born in New Zeland but is a self-confessed nomad. After finishing a degree in social sciences, she lived in Australia, England, Macau, Canada and, memorably, a campervan named Fred. A career in human resources temporarily put her dream of becoming a writer on the backburner. She currently lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, Matthew, and their two daughters. The Color of Tea is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
July 13, 2012
When it comes to tea, I'm all about it, and that includes books. There is something familiar about tea that makes it so appealing around the world.
I enjoyed this book. Set in Macau with a diverse populace for a Chinese island, the story weaves the lives of Grace-barren wife with a rocky marriage-with a small cadre of women who change her into the secure and confidant woman she becomes. Her cafe brings these women together with macarons and tea--a match made in heaven. The characters are well constructed and you share the ride with Grace's ups and downs.
As in most books these days, there are depictions of romanticized sex, but not too bad--nothing I find in most books these days--and not enough to distract from the storyline.
If you are drawn to the melding of disparate lives into a solid, real friendship, then you will enjoy this book.
I enjoyed this book. Set in Macau with a diverse populace for a Chinese island, the story weaves the lives of Grace-barren wife with a rocky marriage-with a small cadre of women who change her into the secure and confidant woman she becomes. Her cafe brings these women together with macarons and tea--a match made in heaven. The characters are well constructed and you share the ride with Grace's ups and downs.
As in most books these days, there are depictions of romanticized sex, but not too bad--nothing I find in most books these days--and not enough to distract from the storyline.
If you are drawn to the melding of disparate lives into a solid, real friendship, then you will enjoy this book.
August 1, 2012
I confess I generally cut debut novels quite a lot of slack, because the writers are first-time authors and really shouldn't be judged on the same scale as more veteran ones, who've learned the pitfalls to avoid. WIth that caveat, I upped The Color of Tea to two stars. I actually didn't like it, but it had two things going for it: the story made me care for the protagonist and the setting of Macau for this novel was genuinely evocative.
The story surrounds middle-aged Grace Miller who finds herself with her husband ensconced in Macau as expatriates. They have been trying to conceive for a long time without any success, and the stress of that has leached joy out of their sexual congress and bliss out of their marriage. Grace, a former waitress with apparently little proven skill or professional training in anything, begins to turn her mind to opening a cafe in Macao when an opportunity presents itself, with a little help from a professional chef, Leon, whom she also begins to develop unruly feelings for. When the cafe opens, women begin to enter Grace's life, from the Filipino help -- Rilla -- that Leon finds for her, to Gigi, the granddaughter of one of the cafe's Chinese patrons, Yok Lan, a smart-mouth, tres chic, local Chinese girl who can speak English. Then, there is Marjorie, a former dancer and another patron of the cafe, who becomes embroiled more than she bargained for in the plights of Filipino helpers in Macao, who are frequently taken advantage of, not only by the agencies who squirrel them over to Hong Kong and Macao, but also the frequently tyrannical employers who hire them and abuse them with frying pans. So, there are lots of lively characters to work with here. The plot moves along swiftly enough with all these walk-on characters and there is a kind of plot momentum when we witness Grace's marriage biodegrade from the trials of infertility, unspoken hurts and the ghosts of the past, together with the strains that come from both of them working hours that only seem to push them to become ships passing in the night.
The setting is Macau is carefully evoked, and having lived in Hong Kong for a few years, many of the details were very accurately and interestingly drawn. It brought back quite a few memories for me. They also felt true in the way that only someone who has lived in Hong Kong or that area of the world will know, such as the quality of the sun and air, the dealings between expatriates and Filipino help, the insidious and callous racism often demonstrated by expatriates in the us-versus-them general tone of conversation. It's one of these things that are so pervasive that to do what Grace did to Linda -- telling her to 'piss off' often gets you labelled as iconoclastic, eccentric, or worse, one of those guilty-hypocritical-liberals who talk the talk but do not walk the walk. These were all things I observed in the shallowly capitalistic megalopolis of Hong Kong, and also the unacknowledged support band for its continuous prosperity. The Hong Kong Government is laissez-faire in all things, including labor safety and protection.
But there are some pitfalls in this book and I name them here. I name them here because I think that they are pitfalls a debut writer can easily fall into (and I a, guilty of some of them in my own first novel).
1. When a protagonist has lived for a certain amount of time in your head, she takes on certain main characteristics that can get overemphasized and become tiresome in the novel. E.g. In FiFty Shades of Grey, the oft-cited reference is to the the usage of "oh my" by the protagonist whenever she comes to a pivotal emotional moment. Here, while not quite as blatantly unskillful, there are too many occasions describing the protagonist getting up in the morning, or after having just gotten up, or about to go to bed.
2. Character development. Granted, the plot of the book seemed to only allow the husband and wife to meet in the battlefield of the bed, but there were also episodes where they were together which potential was left unmined in my opinion. Grace's way of dealing with things is very passive. When confronted with her husband's unreasonable accusations of adultery, and then his self-confessed sex with a prostitute, her way of dealing is basically not to deal. There is no confrontation other than flung words of "I can't stand the sight of you". Then, when her anger passes, she simply seems to take him back without any proper reckoning.
3. Plot development. Things just seem to happen very easily in this novel. Almost glossed over in fact. I can't imagine opening a cafe in Macau when you speak not a lick of Cantonese can be as breezy as it has appeared in this novel. In the space of two or three pages, Grace has managed to get a cafe open. From a woman without any experience doing any of this, and who was literally unable to get out of bed, I just find it really hard to believe that she was as unruffled as she seems to be over the entire cafe opening, from the moment of idea generation to execution. I'm not sure whether this is lack of research, laziness, or that the initial amount of detail overwhelmed the novel and so she was advised to take it out. But regardless, there should be some balance. I'm the kind of reader that wants to get into the meat of things. I want to get into the heart of the novel, be in it for the duration, good or bad. I do not like to be told that "She had an idea to open a cafe". Then two pages later, the cafe opened.
Next, without so much as a glitch, the cafe takes off. Without any serious marketing on Grace's part. Without her doing any promos. Without the usual business difficulties and start-up issues that confront every entrepreneurial effort. A typhoon does come and destroy the interior of the cafe, but even this seems bleached of any real terror or emotional uprising in the protagonist. All in all, she's either as bland as vanilla or as passive as a schoolbus waiting for the kids to be let out of school.
4. The Ending. Without giving the ending away, I am astounded that this ending was acceptable to the editors involved. Really, you can make that kind of swap? Isn't it illegal? Aren't there plenty of legalities to get through, none of which was even remotely mentioned. And last but not least, Gigi's motivation for the swap is simply breathtakingly bizarre. I simply cannot buy the absolute lack of maternal love on her part, not when she's been painted to be such an upright character. It's like a bad macaron. It leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. What happened here? I would wager that when there hasn't been enough character development, the ending doesn't suggest itself, and this might be one of those cases when the book needed to conclude, but it's not clear how.
5. Also every chapter had a macaron chapter heading. A name for an exotically created macaron such as plum and hibiscus with chocolate ganache or cinnamon with dark chili chocolate ganache. I would have loved for this book to be more Like Water for Chocolate here. Actually provide a recipe. It would leave the reader with something more substantial than just a wisp of exotic food names. Either that or actually describe the process of Grace making macarons. The only thing we ever get a direct glimpse of is her staring into the oven as the shells rise and inflate. We don't get a single description of her actually going through the labor of making them. I have to say: being held with such kid-gloves by the author makes me wonder if she thinks the readers of food fiction novels are idiots or just easily bored.
