Having People Over: How You Too Can Become a 1950s Housewife
⭐☆☆☆☆ (1/5 stars)
After committing a dinner party faux pas — showing up with a bottle of wine as a gift, completely unaware that my hostess had carefully curated the entire wine selection to pair with each course — I picked up Having People Over hoping for a fresh, modern take on entertaining. What I got was something else entirely.
My first problem with this book, is that the publisher's blurb promises "sample tablescapes to charcuterie board maps — and plenty of actual recipes." False.🙅♀️ Tablescapes and charcuterie boards are barely mentioned, illustrations are atrocious, and the grand total of recipes in this book is nine. NINE. Three of them are drinks, and one — bless its heart — is for olives.
Secondly, this book is a textbook example of why writers need a trusted editor in their corner. 📝 I genuinely could not figure out who the intended audience is supposed to be. Chapter titles like Creating a Sexy Space, The Platonic Adult Sleepover, and Creating Grown-up Communities had me thinking it might make a cute gift for a young couple just starting out — however, there is also a chapter called Playing the Long Game - which is just about getting old. The author also expresses disdain for social media, recommending readers only follow professional chefs and interior designers who are over 50, because apparently everyone else is just chasing trends and do not have the knowledge to make quality content. 👎🏽About ten pages after a decent chapter titled Curation versus Consumerism the author gives this gem of advice: "Always be purging. The only way to truly gain control over your space is to be ruthless." That is not curation. That is the opposite of curation. Furthermore, the same book that instructs a hostess to only use the appropriate stemware when serving drinks, is peppered with curse words — at one point casually admitting to never enjoying "unloading the goddamn dishwasher." So we're profane and particular. Got it. 😂
Finally, what has earned this book a single star, is the author's belief that a respectable adult needs to have their "sh*t together." She defines togetherness as having a home that is clean, stocked, and ready for unannounced guests at any time. Followed by: "This is not to say that one cannot achieve togetherness while earning a relatively low income, but that it's quite a lot harder to do so." 😶 That sentiment belongs in another century. We don't measure worth by a spotless home anymore. We value lived-in spaces filled with people we actually enjoy being around. That is the whole point of modern entertaining — and this book misses it completely. ❌
I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from Ten Speed Press in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Ten Speed Press for this opportunity! 🙏
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