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    A Place at the Table: A Novel
    A Place at the Table: A Novel
    A Place at the Table: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    A Place at the Table: A Novel

    Written by Susan Rebecca White

    Narrated by Robin Miles, George Newbern and Katharine Powell

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    About this audiobook

    From Susan Rebecca White, award-winning author of A Soft Place to Land and Bound South, comes a breathtaking story of three richly nuanced outcasts whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café as they realize they must give up everything they thought they knew to find a home at last.

    Alice Stone is famous for the homemade southern cuisine she serves at Café Andres and her groundbreaking cookbook, but her past is a mystery to all who know her. Upon Alice’s retirement, Bobby Banks, a young gay man ostracized by his family in Georgia, sets out to revive the aging café with his new brand of southern cooking while he struggles with heartbreak like he’s never known. Seeking respite from the break up of her marriage, wealthy divorcée Amelia Brighton finds solace in the company and food at Café Andres, until a family secret comes to light in the pages of Alice’s cookbook and threatens to upend her life.

    In her most accomplished novel yet, Susan Rebecca White braids together the stories of these three unforgettable characters who must learn that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJun 4, 2013
    ISBN9781442363007
    Author

    Susan Rebecca White

    Susan Rebecca White is the author of four critically acclaimed novels, Bound South, A Soft Place to Land, We Are All Good People Here, and A Place at the Table. A graduate of Brown University and the MFA program at Hollins University, Susan has taught creative writing at Hollins, Emory, SCAD, and Mercer University, where she was the Ferrol A. Sams, Jr. Distinguished Chair of English Writer-in-Residence. An Atlanta native, Susan lives in Atlanta with her husband and son.

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    Reviews for A Place at the Table

