Desultory ... As a lifelong cheesecake lover, I’d venture that it’s more satisfying to eat Cato’s cheesecake—any version—than to read this shaggy novel about it.
Humorously and accurately chronicles the dramatic changes in Manhattan's Upper West Side during the 1980s ...
Vibrant, funny, and at times bittersweet ... [The restaurant's] regulars add depth and dimension to the novel ... Kurlansky endows Mimi with a wonderful wit ... Longtime New Yorkers may feel wistful for a bygone neighborhood so lovingly rendered in Kurlansky's portrait ... Mark Kurlansky lends his considerable skills to this loving tribute to Manhattan's Upper West Side during the booming 1980s.
Fictional life mirrors reality, so there is no perfect ending for Kurlansky’s vibrant characters. But Cato’s cheesecake allows them to thrive in spite of the odds stacked against them. This tale will reward fans of the Tales of the City series, who will enjoy the twinge of irony served alongside a story of rich, Manhattan-infused life and honey-laced, fresh goat’s milk cheesecake.
Good fun, though it’s hard to imagine what non–New Yorkers will make of it ... Kurlansky is primarily a writer of nonfiction, and his inexperience as a novelist shows occasionally as the narrative zigzags among characters defined more by their backstories....than distinct personalities. It doesn’t really matter, though, because the atmosphere he creates is vivid and oh-so-New York.