The story surrounds middle-aged Grace Miller who finds herself with her husband ensconced in Macau as expatriates. They have been trying to conceive for a long time without any success, and the stress of that has leached joy out of their sexual congress and bliss out of their marriage. Grace, a former waitress with apparently little proven skill or professional training in anything, begins to turn her mind to opening a cafe in Macao when an opportunity presents itself, with a little help from a professional chef, Leon, whom she also begins to develop unruly feelings for. When the cafe opens, women begin to enter Grace's life, from the Filipino help -- Rilla -- that Leon finds for her, to Gigi, the granddaughter of one of the cafe's Chinese patrons, Yok Lan, a smart-mouth, tres chic, local Chinese girl who can speak English. Then, there is Marjorie, a former dancer and another patron of the cafe, who becomes embroiled more than she bargained for in the plights of Filipino helpers in Macao, who are frequently taken advantage of, not only by the agencies who squirrel them over to Hong Kong and Macao, but also the frequently tyrannical employers who hire them and abuse them with frying pans. So, there are lots of lively characters to work with here. The plot moves along swiftly enough with all these walk-on characters and there is a kind of plot momentum when we witness Grace's marriage biodegrade from the trials of infertility, unspoken hurts and the ghosts of the past, together with the strains that come from both of them working hours that only seem to push them to become ships passing in the night.
The setting is Macau is carefully evoked, and having lived in Hong Kong for a few years, many of the details were very accurately and interestingly drawn. It brought back quite a few memories for me. They also felt true in the way that only someone who has lived in Hong Kong or that area of the world will know, such as the quality of the sun and air, the dealings between expatriates and Filipino help, the insidious and callous racism often demonstrated by expatriates in the us-versus-them general tone of conversation. It's one of these things that are so pervasive that to do what Grace did to Linda -- telling her to 'piss off' often gets you labelled as iconoclastic, eccentric, or worse, one of those guilty-hypocritical-liberals who talk the talk but do not walk the walk. These were all things I observed in the shallowly capitalistic megalopolis of Hong Kong, and also the unacknowledged support band for its continuous prosperity. The Hong Kong Government is laissez-faire in all things, including labor safety and protection.
But there are some pitfalls in this book and I name them here. I name them here because I think that they are pitfalls a debut writer can easily fall into (and I a, guilty of some of them in my own first novel).
1. When a protagonist has lived for a certain amount of time in your head, she takes on certain main characteristics that can get overemphasized and become tiresome in the novel. E.g. In FiFty Shades of Grey, the oft-cited reference is to the the usage of "oh my" by the protagonist whenever she comes to a pivotal emotional moment. Here, while not quite as blatantly unskillful, there are too many occasions describing the protagonist getting up in the morning, or after having just gotten up, or about to go to bed.
2. Character development. Granted, the plot of the book seemed to only allow the husband and wife to meet in the battlefield of the bed, but there were also episodes where they were together which potential was left unmined in my opinion. Grace's way of dealing with things is very passive. When confronted with her husband's unreasonable accusations of adultery, and then his self-confessed sex with a prostitute, her way of dealing is basically not to deal. There is no confrontation other than flung words of "I can't stand the sight of you". Then, when her anger passes, she simply seems to take him back without any proper reckoning.
3. Plot development. Things just seem to happen very easily in this novel. Almost glossed over in fact. I can't imagine opening a cafe in Macau when you speak not a lick of Cantonese can be as breezy as it has appeared in this novel. In the space of two or three pages, Grace has managed to get a cafe open. From a woman without any experience doing any of this, and who was literally unable to get out of bed, I just find it really hard to believe that she was as unruffled as she seems to be over the entire cafe opening, from the moment of idea generation to execution. I'm not sure whether this is lack of research, laziness, or that the initial amount of detail overwhelmed the novel and so she was advised to take it out. But regardless, there should be some balance. I'm the kind of reader that wants to get into the meat of things. I want to get into the heart of the novel, be in it for the duration, good or bad. I do not like to be told that "She had an idea to open a cafe". Then two pages later, the cafe opened.
Next, without so much as a glitch, the cafe takes off. Without any serious marketing on Grace's part. Without her doing any promos. Without the usual business difficulties and start-up issues that confront every entrepreneurial effort. A typhoon does come and destroy the interior of the cafe, but even this seems bleached of any real terror or emotional uprising in the protagonist. All in all, she's either as bland as vanilla or as passive as a schoolbus waiting for the kids to be let out of school.
4. The Ending. Without giving the ending away, I am astounded that this ending was acceptable to the editors involved. Really, you can make that kind of swap? Isn't it illegal? Aren't there plenty of legalities to get through, none of which was even remotely mentioned. And last but not least, Gigi's motivation for the swap is simply breathtakingly bizarre. I simply cannot buy the absolute lack of maternal love on her part, not when she's been painted to be such an upright character. It's like a bad macaron. It leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. What happened here? I would wager that when there hasn't been enough character development, the ending doesn't suggest itself, and this might be one of those cases when the book needed to conclude, but it's not clear how.
5. Also every chapter had a macaron chapter heading. A name for an exotically created macaron such as plum and hibiscus with chocolate ganache or cinnamon with dark chili chocolate ganache. I would have loved for this book to be more Like Water for Chocolate here. Actually provide a recipe. It would leave the reader with something more substantial than just a wisp of exotic food names. Either that or actually describe the process of Grace making macarons. The only thing we ever get a direct glimpse of is her staring into the oven as the shells rise and inflate. We don't get a single description of her actually going through the labor of making them. I have to say: being held with such kid-gloves by the author makes me wonder if she thinks the readers of food fiction novels are idiots or just easily bored.
June 20, 2012
When I start reading a new book there are a couple of things that have to happen in order for me to one: start reading the book, and two: continue reading the book. The cover of the book is not always important for me but I do love a cover that captures my eye and I sit back and say "oh now that's a beautiful cover" but sometimes I find a cover of a book so beautiful or interesting it can be the only reason I get it and happy I did because it turns out it was an amazing book, but, sometimes that also back fires on me as well. Also if I can't get past the first 2 - 3 chapters most of the time I will put the book aside for a bit but I will always pick it up at a later time, I NEVER not finish a book, it's kind of like a "B" movie, ya just gotta find out what happens at the end of it lol.
Hannah Tunnicliffe has done both, created a beautiful cover very fitting for this book and I had absolutely no problem getting past the first 2 - 3 chapters, in fact the very first chapter had me captured and happily reading and not wanting to put it down at all. Now I'm not sure if you all know this about me, but some of my love's are food lol (who's isnt), a great book, and travelling (which I never get to do). I have always been very interested in Asian culture, it's beauty, serinity, work ethic, respectfulness, lanuage, their love of family, it is a place I have always wanted to travel to. Hannah's detailed descriptions of not only the character's she has created but the cafe Grace has built right down to Macau, China made me feel like I was right there in the story. I could see, feel, hear, and smell everything she was describing, some books go overboard with the details so much that it leaves nothing to the imagination, that was not the case here.
I have to say for a debut novel Hannah has come out with a huge bang! I really loved this book, it is an easy read as the story flows with all the right elements in all the right places. The characters, oh how I loved them all, I made a connection with all of them from Grace to Rilla, Gigi and Marjory and Gigi's grandmother Yok Lan. Grace started out as a weak character but given her current circumstances you understand why, and I really don't think it was that she was weak as much as it was she just didn't understand how to break away from her sadness the was overtaking her. Once Grace decided to open the cafe and the others entered her life that's when the cloud started to lift from Grace's life and eye's.
This was a fabulous story, a great plot and ending, it made me smile, laugh out loud, even tear up at times, it was emotional and I think throughout the book we could at some point relate in someway to what Grace was either going through for feeling. It made me not want the story to end, it would be great to have a second book years later to see how things turned out for all of them. Bravo Hannah, Bravo, a wonderful debut novel and I can't wait to read more from you. I highly recommend this book and hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Enjoy!!!
