Biography Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl by Donald Sturrock

Today in January Magazine’s biopgraphy section, contributing editor Adrian Marks reviews Storyteller by Donald Sturrock. Says Marks:

Roald Dahl, author of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG and many others, died on November 23, 1990, exactly 20 years ago today. It is no coincidence that the first authorized biography of Dahl’s life should be published on this anniversary. But what a book... and what a life!

In a professional way, Donald Sturrock, author of Storyteller, is one of the leading living experts on Dahl’s work. For starters, he has been artistic director of the Roald Dahl Foundation since 1992. He has been director of multiple television adaptations of Dahl’s work for the BBC and, in 1998, he directed the world stage premiere of The Fantastic Mr. Fox at the Los Angeles Opera. And even though Sturrock has a pretty good idea of what Dahl would have thought of a biography of his life, the new author soldiered on and, in the end, delivers a remarkable, well considered and researched portrait of his mercurial subject.

The full review is here.

Review: The beerbistro Cookbook by Stephen Beaumont & Brian Morin

Today in January Magazine’s cookbook section, contributing editor Adrian Marks reviews The beerbistro Cookbook by Stephen Beaumont & Brian Morin. Says Marks:

Much of the time, cookbooks attached to a restaurant the author either owns or cooks for ends up feeling like a big, glossy ad: a come-on for those who happen to pick the book up to actually go on down to the restaurant and enjoy what’s on offer in person. In short, many of those types of book have a very limited appeal, both regionally and, in a way, spiritually. Despite the title, The beerbistro Cookbook is not that book. If anything, linking the book tightly to the popular Toronto eatery seems like a mistake. Sure: beerbistro patrons are likely to want a copy. But what about the rest of us? What’s in it for us?

The full review is here.

Review: Halibut: The Cookbook edited by Karen Barnaby

Today, in January Magazine’s cookbook section, contributing editor Adrian Marks cooks from Halibut: The Cookbook edited by Karen Barnaby. Marks says:

The recipes range from ultra-simple -- suitable for an after work slap together or for the home chef with only the most rudimentary kitchen skills -- all the way up to complicated meals for friends that will take hours of pleasurable concentration to prepare. Appropriately enough, most fall somewhere in between.

The full review is here.