“Didn’t you ever believe anything just because you knew it was true?”
Primrose Squarp lost her parents on a stormy night in their fishing village, Coal Harbour. Her father, despite the raging storm went to sea to fish and her mother tagged along. They never got back and the village thought they drowned. Primrose clung on to her hopes that her parents are still alive, even if the whole village thought that she’s taking her healing process indifferently
The Story
Left to deal with her loss, she embarks on an adventure of living in the custody of her uncle Jack. While dealing with her parent’s death, she relives her friendships and with a whole lot of people including an elderly woman, Miss Perfidy, whom she entrusted her hand woven sweaters made by her mother and who claims she has memories of things she did not have before (re: Alziemers desease). Another interesting character is Miss Honeycut, a self-centered school counselor who took for herself the job of making sure Primrose deals with her loss appropriately; a woman whom Primrose regarded as “someone who has a pea-sized tiny heart and who travelled with eyes wide shut”.
But the most influential person in Primrose’s life without her parents is her restaurateur friend, Miss Bowzer. She taught Primrose new recipes and helped dishes with her. Their talks and how she considered Primrose special is outstandingly pictured and subtlely relayed.
“The only really interesting thing about someone that makes you want to explore them further is their heart”, a thought that came to Primrose which she shared to Miss Bowzer, owner of The Girl on a Red Swing, Primrose’s favorite restaurant that serves everything on a waffle including air-dried beef and marinated lentils on a bed of radicchio.
There is also Bert and Evie, a childless couple who took over her custody after she lost a toe in a street accident (which the village considered as a failed attempt of Primrose to kill herself) and while her custody to her Uncle Jack is in review.
The Book
This is one of the most meaningful books I have read so far along with Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and “The Little Prince” by Antoine Saint-Exupery. I may not be “close to tears” as I was when I finished the book “A Secret School” by AVI, but “Everything on a Waffle” is such a relaxing treat. It is packed with cool, touching and practically useful quotes that would engage its readers to turn on to the page. It is also made unique with the inclusion of recipes that Primrose learns along and those that she keeps on her recipes notes.
“Sometimes we are tempted to make something wonderful and better but in doing so you lose what was wonderful to begin with”, an excerpt from her Caramel Apple recipe.
A book critic said “subtlety and slapstick is a challenging combination; Horvath pulls it off beautifully”, but I say the author “did it well and did it best”.
The Girl named Primrose
Primrose had it, “…Some people got old and some died. I left parts of myself on some part of the scene and found others unexpectedly. Now people appeared on the scene and others disappeared before I could say goodbye. All kinds of ordinary people gave their whole hearts to things you wouldn’t think you could give your heart to. I made discoveries. And Coal Harbour never became a big resort or swank tourist spot, but I didn’t care because I know that for as long as you lived there you could get everything you wanted. And it always comes on a waffle.”
But the most important thins she learned is that “the things that you find out become the places that you go and sometimes you find them out by being jettisoned off alone and other times it is the people who choose to stay by your side who give you the clues. But the important things that happen to you will happen to you even in smallest places.”
This is a coming to age story filled with hope and pessimism. And its believing deep in your heart that’s its true just because you know it’s true, even if other people, it not all people think otherwise. And in the end..by some twist of fate, you were right after all. Primrose had her parents back…they’re alive.
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