Hannah Tunnicliffe has done both, created a beautiful cover very fitting for this book and I had absolutely no problem getting past the first 2 - 3 chapters, in fact the very first chapter had me captured and happily reading and not wanting to put it down at all. Now I'm not sure if you all know this about me, but some of my love's are food lol (who's isnt), a great book, and travelling (which I never get to do). I have always been very interested in Asian culture, it's beauty, serinity, work ethic, respectfulness, lanuage, their love of family, it is a place I have always wanted to travel to. Hannah's detailed descriptions of not only the character's she has created but the cafe Grace has built right down to Macau, China made me feel like I was right there in the story. I could see, feel, hear, and smell everything she was describing, some books go overboard with the details so much that it leaves nothing to the imagination, that was not the case here.
I have to say for a debut novel Hannah has come out with a huge bang! I really loved this book, it is an easy read as the story flows with all the right elements in all the right places. The characters, oh how I loved them all, I made a connection with all of them from Grace to Rilla, Gigi and Marjory and Gigi's grandmother Yok Lan. Grace started out as a weak character but given her current circumstances you understand why, and I really don't think it was that she was weak as much as it was she just didn't understand how to break away from her sadness the was overtaking her. Once Grace decided to open the cafe and the others entered her life that's when the cloud started to lift from Grace's life and eye's.
This was a fabulous story, a great plot and ending, it made me smile, laugh out loud, even tear up at times, it was emotional and I think throughout the book we could at some point relate in someway to what Grace was either going through for feeling. It made me not want the story to end, it would be great to have a second book years later to see how things turned out for all of them. Bravo Hannah, Bravo, a wonderful debut novel and I can't wait to read more from you. I highly recommend this book and hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Enjoy!!!
September 5, 2012
**Note to cover designer: If the main character is a redhead, please use a red-headed model. Or did you not read the book or even the back blurb? **
This is the book for you if you enjoy endless introspection. I do not. When the character finally bothered herself to do something and decided to open a cafe, we were robbed of her actually doing it. Two pages later, it's open. I enjoy rooting for a character. If you take away their struggles, what's to root for? The same amount of two pages is also devoted to her tripping on a sidewalk and worrying what others think. Really?
There are NO baking scenes in the cafe. Not a single one, which also felt like robbery. They just get a flavor idea, then poof! Here's the macaron. The ending is plain ole ridiculous and, frankly, not believable, no matter how ill prepared a mother is. And if Grace wanted a child from the beginning, any fool would have put adoption on the table at the beginning, which would have made a great subplot. Ugh.
That being said, Rilla and Gigi are fabulous characters and keep this from going to 1 star or less.
This is the book for you if you enjoy endless introspection. I do not. When the character finally bothered herself to do something and decided to open a cafe, we were robbed of her actually doing it. Two pages later, it's open. I enjoy rooting for a character. If you take away their struggles, what's to root for? The same amount of two pages is also devoted to her tripping on a sidewalk and worrying what others think. Really?
There are NO baking scenes in the cafe. Not a single one, which also felt like robbery. They just get a flavor idea, then poof! Here's the macaron. The ending is plain ole ridiculous and, frankly, not believable, no matter how ill prepared a mother is. And if Grace wanted a child from the beginning, any fool would have put adoption on the table at the beginning, which would have made a great subplot. Ugh.
That being said, Rilla and Gigi are fabulous characters and keep this from going to 1 star or less.
August 27, 2012
I found this book bland and cliched...a crush on a French man, a saucy Chinese fortune teller, letters (numerous) to a dead mother and the inevitable triumph over circumstance were far less interesting than the macaroon recipes and cups of tea.
I didn't hate this, but two days later I could no longer recall the main character's name.
When someone asked me what it was about I said, "something about biscuits."
I didn't hate this, but two days later I could no longer recall the main character's name.
When someone asked me what it was about I said, "something about biscuits."
August 22, 2012
This story pulled on my heartstrings big time. It made me laugh and cry all at the same time. This story is completely Grace’s, but she has the help of some amazing secondary characters. A writer who can make the reader appreciate even the smallest characters is getting their job done. There are in fact too many secondary characters for me to name, but they are the icing on top of the cake in this story. Even though I love and came to admire Grace, her story would still not be the same without characters like Rilla and Gigi, and it is safe to say that the book is enjoyable from reading about them alone.
Grace Miller is suffering from a lot of things at the beginning of the novel. Her marriage is struggling, she has been moved to China to follow her husband’s career, she wants to become a mother but her chances are not looking good, and on top of it all I believe that she was suffering from depression. For awhile I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to be able to pull out of the funk that she was stuck in. Then came in her desire to make, serve, and sell the finest Parisian inspired macarons that Macau has ever seen. When Grace comes upon a closed down café for sale I knew that all her answer lay within those doors. I was praying so hard that she would open up the café and sell her beloved macrons.
Once Lillan’s was open it was like reading a whole different book and Grace’s loving and spontaneous came out as she met many new faces and shared her passion with the locals. Grace was new to the culture in Macau and therefore had to learn her way around and how things were done just like someone who moves to a new school. It was interesting to watch her transformation from a wilting flower to a blossoming rosebud. At first I questioned if I was going to like her character but by the end of the book I was warming up to her more and more. I love seeing characters come through obstacles in their own lives and see how they adjust to all of the changes.
What a wonderful book full of sugar, tears, smiles, and plenty of macarons. Grace writes letters to her mother throughout the entire book, that are very heartfelt and really allows you to get inside of Grace’s mind. I love added touches like that from authors. Grace is given a new hope when the doors of Lillian’s open and the transformation of her married as well as social life is something that I would not want to miss.
***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Scribner for an honest review***
Grace Miller is suffering from a lot of things at the beginning of the novel. Her marriage is struggling, she has been moved to China to follow her husband’s career, she wants to become a mother but her chances are not looking good, and on top of it all I believe that she was suffering from depression. For awhile I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to be able to pull out of the funk that she was stuck in. Then came in her desire to make, serve, and sell the finest Parisian inspired macarons that Macau has ever seen. When Grace comes upon a closed down café for sale I knew that all her answer lay within those doors. I was praying so hard that she would open up the café and sell her beloved macrons.
Once Lillan’s was open it was like reading a whole different book and Grace’s loving and spontaneous came out as she met many new faces and shared her passion with the locals. Grace was new to the culture in Macau and therefore had to learn her way around and how things were done just like someone who moves to a new school. It was interesting to watch her transformation from a wilting flower to a blossoming rosebud. At first I questioned if I was going to like her character but by the end of the book I was warming up to her more and more. I love seeing characters come through obstacles in their own lives and see how they adjust to all of the changes.
What a wonderful book full of sugar, tears, smiles, and plenty of macarons. Grace writes letters to her mother throughout the entire book, that are very heartfelt and really allows you to get inside of Grace’s mind. I love added touches like that from authors. Grace is given a new hope when the doors of Lillian’s open and the transformation of her married as well as social life is something that I would not want to miss.
***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Scribner for an honest review***
August 17, 2012
I think the author got paid a bonus each time she used the word "macaron." Not only was I tired of hearing about macarons in every other sentence, I wasn't impressed with the writing style. The main character is unsympathetic and the other characters aren't well developed. The plot is unbelievable and wraps up too neatly in the end.
Can't recommend this one.
Can't recommend this one.
