A pair of farming brothers, Rowan and Tulip, living on a remote Scottish island, come into a substantial inheritance and decide to use it to seek fame and fortune in London by opening their own restaurant. Alas, things don’t go so smoothly and the restaurant is soon foundering - until a mysterious mushroom growing on the brothers’ new property turns their fortunes around! But what makes it grow - and why only on their grounds?
The Delicacy by Bon, James Albon, is alright. It’s not the most gripping story but it’s also not boring either.
The story’s a bit simplistic - after a certain point, things go too smoothly and the “greed corrupts” aspect is cliched - and, while Albon throws in a twist or two, it’s not enough to make the narrative especially exciting, particularly given how spaced out these twists are in this surprisingly long book.
The ending’s somewhat melodramatic but I liked the macabre flavour of it, giving the book an unexpected edge right at the end as Tulip decides to do whatever it takes to maintain his success. And you get a decent idea of the culinary trade down London way too.
Albon’s painted art is lovely - the landscapes and pictures of the dishes themselves are gorge - even if he seems to oddly struggle with more solid objects like cars, which are weirdly squishy, like they’re made of jelly!
Though not consistently engaging, there’s enough going on in The Delicacy to make it a solid modern-day fairy tale.
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