See the hottest books publishing this Summer

What do readers think of The Mouse-Proof Kitchen by Saira Shah? Write your own review.

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

The Mouse-Proof Kitchen by Saira Shah

The Mouse-Proof Kitchen

by Saira Shah

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (42):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2013, 352 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Reviews

Page 3 of 6
There are currently 42 reader reviews for The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Lynne B. (South Lake Tahoe, CA)

Mouse-Proofing the Kitchen: One of Life's Small Problems
Reading this engrossing story put me on a roller coaster of emotions. A young couple, Tobias and Anna, are preparing for the birth of their first child when suddenly their lives turn into a whirlwind of drama, emotion and adventure relayed month by month over the first year of their new daughter's life. Both Tobias and Anna search for a way to 'escape' the emotional burden of caring for their severely disabled but "perfect" daughter. They struggle with a fear of loving her and losing her. The move to France to take on the renovation of a dilapidated estate begins the adventure and the many delightful charactersmore
Diane D. (South Portland, ME)

A Heart-warming Tale.....
Although The Mouse Proof Kitchen starts out slow, by halfway through you can't put it down. Shah has a way with characters that endears them to you with their quirky ways. You can picture this town she writes about and all the characters within. Shah writes insightfully about babies with disabilities, every word rings true. I thoroughly enjoyed this story!
Diana J. (Highland Falls, NY)

Uncertain about how I'd like this book
But, I ended up enjoying it. It was interesting that the diagnosis of Freya, the baby in the book, is the same diagnosis of the author's own baby girl. According to the afterward, this is the only similarity. It was an unusual premise, but probably more true to life than would appear, that the entire book revolves around Freya's birth, the defect of the baby, and how everyone reacts to it. The interplay between the parents as they grow to love the baby, is interesting as well. In general, I enjoyed it, and also enjoyed the character development of Anna's mother, as she also grows to love the baby. The charactersmore
Malinda N. (Wheeling, WV)

Life Gets Messy
I enjoyed this story and read it quickly. The characters are engaging and the author does a nice job of creating an engaging story while trying to deal with a very difficult subject matter. While I enjoyed the book on one level I never felt as though anyone would be so cavalier emotionally or medically with such a disabled child. The author makes a note about how she wanted Anna and Tobias to display extreme behaviors possibly as a way to address some emotions that real parents of disabled children feel but don't act upon. I just found the characters to be enjoyable and the story entertaining but as a fictionalmore
Helen M. (Petaluma, CA)

Just a Little Messy
I would certainly recommend The Mouse Proof Kitchen. It is a story of life and how messy it can get, how human we are. It is also a story of profound love and all the challenges that love may face. And it is a story of families. Guarantees there are not! Set in a village in France, in a very old and "messy"farmhouse, it is a very moving account of the trials of having a less than perfect child. It is a story of deep friendships, secrets, forgiveness. Saira Shah, the author, is adept at strong emotion, the almost violent swings that occur. And there is humor......... I am so glad I read this book.
Edie M. (Kennett Square, PA)

The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
I expected this book to be funny, instead, I found it to be on the verge of depressing. Saira Shah does have a way with her writing to keep the reader interested though.

I would recommend this book to the over 40 crowd.
Vy A. (Phoenix, AZ)

The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen is a book that is well written but at times was very difficult to read because Anna and her husband Tobias face so many unbelievable challenges when their baby is born with extreme disabilities. Author Shah doesn't sugarcoat anything, and the result is that we feel we are living with their extreme frustration and conflicting feelings of fear, love, responsibility and rejection concerning their daughter. As if that were not challenge enough the conditions of the mouse-infested home they have purchased in France are deplorable. Of course their relationship is put to the test and one has tomore
Renee P. (Sanford, FL)

Profound honesty makes for an uncomfortable read.
I have to admit I have really mixed feelings about this book. I found myself admiring the sheer bluntness and candid honesty of Shah's feelings upon learning of the severe disabilities her child was born with. The knee jerk reactions of both she and her husband were at once difficult to read and in some ways easy to understand. His almost instinctive personal defensive action to simply walk away and leave the child in the hospital is disturbing in a way I find difficult to explain. As a parent, part of me fully understands that first, "OH NO, not my child," feeling, the desire to retreat to the "perfect childmore

More Information

Read-Alikes

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Ghostwriter
    by Julie Clark
    From the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell comes a dazzling new thriller.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Songs of Summer
    by Jane L. Rosen

    A young woman crashes a Fire Island wedding to find her birth mother—and gets more than she bargained for.

  • Book Jacket

    Erased
    by Anna Malaika Tubbs

    In Erased, Anna Malaika Tubbs recovers all that American patriarchy has tried to destroy.

Who Said...

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

B a L

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.