March 31, 2013
The Colour of Tea is one of the best novels I have ever read. It's incredibly realistic and the character of Grace Miller is one of those who after 5 pages you are already rooting for her. Hannah Tunnicliffe is so expressive with her language description; one of my favorite's is when the colour of a baby's eyes are described as "oolong". The black/orange creamy Chinese tea. It is bittersweet at times because Grace never got to say goodbye to her mother before she passed away and her mother and her were everything each other had before Grace took off and left to Australia. She writes notes; tons of notes to her deceased mother and in hopes of maybe accounting for lost time between them. Finally, after everything, she learns to let go. Her husband and her grow distant and almost never talk; her French cafe-Lilliana's is Grace's only hope for happiness. Her haven of tea and macarons helps her let go of what is lost and embrace the warming new feelings of true love and friendship. A MUST-READ!!!
June 28, 2013
Ugh. Can a book be anymore cliche? Such a maddening and annoying book filled with stereotypical, dysfunctional but somehow supposedly redeemable characters. Let's see what annoyed me:
1) Macarons take a lot of skill to make. People practice extensively to perfect this "art". So watching a demo once will not suddenly make you a macaron expert who can pump out countless macarons to sustain a successful cafe.
2) So somehow this character can open up a cafe in a country where she doesn't speak the language, make macarons, make all the other baked goods that supposedly serves, makes coffee/tea, serves customers, cleans, etc. all by herself??? Ya. Ok.
and the biggest, stupidest thing...
3) the implausible ending.
Ok. in retrospect, maybe I hated this book.
1) Macarons take a lot of skill to make. People practice extensively to perfect this "art". So watching a demo once will not suddenly make you a macaron expert who can pump out countless macarons to sustain a successful cafe.
2) So somehow this character can open up a cafe in a country where she doesn't speak the language, make macarons, make all the other baked goods that supposedly serves, makes coffee/tea, serves customers, cleans, etc. all by herself??? Ya. Ok.
and the biggest, stupidest thing...
3) the implausible ending.
Ok. in retrospect, maybe I hated this book.
August 24, 2020
¿Le damos un tres y medio (3.5)?
Pues, sinceramente, no estoy muy segura. Y es que "El Color del Té" no es en sí una mala novela, pero tiene muchísimos paralelismos con otra reciente lectura, "El Cuarto de la Criada", y en la comparación... pues que queréis que os diga, sale perdiendo.
Donde la novela de Fiona Mitchell se centraba fundamentalmente en la historia y punto de vista de las criadas, Tunnicliffe se centra en la expatriada que llora por los hijos que no tendrá, y eso unido a ciertos giros sentimentales y a un final que se ve venir desde el primer capítulo, le resta puntos.
Sobre manera cuando, si uno se para a considerar el final, cae en la cuenta de que, una vez más, se antepone a la protagonista pelirroja a sus 'parteneres' nativas, y su felicidad a la de más de una de estas últimas... al menos, hasta cierto punto.
No obstante, es esta una novela de lectura amena y ritmo ágil, con su buena dosis de introspección y drama (aunque pasando a veces un poco de puntillas), y con un buen catálogo de personajes femeninos, especialmente en lo que va más allá de su protagonista y sus traumas materno filiales de todo tipo.
Pues, sinceramente, no estoy muy segura. Y es que "El Color del Té" no es en sí una mala novela, pero tiene muchísimos paralelismos con otra reciente lectura, "El Cuarto de la Criada", y en la comparación... pues que queréis que os diga, sale perdiendo.
Donde la novela de Fiona Mitchell se centraba fundamentalmente en la historia y punto de vista de las criadas, Tunnicliffe se centra en la expatriada que llora por los hijos que no tendrá, y eso unido a ciertos giros sentimentales y a un final que se ve venir desde el primer capítulo, le resta puntos.
Sobre manera cuando, si uno se para a considerar el final, cae en la cuenta de que, una vez más, se antepone a la protagonista pelirroja a sus 'parteneres' nativas, y su felicidad a la de más de una de estas últimas... al menos, hasta cierto punto.
No obstante, es esta una novela de lectura amena y ritmo ágil, con su buena dosis de introspección y drama (aunque pasando a veces un poco de puntillas), y con un buen catálogo de personajes femeninos, especialmente en lo que va más allá de su protagonista y sus traumas materno filiales de todo tipo.
January 29, 2021
This is my second time trying to read this book because I really enjoyed another book by the author, I loved visiting Macau, I’ve lived overseas for years, and I’ve dealt with infertility. I wanted to see a book handle infertility in a realistic way. But half way through the book, I was frustrated with everything. I didn’t like the couple. The main character still hadn’t done anything substantial. I didn’t even like their meet up story. It was like pulling teeth for me to try and continue reading.
July 19, 2013
Can not go on with this. The scenario behind this was promising but I can barely keep my eyes open trying to read this.
August 27, 2019
I enjoyed it even though — dare I say this? — it's a woman's (women's?) book. :)
July 30, 2012
3.5. Foodie fiction in China? Yes, please. I was very excited about this book. I love, love, love foodie fiction and I love armchair traveling so this book definitely fit the bill.
I loved the setting of the book. Macau seems like a sort of glamorous place. It has a lot going on and still seems to hold on to its European influence. It was a Portuguese settlement back in the day and is now a special administrative district of China, sort of like Hong Kong. I loved the exotic-ness of the setting. Tunnicliffe paints a great picture of the city and its people. It made me want to visit!!! I definitely thought that the book was at its best when the setting was being described. I loved hearing about how Lillian's (the restaurant in the book) was set up.
I also liked the food part. Lillian's is a sort of bakery come tea house that specializes in macarons, a delicious French treat that can be incredibly temperamental to make. The interesting in the book is that Grace doesn't know how to make the macarons at first and so Leon, another character who owns another restaurant, helps her make the macarons and then they become the focus of Grace's shop. I kind of wonder why Grace doesn't choose to build a business around something that she already knew. It just seemed to be a big gamble that I didn't really understand the motive behind. I did like the story. It kept me reading, wanting to see what happens. I did wish that I understood a little bit more about the motives of all of the characters. Grace seems to want to set up a cafe very suddenly and I wish that I knew more about why. She seems to hint at the idea that it was something spontaneous that her mother would do but I'm wondering if that was not the only reason.
I did like the food part of the book. Macarons are totally intimidating to me. It's something that I've never attempted to bake. Thus, I loved living vicariously through Grace. Each chapter was named after one of the macarons served at Lillian's and some of them sound absolutely to die for! I did have one regret on this though. The book talks about all those delicious macarons yet there is not a recipe to be found in the book. Throw us a bone, please!!!
Bottom line: A delicious trip!
I loved the setting of the book. Macau seems like a sort of glamorous place. It has a lot going on and still seems to hold on to its European influence. It was a Portuguese settlement back in the day and is now a special administrative district of China, sort of like Hong Kong. I loved the exotic-ness of the setting. Tunnicliffe paints a great picture of the city and its people. It made me want to visit!!! I definitely thought that the book was at its best when the setting was being described. I loved hearing about how Lillian's (the restaurant in the book) was set up.
I also liked the food part. Lillian's is a sort of bakery come tea house that specializes in macarons, a delicious French treat that can be incredibly temperamental to make. The interesting in the book is that Grace doesn't know how to make the macarons at first and so Leon, another character who owns another restaurant, helps her make the macarons and then they become the focus of Grace's shop. I kind of wonder why Grace doesn't choose to build a business around something that she already knew. It just seemed to be a big gamble that I didn't really understand the motive behind. I did like the story. It kept me reading, wanting to see what happens. I did wish that I understood a little bit more about the motives of all of the characters. Grace seems to want to set up a cafe very suddenly and I wish that I knew more about why. She seems to hint at the idea that it was something spontaneous that her mother would do but I'm wondering if that was not the only reason.
