Bread and Chocolate by Philippa Gregory

Bread and Chocolate

Philippa Gregory

A rich collection of mainly contemporary short stories from an author perhaps better known for her historical fiction. Tales of love and loneliness, selfish men and unfaithful husbands, TV chefs, cruise ships and synchronised swimming. I'm not sure it would appeal to male readers but I enjoyed it.

Extract
It is his garden, of course, and his garage.
In this division of goods I own nothing but somehow I am responsible for it all. I keep his special chair clean. Hoovering up crumbs from the interstices of the cushions. I polish the television screen to make sure there are no distracting smears. I clean his bathroom, taking care with the underside of the toilet seat ... for men are careless in these trivial matters ....
The cooker is mine I suppose. The sink, the larder, the fridge, the hoover, the mop, the kitchen cupboards, the washing machine, the tumble dryer. The electricity to run these goods is his - I must be frugal with the supply.
Parallels
  • The Little House by Philippa Gregory
  • All Hail the New Puritans by Nicholas Blincoe and Matt Thorne