{"id":3984,"date":"2025-09-03T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3984"},"modified":"2025-09-03T12:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T12:01:00","slug":"book-review-the-fertile-crescent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3984","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Fertile Crescent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The Fertile Crescent<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Chadwick Wall<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Literary Fiction<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798891327719<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 310 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Peter Hassebroek<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A mouth-watering, vibrant depiction of the New Orleans culinary world<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At an early age, Chef Laurent Ladnier demonstrated his aptitude for cooking. He also developed an affinity for combining food sources thanks to a French mother, Irish father, a Vietnamese family friend, and of course the American South. He was a prodigy, envisioning a future where he established \u201ctrue world fusion\u201d in his cherished native city. But this dream withered with the demands of a troubled family, including a father who died at forty, possibly taking his own life.<\/p>\n

Laurent is now approaching forty and wary of a similar fate, despite being head chef at the respected Caf\u00e9 Bonhomie. It\u2019s owned by risk-averse Gerard, who keeps tyrannical control of his staff and menu. Gerard isn\u2019t open to the kind of innovation simmering inside Laurent, content with traditional Cajun-Creole dishes that cater to the expectations of tourists and a conservative local clientele. This clashes with the mindset of a chef whose:<\/p>\n

\u201c. . . passion for the kitchen had melded with my own quirky spirit to produce a love of preparing unique, even completely original dishes. Original to the point of the eccentric, while still delicious. I loved this form of cooking more than decent sleep, financial security, even my own health.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

One Sunday when Gerard is out of town, Laurent creates an alternate menu alongside the regular Bonhomie bill of fare. Other than a rival\u2019s expected petty criticisms, the dishes are well received\u2014and by important people who can open doors. Laurent\u2019s insubordination is inevitably punished, but the gamble spurs the impetus to go all-in with his vision.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an auspicious start with restauranteur Wilson, whose Cayenne Club has been struggling and is ripe for a culinary risk. And the risk does bring challenges and rewards that come frequently and unpredictably. Not only from the restaurant, but also Laurent\u2019s personal life, with his girlfriend and the family drama that continues to get in the way of his career.<\/p>\n

Everything is told from Laurent\u2019s first person perspective and what comes through consistently is his passion. We go beyond just hearing of this passion and instead feel it intimately through author Chadwick Wall\u2019s dexterous, loving food descriptions, whether about Laurent\u2019s vision or the creations of others. But we also see it in the admiration he has for this city. The novel\u2019s rich atmosphere mixes the grittier non-touristy parts of New Orleans along with the more affluent ones.<\/p>\n

Revitalizing Wilson\u2019s Cayenne Club also makes for some deeply interesting reading material. The interior design, kitchen layout, menu, and of course hiring staff. An eclectic bunch recruited not just for their ability to cook but their creative synergy with Laurent\u2019s vision. For instance one applicant, Brooke, quotes from a (fictional) book called Spirits in Your Kitchen<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201c. . . not only humans have spirit and energy. Animals do, and plant life has it. A certain remnant of an animal remains in the meat. Something remains in every vegetable, too, and eating it can influence who you are. Thoughts, behavior. And that a chef can evoke the essence, the spirit of an animal or plant through its presentation on the plate.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Such pensive asides add depth to further round out Laurent\u2019s expression of his vision. A vision each buys into, albeit in their own ways. The unity of purpose does not neutralize the human factor. The tensions of a team of disparate individuals working together in a hot kitchen are narrated in a way no television reality show can emulate. This feels very real.<\/p>\n

Laurent is a (self-admittedly) flawed protagonist who\u2019s often his own worst enemy. His is an intense, complex life even before the novel begins. He\u2019s dramatic, but drama also finds him. There\u2019s little middle ground in that people and events either work for him or against him, including the precipitous incident that drives the conclusion.<\/p>\n

The Fertile Crescent<\/em> is generously seasoned with an always surprising variety of spices of conflict and emotion.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thank you for reading Peter Hassebroek\u2019s book review of The Fertile Crescent <\/em>by Chadwick Wall! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Book Reviews<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>IBR Blog<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Resources for Writers<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Book Review: The Fertile Crescent<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fertile Crescent by Chadwick Wall Genre: Literary Fiction ISBN: 9798891327719 Print Length: 310 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Peter Hassebroek A mouth-watering, vibrant depiction of the New Orleans culinary world At an early age, Chef Laurent Ladnier demonstrated his aptitude for cooking. He also developed an affinity for combining food sources […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}