I did like the food part of the book. Macarons are totally intimidating to me. It's something that I've never attempted to bake. Thus, I loved living vicariously through Grace. Each chapter was named after one of the macarons served at Lillian's and some of them sound absolutely to die for! I did have one regret on this though. The book talks about all those delicious macarons yet there is not a recipe to be found in the book. Throw us a bone, please!!!
Bottom line: A delicious trip!
January 7, 2012
The Colour of Tea is the first novel by New Zealand-born author Hannah Tunnicliffe. Set in present-day Macau, this novel tells the story of Grace Miller who is trying to come to terms with some devastating news that will change the future she thought she had. Her marriage is fraying and she is having difficulty holding her life together. Finally, she makes a bold move, something her Mama might have done: she opens a small café, where she serves tea and macarons. As it grows in popularity, she encounters other broken souls and finds friendship and the beginning of fulfilment. But then her husband’s uncharacteristic act threatens her happiness, and old ghosts come to haunt her. I found Grace, at first, rather self-indulgent, self-pitying, but her character grew on me, so that, by the end, I was completely absorbed in her story. As the story progressed, we kept getting hints of her life with her mother, which obviously influenced her behaviour and kept the reader entranced. This novel has an original plot, some wonderful characters and authentic dialogue. Tunnicliffe touches on the sense of where you belong and also on the plight of migrant Filipino workers in Macau. This is a wonderful, evocative novel that is reminiscent of those by Barbara O’Neal. I thought that using macaron names and descriptions as chapter headings which echoed events in that chapter was a delightful touch. A remarkable first novel.
April 29, 2012
I received a copy of The Color of Tea by Hannah Tunnicliffe through the Goodreads Giveaway contest.
This is the first novel by New Zealand-born author Hannah Tunnicliffe.I was very impressed. It was well written, and I found myself snuggled up on the sofa this afternoon reading this book.I would classify this novel as a chick lit. Set in present-day Macau, this novel tells the story of Grace Miller who is trying to come to terms with some terrible news that will change the future she thought she had. Her marriage is falling apart and it takes all of her energy to hold her life together. Finally, she makes a bold move, something her Mama might have done: she opens a small café, where she serves tea and macarons. As the cafe grows in popularity, she encounters other broken souls and finds friendship and satisfaction. But then her husband’s does something to threaten her happiness. I found that I was completely absorbed in her story. All along we keep getting hints of her life with her mother, which obviously influenced her behaviour and actions. I thought that using macaron names and descriptions as chapter headings was a original idea. I found myself after I finished the novel, looking up recipes for macarons, tea biscuits and scones. I think I might bake tonight! A very enjoyable read.
This is the first novel by New Zealand-born author Hannah Tunnicliffe.I was very impressed. It was well written, and I found myself snuggled up on the sofa this afternoon reading this book.I would classify this novel as a chick lit. Set in present-day Macau, this novel tells the story of Grace Miller who is trying to come to terms with some terrible news that will change the future she thought she had. Her marriage is falling apart and it takes all of her energy to hold her life together. Finally, she makes a bold move, something her Mama might have done: she opens a small café, where she serves tea and macarons. As the cafe grows in popularity, she encounters other broken souls and finds friendship and satisfaction. But then her husband’s does something to threaten her happiness. I found that I was completely absorbed in her story. All along we keep getting hints of her life with her mother, which obviously influenced her behaviour and actions. I thought that using macaron names and descriptions as chapter headings was a original idea. I found myself after I finished the novel, looking up recipes for macarons, tea biscuits and scones. I think I might bake tonight! A very enjoyable read.
May 4, 2012
Readers that enjoyed titles such as The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, and even The Secret Life of Bees, are sure to enjoy Tunnicliffe's The Color of Tea.
The Color of Tea was not what I expected. Although the book takes place in Macau, a rarely discussed locale, the story could really have happened anywhere...even in your own hometown. You will not find elaborate descriptions of Macau or even the culinary delights that Gracie serves up but what you will find is a tale of sisterhood.
Grace is struggling through the acceptance of her own infertility and reliving her own mother-daughter bonds throughout the novel. This struggle transcends into her marriage as well. As Grace searches for something more out of life, she dares to open her own business - Lillian's, a divine cafe serving macarons. It is there that she meets a cast of characters with whom she forms strong friendships. The challenges of each woman will have you enthralled. When you close this book, you'll find yourself missing the ladies already. An entertaining summer read for chick lit fans.
The Color of Tea was not what I expected. Although the book takes place in Macau, a rarely discussed locale, the story could really have happened anywhere...even in your own hometown. You will not find elaborate descriptions of Macau or even the culinary delights that Gracie serves up but what you will find is a tale of sisterhood.
Grace is struggling through the acceptance of her own infertility and reliving her own mother-daughter bonds throughout the novel. This struggle transcends into her marriage as well. As Grace searches for something more out of life, she dares to open her own business - Lillian's, a divine cafe serving macarons. It is there that she meets a cast of characters with whom she forms strong friendships. The challenges of each woman will have you enthralled. When you close this book, you'll find yourself missing the ladies already. An entertaining summer read for chick lit fans.
April 9, 2015
Grace Miller moves to Macau, an island off the coast of Hong Kong, and realizes that she is totally alone in a strange country. It is here that she and her husband Pete are forced to confront and accept the devastating news of her infertility. Despite the pain, she shores herself up and decides to use her "impetuous" mother's lifestyle to do something for herself: she opens a café serving tea, coffee, and macarons. It is in Lillian's that both Grace and Pete create a new definition of home and family. The characters of Rilla, Gigi, Marjory, and Yok Lan are people I would love to sit with and get to know better.
I loved this book. Hannah Tunnicliffe didn't gloss over the topic of infertility, a very heart-wrenching diagnosis. She exposed some of the underbelly topics of ex-pats taking advantage of and abusing foreign domestic help. But best of all, she drew me into the topic of macarons! Yes, I admit that on my trip to Paris, I went to either Pierre Herme and Laduree everyday to sample the macarons! They were all delicieux!
I loved this book. Hannah Tunnicliffe didn't gloss over the topic of infertility, a very heart-wrenching diagnosis. She exposed some of the underbelly topics of ex-pats taking advantage of and abusing foreign domestic help. But best of all, she drew me into the topic of macarons! Yes, I admit that on my trip to Paris, I went to either Pierre Herme and Laduree everyday to sample the macarons! They were all delicieux!
July 6, 2016
Für Grace bedeutet das Leben in Macao Loslassen und Neubeginn. Es wird Zeit für sie, sich mit ihrem vergeblichen Wunsch schwanger zu werden abzufinden und ihrem Leben einen neuen Sinn zu geben. Kurzentschlossen eröffnet sie in Macao ein Café.
Wer bei dem Cover und der Kurzbeschreibung an einen netten, unterhaltsamen Frauenroman denkt, wird schnell eines Besseren belehrt. Es ist nicht die heile Welt von Macarons backen und Tee trinken, die ich erwartet habe. Hier gibt es handfeste Probleme, die sich durch das ganze Buch ziehen.
Obwohl ich mir von dem Cover etwas anderes erwartet hatte, gefiel mir das Buch sehr gut. Der Schreibstil ist sehr schön und hat mich sofort eingefangen. Ganz nebenbei erfährt man einiges über das Leben in Macao und wie man Macarons backt.
Fazit: Wer nur eine heile Welt sucht, wird mit dem Buch nicht glücklich werden.