    4/5

    78 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Well written. Unexpected.Quite delightful. Vividly written. An enjoyable read. One
    • 4/5
      A Place at the Table is not my usual reading choice. I was drawn to it because of the food angle - I love to cook and while not a story that takes place in kitchens, food, cooking and cookbooks all play central roles that help to bring the main characters together. There are three - Bobby, Alice and Amelia. I do feel though that it the story belongs mostly to Bobby.The book opens in North Carolina and we meet a very young Amelia. She is living in a free black community with her grandfather and brother. Life seems simple to her but when they leave their community they learn that they are not a free as they thought they were. Bobby is a young man born much later into a conservative Georgia family. He is gay and as his mother and father figure it out they want to "fix" him. Before they can do that he runs to his grandmother who finds a way to get him to New York where he finds his way on his terms. Alice is a woman born in Connecticut but with roots in the South.I really enjoyed Bobby and Amelia's stories and how the two of them were both displaced from a culture that didn't respect them for who they were. It just dismissed them. They found a kinship in a cosmopolitan city that they couldn't find within their families. Alice's story was not as interesting and seemed to only be there for the "explosive family secret." It didn't grab me as much as the first two did.Overall I did enjoy the book. Ms. White has a way with describing food that made me want to head into my kitchen and cook. I also felt much at home in her descriptions of New York - a city I miss very much.
    • 5/5
      For anyone who had ever felt like the “other” or an outsider needs to read this book!
    • 4/5
      Good book. No surprises but a good story. Loved the cooking. I always wonder what happens to people in books. Thanks for another pre release
    • 4/5
      A good story with some mystery to figure out how the three main characters are related. Issues of alienation and acceptance are explored over the backdrop of good food.
    • 5/5
      I was totally taken by surprise when this book ended. To Quote my mine " No, it can't be done!!!" I could have gone on for much much longer. I hope that speaks to the power this book to me. I really loved even the people I did not like. And trust me there are a few. They were all rich and alive for me. Thank You Susan Rebecca White...Great read.
    • 2/5
      White's novel is interesting, but not memorable. The characters seem flat and blasé, and do not stick in my memory. The story starts with a bang, but fizzles as the story progresses and the dialogue of Amelia drags like a trite sermon. I really did not enjoy a single character from Alice to Bobby to Amelia. Some of the minor characters created a little excitement, but for only a fleeting moment. This is not a book I would recommend to read.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book, far more then I thought I would. The story revolves around three people and melds together almost at the end…. It ended differently then I thought, a little weird, so with that being said a disappointment for me, or did I expect it to finish too cleanly... I was still happy with the characters, cooking, and stories revolving around NYC!
    • 5/5
      Wow. Great book. As you read about Alice, a black woman from North Carolina; Bobby, a boy (later young man) growing up in Georgia; and Amelia, a married woman in Connecticut, you wonder how their lives will all come together. They do, in New York City, but to tell you how and why would be to spoil the story for you. It covers the years 1920s-1980s, and the topics range from food and cooking to the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic. And love, acceptance, family. . . Read it!
    • 4/5
      I found this to be a very enjoyable novel narrated by different people, depending upon whose perspective is being told. The summary above indicates we are given the stories from three different characters, and although this is true, it seemed like the story belonged more to Bobby than any of the others.I loved Bobby's character and the narrator only helped my appreciation of his presence in the novel. We follow Bobby from the time he is a young boy until he is a famous chef in New York City. At a young age Bobby is confused about who he is. He feels out of place quite often because he just doesn't find enjoyment from the things other boys do. As he grows older he learns the reason for his differences and embraces it, while his mother finds she can no longer look him in the eye. When Bobby moves to New York he feels at home as his way of life is accepted more readily and he finds himself excelling in his dreams and endeavors. Amelia enters the story as she says good-bye to her marriage. In an attempt to find the woman she used to be she spends some time with her aunt in New York City. During this time she uncovers secrets about her family that she never would have guessed. The long-kept secret brings her in the path of Alice, a woman who found success as a chef years ago and also published a cookbook. Alice doesn't work in the restaurant business any longer, but she takes Bobby under her wing, as they test recipes and work on another cookbook together. Although our main characters lead different lives, they are intertwined and by the end of the novel they offer a friendship to each other that is needed to help them through to the next phase of their lives.I enjoyed listening to this book and although Bobby's narrator was my favorite, they all did a great job. With themes of secrets, honesty, and friendship, you may enjoy this book as much as I did. I don't hesitate in recommending this novel for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.
    • 4/5
      A beautifully written story of 3 characters ( Bobby, Alice and Amelia) trying to find where they belong. I loved Bobby's story-- how he became a chef due to the influence of his Meemaw and transformed the menu at Café Andres.
      The author tackles some difficult subjects: homosexuality, the AIDS epidemic, race issues and adultery. Yet, the story is shared through recipes, food and a need to belong after family difficulties.
    • 3/5
      Too chick-litty for me. Couldn't get into it. After "The Orchardist," this reads like a YA novel.
    • 4/5
      A Place at the Table is not my usual reading choice. I was drawn to it because of the food angle - I love to cook and while not a story that takes place in kitchens, food, cooking and cookbooks all play central roles that help to bring the main characters together. There are three - Bobby, Alice and Amelia. I do feel though that it the story belongs mostly to Bobby.The book opens in North Carolina and we meet a very young Amelia. She is living in a free black community with her grandfather and brother. Life seems simple to her but when they leave their community they learn that they are not a free as they thought they were. Bobby is a young man born much later into a conservative Georgia family. He is gay and as his mother and father figure it out they want to "fix" him. Before they can do that he runs to his grandmother who finds a way to get him to New York where he finds his way on his terms. Alice is a woman born in Connecticut but with roots in the South.I really enjoyed Bobby and Amelia's stories and how the two of them were both displaced from a culture that didn't respect them for who they were. It just dismissed them. They found a kinship in a cosmopolitan city that they couldn't find within their families. Alice's story was not as interesting and seemed to only be there for the "explosive family secret." It didn't grab me as much as the first two did.Overall I did enjoy the book. Ms. White has a way with describing food that made me want to head into my kitchen and cook. I also felt much at home in her descriptions of New York - a city I miss very much.
    • 5/5
      A Place At The TablebySusan Rebecca WhiteMy"in a nutshell" summary... Alice, Bobby, and Amelia...in New York...living their lives...but it's their past histories that are so riveting.My thoughts after reading this book...Lovely lovely lovely book...the words of this author are so beautiful...so touching...so lovely.Can you tell that I loved this book? The thing about reading so much is that I always think that I love all of the books that I read and I do...but then every once in a while I read a book that is so quietly lovely that I am overwhelmed by it...literally gobsmacked by it...and I am incredulous that I have never read anything by this lovely endearing amazing author before. This is the kind of book where I read about the author and I read the acknowledgements and the preface and I can't get enough of it all!And in true "Patty Fashion"...I do not go through this book and overanalyze it bit by bit...so not my style. This book is a southern story that takes place mostly in NYC. The three key characters seem to not be connected at all and yet they are...in a most unbelievable way. They each have their sorrows but they also have immense joy. I had a real sense of the South in the early 60's and 70's and a really fantastic sense of NYC then, too. What I loved about this book...I loved the relationships...all the good ones and even the bad ones. Bobby and Sebastion, Amelia and Cam, James and his chicken, Alice and Bobby...and so many more...I loved the way the characters continued to sort of link to each other. Another love? The food descriptions? Meemaw's poundcake, crab cakes, lemon curd on homemade ginger snaps...totally time for shrimp and grits!What I did not love about this book...I have to say that when Amelia's part came along near the end of the book...I thought...what is this...but this is the part that brings it all home...and I loved it...of course I did!Final thoughts...This is a memorable book...one that will stay with me for a long time. I want to read more by this author...and soon!