The ice-cream makers : a novel

Format:

Book (regular print)

Title:

The ice-cream makers : a novel

Uniform Title:

Ijsmakers. English

Author:

Kwast, Ernest van der, 1981- author

ISBN:

9781501159398

9781501169830

Edition:

First 37 Ink/Atria books hardcover edition.

Publication:

New York : 37 Ink, Atria, 2017.

Physical Description:

312 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

Originally published in Dutch in 2015 as De ijsmakers by Bezige Bij, Amsterdam.

Summary:

In the far north of Italy lies the valley of the ice-cream makers: about a dozen villages where, for generations, people have specialised in making ice cream. Giuseppe Talamini claims it was actually invented here. Every spring his family sets off for the ice-cream parlour in Rotterdam, returning to the mountains only in winter. Eldest son Giovanni Talamini decides to break with this tradition by pursuing a literary career. But then one day his younger brother Luca approaches him with a highly unusual request. Now Giovanni faces a dilemma: serve the family's interests one last time or choose his own path in life, once and for all.

Subject(s):

Poets -- Fiction.

Ice cream industry -- Fiction.

Intergenerational relations -- Fiction.

Italy, Northern -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Italy, Northern -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Woodburn Public Library	Kwast	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In this international bestseller, a poet struggles to decide if he should put his family's or his own needs first when he returns to Italy help run the ice cream dynasty he left behind years ago in this charming tale perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove.

As the heir to a proud Northern Italian ice-cream dynasty, Giovanni Calamine's family is none too happy when he decides to break with tradition and travel the world as a notable poet. So when Giovanni receives an unexpected call from his brother, he is faced with a difficult decision: return home to serve in his family's interests or continue on his own path in life once and for all?

In a heartwarming tale that weaves history with lore and poetry with delicious culinary curiosities, The Ice-Cream Makers paints a century-long, multigenerational portrait of a family wrestling with the conflicting pulls of legacy and desire.

Author Notes

Ernest van der Kwast is a Dutch author whose novel Mama Tandoori was an international bestseller.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Van der Kwast (Mama Tandoori) returns to themes of family, legacy, and tradition in this novel about a poet returning home to Northern Italy to help run his family's ice cream company. The Calamine family has been in the ice cream business for three generations, making yearly trips to the Netherlands to sell hand-churned ice cream ever since Giovanni Calamine's great-grandfather started the business, establishing their strong reputation on these seasonal trips. Ice cream has been the family's passion for decades, and when Giovanni decides that he wants something else for his life, his father and brother see the choice as a betrayal of a family legacy. Van der Kwast jumps around the Calamine family tree to reveal a complex web of duty and love that ties the family to the dream of the original patriarch and uncovers how that dream has transformed through the years. Although plot takes a back seat to a thoughtful portrait of the family, van der Kwast ultimately tells a moving story of how sacrifices accumulate in the wake of passions left unfulfilled. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writer's House. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

Giovanni Talamini makes a decision to "break with the family tradition" by walking away from the ice cream business that his great-grandfather Giuseppe began.In the late 1800s, Giuseppe found his life's passion, gathering snow from the mountains and creating rich ice cream. Thus begins a business that churns through the lives of four generations of the Talamini family. Giuseppe's son loved to invent things, but he sublimated his desire and assumed his intended role as ice cream maker. Later, his two sons, Giovanni and Luca, are expected to enter the family business. Giovanni distances himself and heads to college; later he travels the world as director of the World Poetry Festival. Luca remains in the business, finding his passion (or is it a diversion?) in creating unique flavors. In the end, Luca's son must decide what his role in the family will be. In his U.S. debut, Dutch novelist van der Kwast artfully strings together a series of chapters that could conceivably be stand-alone short stories into a cohesive whole that shows the impact, for better or worse, that family members can have on each other's lives. Giovanni is narrator, observer, and secret keeper. Characters seem to live in a cloud of separation despite being surrounded by those they love. The ultimate decision as to how each character chooses to live affects present and future generations of their family in ways both expected and unexpected. Poetry and history provide the mortar that binds the story together. Van der Kwast tells his multigenerational tale with great sensitivity, demonstrating through powerful observations the long-term effect of one person's decision upon others throughout the generations. A delightful read; smooth as ice cream on a hot summer day. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.