Wer bei dem Cover und der Kurzbeschreibung an einen netten, unterhaltsamen Frauenroman denkt, wird schnell eines Besseren belehrt. Es ist nicht die heile Welt von Macarons backen und Tee trinken, die ich erwartet habe. Hier gibt es handfeste Probleme, die sich durch das ganze Buch ziehen.
Obwohl ich mir von dem Cover etwas anderes erwartet hatte, gefiel mir das Buch sehr gut. Der Schreibstil ist sehr schön und hat mich sofort eingefangen. Ganz nebenbei erfährt man einiges über das Leben in Macao und wie man Macarons backt.
Fazit: Wer nur eine heile Welt sucht, wird mit dem Buch nicht glücklich werden.
November 12, 2012
Contrived, trite, one dimensional and predictable. Who didn't know that Grace would end up with the just-pregnant Gigi's baby when she was introduced. I thought at least the book would have more about macarons, but basically all I got was the menu-style description after the title of each chapter. And the mama letters, please. We know she's got some psychological problems, but we have to wait till the penultimate chapter to find out what the deal is with her. It was a heavy handed way to give Grace some semblance of depth and motivation for her actions and reactions. And finally let's throw in a white slavery ring and a fashion model/ex-dancer Good Samaritan. These disparate parts do not a good book make.
March 6, 2016
This book is set in Macau, so ticks the box for China in the 666 for 2016 An Around the World Reading Challenge.
I have been sick this weekend so yesterday I hauled myself up in bed with this book (that I picked up in a charity shop in Honolulu late last year) and lots of fluids.
Its a bit chic lit-ish, but it also touched on some pretty large issues such as the mistreatment of "domestic maids" from the Philippians. There were a lot of cultures in this one: English, French, Australian, Filipino, and Chinese.
On the whole I enjoyed this book....it is about tea and cake after all!
I have been sick this weekend so yesterday I hauled myself up in bed with this book (that I picked up in a charity shop in Honolulu late last year) and lots of fluids.
Its a bit chic lit-ish, but it also touched on some pretty large issues such as the mistreatment of "domestic maids" from the Philippians. There were a lot of cultures in this one: English, French, Australian, Filipino, and Chinese.
On the whole I enjoyed this book....it is about tea and cake after all!
June 20, 2016
A light read that won't have me raving in a literary sense, however as a fill in or occasional book I was happy to have it on the shelf. If you're needing something easy in between heavy books it is a good read. It tries to introduce some heavy themes like adultery, mistreatment of foreign workers and bipolar disease to name a few, but doesn't do a whole lot with any of them. So the book doesn't get bogged down, but it also doesn't feel like the author has wanted to challenge herself or her readers.
June 17, 2013
2.5 stars. OK read for the bus and a lazy Sunday afternoon.
September 4, 2015
I was very interested in the premise, but less than 20 pages in, there was already talk of bulging members. Nope. Not going there.
November 5, 2012
I have never tried a macaron, but now I must try one after reading this book, if I can be lucky enough to find this delicate French pastry! Yes, France is where Grace first falls in love with the macaron, not to be confused with a chewy, coconut macaroon, as the two are completely different. I had to look up the two as I was a little confused about a macaroon and a macaron, plus I had to find the pronunciation, as I was and curious, too, to see if they were two separate pastries!
I went to Wikipedia to try to distinguish if these were two different items or one that America spelled incorrectly. The macaron that was in this book is described at this LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron
The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, squared top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.[3]
And as this:
The fillings cana range from jams to ganache to butter. Since the English word macaroon (notice the double O's) can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonymous.[5]
You'll notice "I" underlined and noted above the double o's for macaroon.
The macaron is not spelled incorrectly, but is completely different from the macaroon here in America. The macaron is entirely French.
The photos on the front of the book look exactly as the one did at Wikipedia for the French pastry. With that explained, and so no one mixes up the macaron in this book with the American macaroon, onto the review!
It took me forever to read this book. Months. It was not a book that grabbed me and drew me into 'wanting or needing to read it.' For myself, it was not a 'must read' book. It was enjoyable, but I did not feel the book pull me in where I had to read this story. Had I not felt as if I had to read it, I probably would have put it down. The beginning of the book was very slow and depressing, but I believe it was written this way intentionally, to show the depression that Grace was suffering through over the reality that she would never be able to bear children. This debut author very much succeeded in what she was trying to do.
I also have a personality differences between myself and the main character, which made it harder for me to relate to this delicate, sad, soft spoken character. I prefer a stronger character than Grace was, but I continued on, and happily, the character does becomes that stronger character in her own way.
Grace decides she would like to open a cafe in Macau making macarons, a delicate French pastry. She meets with a man, Leon, whom she knows from living in Paris. Leon loves Grace, and Grace finds herself liking him very much as well, but she realizes it's more for the love of the macaron and she has to put a distance between them. She learns alongside him the intricacies of baking the macarons and getting them just right. There is a talent to making these just right. She perfects it and opens the cafe, calling it Lillian's, after her own mother. Once she opened Lillian's, her French cafe serving tea and macarons in China, the shop becomes bustling with customers and energy. Grace becomes a completely different person. She becomes much stronger, more confident of herself, much happier, able to be a boss and direct people to do things and more. She realizes she is happy. For the first time she is truly happy, all thanks to Lillian's. Lillian's made her face any fears and loss she had in life making her become whole.
I have to mention this author's style of writing. It is very beautiful. It is prose, thought and then very descriptive, all mixed together in the way Grace talks about her life, her husband, her friends Gigi and Rilla, writes letters to her mother and even the way the author names the chapters of the book, such as The' Pour Deux - Tea for Two/Pink Earl Grey Infused with Dark Chocolate Ganache. Every chapter is titled in this way. In some ways her writing is almost poetic at times in the way she describes many things, from the Chinese New Year, down to the french macaron and the way it is crisp at first, softens as it melts in your mouth and then the flavor explodes to life in your mouth at the exact time it's supposed to as a macaron should.
She also writes like this about the places she has lived, Macau, the people of Macau, and and in the apologetic letters written to her mother as Grace feels somewhat guilty for the way she left her mother, the way she did it, the words she used when she was younger, and in a beautiful way, asks for her forgiveness in these letters. It is very special as you read this, as you can also see Grace's growth as a person as she writes the letters, never fully coming out and telling her mother what has happened, but describing them in a different perspective. These letters were healing for Grace.
Grace is devastated by something that happens in her marriage, and finds she must climb out of this, too. She puts some of the blame of it on herself, where I had a hard time with that. Grace's character is a very forgiving character, and when it comes to a vow being broken in marriage the way it was, I am not as forgiving a person as Grace is regarding it, and she even puts some of the blame on herself as to what happened, where I would have played it over and over in my mind and not blamed myself. The character really did struggle to overcome this and forgive him, but I could not have forgiven and gotten over it the way she did and I might even have left the marriage because of it.
Overall, in the end she found herself a completely different person than the person she was when she arrived in Macau. She was a better person for herself, her close friends she made, and her husband. The ending was beautiful, but predictable. I was disappointed with that. It was almost a fairy tale ending you could see coming to easily.
Overall, this book was a very delicate book just like tea and macarons, but strong in taste as tea can be, and just as macarons are supposed melt slowly and burst into it's flavor on your tongue. If you love tea and delicate pastries, this book will be very much appreciated if you can get past a few of these things I mention.
I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Scribner Books, a Division of Simon and Schuster, in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but, of my own honest opinion. “Free” means I was NOT provided with ANY MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading the book. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa...
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
I went to Wikipedia to try to distinguish if these were two different items or one that America spelled incorrectly. The macaron that was in this book is described at this LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron
The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, squared top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.[3]
And as this:
The fillings cana range from jams to ganache to butter. Since the English word macaroon (notice the double O's) can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonymous.[5]
You'll notice "I" underlined and noted above the double o's for macaroon.
The macaron is not spelled incorrectly, but is completely different from the macaroon here in America. The macaron is entirely French.
The photos on the front of the book look exactly as the one did at Wikipedia for the French pastry. With that explained, and so no one mixes up the macaron in this book with the American macaroon, onto the review!
It took me forever to read this book. Months. It was not a book that grabbed me and drew me into 'wanting or needing to read it.' For myself, it was not a 'must read' book. It was enjoyable, but I did not feel the book pull me in where I had to read this story. Had I not felt as if I had to read it, I probably would have put it down. The beginning of the book was very slow and depressing, but I believe it was written this way intentionally, to show the depression that Grace was suffering through over the reality that she would never be able to bear children. This debut author very much succeeded in what she was trying to do.
I also have a personality differences between myself and the main character, which made it harder for me to relate to this delicate, sad, soft spoken character. I prefer a stronger character than Grace was, but I continued on, and happily, the character does becomes that stronger character in her own way.
Grace decides she would like to open a cafe in Macau making macarons, a delicate French pastry. She meets with a man, Leon, whom she knows from living in Paris. Leon loves Grace, and Grace finds herself liking him very much as well, but she realizes it's more for the love of the macaron and she has to put a distance between them. She learns alongside him the intricacies of baking the macarons and getting them just right. There is a talent to making these just right. She perfects it and opens the cafe, calling it Lillian's, after her own mother. Once she opened Lillian's, her French cafe serving tea and macarons in China, the shop becomes bustling with customers and energy. Grace becomes a completely different person. She becomes much stronger, more confident of herself, much happier, able to be a boss and direct people to do things and more. She realizes she is happy. For the first time she is truly happy, all thanks to Lillian's. Lillian's made her face any fears and loss she had in life making her become whole.
I have to mention this author's style of writing. It is very beautiful. It is prose, thought and then very descriptive, all mixed together in the way Grace talks about her life, her husband, her friends Gigi and Rilla, writes letters to her mother and even the way the author names the chapters of the book, such as The' Pour Deux - Tea for Two/Pink Earl Grey Infused with Dark Chocolate Ganache. Every chapter is titled in this way. In some ways her writing is almost poetic at times in the way she describes many things, from the Chinese New Year, down to the french macaron and the way it is crisp at first, softens as it melts in your mouth and then the flavor explodes to life in your mouth at the exact time it's supposed to as a macaron should.
She also writes like this about the places she has lived, Macau, the people of Macau, and and in the apologetic letters written to her mother as Grace feels somewhat guilty for the way she left her mother, the way she did it, the words she used when she was younger, and in a beautiful way, asks for her forgiveness in these letters. It is very special as you read this, as you can also see Grace's growth as a person as she writes the letters, never fully coming out and telling her mother what has happened, but describing them in a different perspective. These letters were healing for Grace.
Grace is devastated by something that happens in her marriage, and finds she must climb out of this, too. She puts some of the blame of it on herself, where I had a hard time with that. Grace's character is a very forgiving character, and when it comes to a vow being broken in marriage the way it was, I am not as forgiving a person as Grace is regarding it, and she even puts some of the blame on herself as to what happened, where I would have played it over and over in my mind and not blamed myself. The character really did struggle to overcome this and forgive him, but I could not have forgiven and gotten over it the way she did and I might even have left the marriage because of it.
Overall, in the end she found herself a completely different person than the person she was when she arrived in Macau. She was a better person for herself, her close friends she made, and her husband. The ending was beautiful, but predictable. I was disappointed with that. It was almost a fairy tale ending you could see coming to easily.
Overall, this book was a very delicate book just like tea and macarons, but strong in taste as tea can be, and just as macarons are supposed melt slowly and burst into it's flavor on your tongue. If you love tea and delicate pastries, this book will be very much appreciated if you can get past a few of these things I mention.
I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Scribner Books, a Division of Simon and Schuster, in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but, of my own honest opinion. “Free” means I was NOT provided with ANY MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading the book. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa...
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
July 9, 2018
Heartwarming and beautiful.
January 24, 2024
I quite liked this book. At first I wasn’t sure but as I read on it grew on me. Loved that each chapter had a heading describing a macaron although it would have been nice to have a recipe somewhere. I loved the character developments and that they had good and bad points. It was a story about friendships and relationships and how important they are to us and how we need to work at them. Always love a story that revolves around food and tea/coffee.
May 28, 2020
This book drew me in in a slow, decadent kind of way. Each chapter was like a tasting but of stories rather than foods. Elegant and quietly lovely, I will be adding this one to my shelves of favourites.
June 25, 2012
Story Description:
Scribner|June 5, 2012|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-1-4516-8699-9
Macau: the bulbous nose of China, a peninsula and two islands strung together like a three-bead necklace. It was time to find a life for myself. To make something out of nothing. The end of hope and the beginning of it too.
After moving with her husband to the tiny, bustling city of Macau, Grace Miller finds herself a stranger in a foreign land – a lone redhead towering above the crowd on the busy Chinese streets. As she is forced to confront the devastating news of her infertility, Grace’s marriage is fraying and her dreams of family have been shattered. She resolves to do something bold, something her impetuous mother would do, and she turns to what she loves: baking and the pleasure of afternoon tea.
Grace open a café where she serves tea, coffee, and macaroons, the delectable, delicate French cookies colored liked precious stones to the women of Macau. There, among fellow expatriates and locals alike, Grace carves out a new definition of home and family. But when her marriage reaches a crisis, secrets Grace thought she had buried long ago rise to the surface. Grace realizes it’s now or never to lay old ghosts to rest and to begin to trust herself. With each mug of coffee brewed, each cup of tea steeped and macaroon baked, Grace comes to learn that strength can be gleaned from the unlikeliest of places.
A delicious, melt-in-your mouth novel featuring the sweet pleasures of French pastries and the exotic scents and sights of China. THE COLOUR OF TEA is a scrumptious story of love, friendship and renewal.
My Review:
Grace and Pete Miller have moved to Macau for Pete’s job and they are dealing with some devastating news that affects their relationship deeply and they avoid talking about the issue pushing a wider wedge into their marriage.
Grace is also dealing with leaving her mother, Lillian, and hasn’t seen or communicated with her in quite some time except for the letters she writes to her about remembrances of time together, but she never sends them.
Growing bored and needing something to do instead of sleeping around the clock, tossing down sleeping pill after sleeping pill to mask her emotions, she decides to open a café. She calls it “Lillian’s” and her biggest seller is the beautiful and tasty macaroons she bakes. Her greatest passion is serving afternoon tea and baking the macaroons that look like semi-precious stones. Soon she carves out a place where she feels completely safe and comfortable among the expatriates and locals she befriends. Things are finally running along smoothly for Grace until Pete confides something that completely turns her world upside-down.
Eventually Grace realizes that she simply cannot continue in the mindset she is in and learns that strength, independence, love, and families can come from the unlikeliest of places.
One of the things I loved about this novel, aside from the beautifully written story, was the use of very decadent French names for her “macroons” as chapter headings. How utterly clever and delicious! An added love to this story was the fact that Hannah Tunnicliffe’s talent for writing had me totally lost and mesmerized in Lillian’s Café. I really felt that I was sitting inside the café and could see, hear, and feel everything going on around me. I was a single observer seated at a table watching and listening – it was an incredible experience!
For a debut novel this was bang on and Hannah Tunnicliffe is an author to watch!
Scribner|June 5, 2012|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-1-4516-8699-9
Macau: the bulbous nose of China, a peninsula and two islands strung together like a three-bead necklace. It was time to find a life for myself. To make something out of nothing. The end of hope and the beginning of it too.
After moving with her husband to the tiny, bustling city of Macau, Grace Miller finds herself a stranger in a foreign land – a lone redhead towering above the crowd on the busy Chinese streets. As she is forced to confront the devastating news of her infertility, Grace’s marriage is fraying and her dreams of family have been shattered. She resolves to do something bold, something her impetuous mother would do, and she turns to what she loves: baking and the pleasure of afternoon tea.
Grace open a café where she serves tea, coffee, and macaroons, the delectable, delicate French cookies colored liked precious stones to the women of Macau. There, among fellow expatriates and locals alike, Grace carves out a new definition of home and family. But when her marriage reaches a crisis, secrets Grace thought she had buried long ago rise to the surface. Grace realizes it’s now or never to lay old ghosts to rest and to begin to trust herself. With each mug of coffee brewed, each cup of tea steeped and macaroon baked, Grace comes to learn that strength can be gleaned from the unlikeliest of places.
A delicious, melt-in-your mouth novel featuring the sweet pleasures of French pastries and the exotic scents and sights of China. THE COLOUR OF TEA is a scrumptious story of love, friendship and renewal.
My Review:
Grace and Pete Miller have moved to Macau for Pete’s job and they are dealing with some devastating news that affects their relationship deeply and they avoid talking about the issue pushing a wider wedge into their marriage.
Grace is also dealing with leaving her mother, Lillian, and hasn’t seen or communicated with her in quite some time except for the letters she writes to her about remembrances of time together, but she never sends them.
Growing bored and needing something to do instead of sleeping around the clock, tossing down sleeping pill after sleeping pill to mask her emotions, she decides to open a café. She calls it “Lillian’s” and her biggest seller is the beautiful and tasty macaroons she bakes. Her greatest passion is serving afternoon tea and baking the macaroons that look like semi-precious stones. Soon she carves out a place where she feels completely safe and comfortable among the expatriates and locals she befriends. Things are finally running along smoothly for Grace until Pete confides something that completely turns her world upside-down.
Eventually Grace realizes that she simply cannot continue in the mindset she is in and learns that strength, independence, love, and families can come from the unlikeliest of places.
One of the things I loved about this novel, aside from the beautifully written story, was the use of very decadent French names for her “macroons” as chapter headings. How utterly clever and delicious! An added love to this story was the fact that Hannah Tunnicliffe’s talent for writing had me totally lost and mesmerized in Lillian’s Café. I really felt that I was sitting inside the café and could see, hear, and feel everything going on around me. I was a single observer seated at a table watching and listening – it was an incredible experience!
For a debut novel this was bang on and Hannah Tunnicliffe is an author to watch!
September 29, 2012
I purchased this book because I needed something to read at work to keep me from going insane (I work in a call center). Mostly I picked it because I liked the cover. Also, the story seemed decent and it was 40% off the cover price.
First and foremost, this is a girly book. If you don't like girly books, you wont like it. I happen to like girly books, esspecially ones that aren't all about getting a man. If that's what you're looking for, this is it.
I found the quality of the writing itself was fantastic. The descriptions of things were incredible. I'd never before thought about the way the air tastes. I had a very vivid picture of the setting the whole time I was reading thanks to the author's skilled descriptions.
I really liked the characters, especially Gigi - the young, smart mouthed chinese girl who speaks fluent english. I also understand Grace, the main character. She deals with her problems the same way I do - ignore them, and hope they go away. I never felt like any of the character were too one dimensional. They always felt like real people that you actually might meet if you opened a cafe in Macau.
...it also left me with more than a little obsession with macarons.
The story itself, although predictable, wasn't predictable in the ways that I thought it would be. If that makes any sense at all. Like, I knew what happened at the end was going to happen. I knew it as soon as Gigi walked through the door at the cafe. And then it happened, but it wasn't quite the way I thought it would happen. And the thing with her husband? Called that too, but not exactly. It wasn't exactly cliché, but...I don't know. It was very safe. Its the kind of story that you feel good about reading, but it's not going to stick in your mind. Generally speaking, I liked the little bits of surprise in my safe story.
Ok, so lets talk about Grace's mother for a minute. So, this might be a little spoilery and might not make sense to anyone who hasn't read this book, but it really bugged me, so here it goes. From the very first time Grace mentions Mama, it's pretty obvious that her mother is dead. It quickly becomes clear that Grace feels a lot of guilt about it. Through a series of flashbacks, a picture of Mama is painted - her personality, her moods. To me, it was very apparent what was wrong with her. So, when we finally get to find out what happened to Mama, I was very confident I knew how she died. But then...that's not what happened. What did happen was very...boring. And although I get why Grace felt guilty, I think my way would have been a lot more powerful. Sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason. Still, even if the author had chosen anything other than what she did for cause of death...like, terminal illness or deranged gunman would have been better choices. Anything other than what actually happened. It made me feel kind of..empty? Let down, maybe?
Last little annoyance: the protagonist is a red head. A very big deal is made about this. Not just sort of red, like my hair is sort of red. Words like fiery are thrown around. Why is the girl on the cover not a red head? It makes no sense.
On a scale from Totally Awesome to Horrifically Awful I'd give it a Pretty Great. An easy, enjoyable read.
First and foremost, this is a girly book. If you don't like girly books, you wont like it. I happen to like girly books, esspecially ones that aren't all about getting a man. If that's what you're looking for, this is it.
I found the quality of the writing itself was fantastic. The descriptions of things were incredible. I'd never before thought about the way the air tastes. I had a very vivid picture of the setting the whole time I was reading thanks to the author's skilled descriptions.
I really liked the characters, especially Gigi - the young, smart mouthed chinese girl who speaks fluent english. I also understand Grace, the main character. She deals with her problems the same way I do - ignore them, and hope they go away. I never felt like any of the character were too one dimensional. They always felt like real people that you actually might meet if you opened a cafe in Macau.
...it also left me with more than a little obsession with macarons.
The story itself, although predictable, wasn't predictable in the ways that I thought it would be. If that makes any sense at all. Like, I knew what happened at the end was going to happen. I knew it as soon as Gigi walked through the door at the cafe. And then it happened, but it wasn't quite the way I thought it would happen. And the thing with her husband? Called that too, but not exactly. It wasn't exactly cliché, but...I don't know. It was very safe. Its the kind of story that you feel good about reading, but it's not going to stick in your mind. Generally speaking, I liked the little bits of surprise in my safe story.
Ok, so lets talk about Grace's mother for a minute. So, this might be a little spoilery and might not make sense to anyone who hasn't read this book, but it really bugged me, so here it goes. From the very first time Grace mentions Mama, it's pretty obvious that her mother is dead. It quickly becomes clear that Grace feels a lot of guilt about it. Through a series of flashbacks, a picture of Mama is painted - her personality, her moods. To me, it was very apparent what was wrong with her. So, when we finally get to find out what happened to Mama, I was very confident I knew how she died. But then...that's not what happened. What did happen was very...boring. And although I get why Grace felt guilty, I think my way would have been a lot more powerful. Sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason. Still, even if the author had chosen anything other than what she did for cause of death...like, terminal illness or deranged gunman would have been better choices. Anything other than what actually happened. It made me feel kind of..empty? Let down, maybe?
Last little annoyance: the protagonist is a red head. A very big deal is made about this. Not just sort of red, like my hair is sort of red. Words like fiery are thrown around. Why is the girl on the cover not a red head? It makes no sense.
On a scale from Totally Awesome to Horrifically Awful I'd give it a Pretty Great. An easy, enjoyable read.
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