Kim Fay – författare

The Instant National Bestseller and #1 Indie Next Pick In the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road, this witty and tender novel is a sensuous experience of food and a deep friendship between two very different women in 1960s America.Two strangers. One recipe. A friendship for the ages.   Creamy risotto alla Milanese. Mussels in a hot, buttery broth. Chicken spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Joan Bergstrom and Imogen Fortier understand the key to a savored life—delicious food. Young Joan is just discovering herself as a foodwriter in bustling Los Angeles, while experienced columnist Imogen is settled in her decades-long marriage on Camano Island outside Seattle. When Joan sends a fan letter to Imogen with an enclosed packet of saffron and a recipe, their journey of culinary exploration and soul-deep friendship begins. A long-lost flavor surfaces buried memories, and a quest to make carne asada opens the doors of a sheltered life. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of their friendship, and of their belief that food and love can sustain us during our darkest hours.

Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel by an American Author   “Captivating . . . has qualities any reader would wish for: adventure, romance, history and a vividly described exotic setting.”—The Washington Post   In 1925 the international treasure-hunting scene is a man’s world, and no one understands this better than Irene Blum, who is passed over for a coveted museum curatorship because she is a woman. Seeking to restore her reputation, she sets off from Seattle in search of a temple believed to house the lost history of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer civilization. But her quest to make the greatest archaeological discovery of the century soon becomes a quest for her family’s secrets. Embracing the colorful and corrupt world of colonial Asia in the early 1900s, The Map of Lost Memories takes readers into a forgotten era where nothing is as it seems. As Irene travels through Shanghai''s lawless back streets and Saigon’s opium-filled lanes, she joins forces with a Communist temple robber and an intriguing nightclub owner with a complicated past. What they bring to light deep within the humidity-soaked Cambodian jungle does more than change history. It ultimately solves the mysteries of their own lives.   Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.   Praise for The Map of Lost Memories   “In The Map of Lost Memories, Kim Fay draws us into a universe as exotic, intense, and historically detailed as the ancient artifacts her unforgettable heroine seeks. It’s a deliciously unexpected journey: Indiana Jones meets Somerset Maugham meets Marguerite Duras.”—Jennifer Cody Epstein, author of The Painter from Shanghai   “A thrilling mix of adventure and personal discovery . . . [Kim] Fay crafts an intricate page-turner that will keep readers breathless and guessing.”—Publishers Weekly   “A ripping good tale . . . mysterious Asian locations . . . a driven young American heroine . . . an era no longer remembered but faded to romantic imagination . . . The Map of Lost Memories pulls the components together in a story that intrigues and rewards.”—Lincoln Journal Star   “Fay’s extraordinary novel has everything great historical-adventure fiction should—a strikingly original setting, exhilarating plot twists, and a near-impossible quest.”—Booklist (starred review)

The one thing to remember about an adventure is that if it turns out the way you expect it to, it has not been an adventure at all . . .Shanghai, 1925.Irene, a museum curator (and, unofficially, a treasure hunter) is searching for a set of legendary copper scrolls which describe the forgotten history of Cambodia's ancient Khmer civilisation. Her mentor has sent her to China to enlist the help of Simone, a mercurial Frenchwoman who - along with her notoriously violent husband, 'the most dangerous man in the Orient' - has a reputation for both stealing artefacts and starting revolutions. Irene and Simone set off through the Cambodian jungle to search for the scrolls, but it soon becomes clear that each is determined to acquire them for her own reasons, and that once they have located them it will be every woman for herself . . .Gripping, evocative, lavish and thrilling, this is an unforgettable book that was listed as one of Amazon's top 100 Breakthrough Novels before it was even finished.

'I wanted to go on reading it forever' Nigella LawsonTwo strangers. One recipe. A friendship for the ages.Creamy risotto alla Milanese. Mussels in a hot, buttery broth. Chicken spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Joan Bergstrom and Imogen Fortier understand the key to a savoured life: delicious food. Young Joan is just discovering herself as a food writer in bustling Los Angeles, while experienced magazine columnist Imogen is settled in her decades-long marriage on Camano Island outside Seattle. When Joan sends a fan letter to Imogen, alongside a gift of saffron and a recipe, their journey of culinary exploration and life-changing friendship begins. A long-lost flavour unearths buried memories, a quest to make carne asada opens the doors of a sheltered life, and, as the two women connect through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the unexpected changes in their own worlds.'Like a dinner with friends you won't want to end' J. Ryan Stradal'Warm, delicious, and absolutely satisfying' Meg Waite Clayton 'You'll want to share it with everyone you call friend' Louise Miller

Amerika in den frühen Sechzigern: Joan Bergstrom, siebenundzwanzig, versucht, als Autorin im Frauen-Ressort einer Zeitung in Los Angeles Fuß zu fassen. Währenddessen lebt die neunundfünfzigjährige Imogen Fortier, erfahrene Kolumnistin eines Lifestyle-Magazins, zurückgezogen auf Camano Island nahe Seattle. Als begeisterter Fan ihres Letter from the Island schreibt Joan Imogen einen Leserbrief und schickt ihr etwas Safran von einer Reise in den Fernen Osten sowie ein passendes Rezept. Der Auftakt eines Briefwechsels, der über Jahre andauern soll und beide Frauen zu neuen kulinarischen Entdeckungen anregt, aber auch darüber hinaus ihren Horizont erweitert. Über frischen Knoblauch, der im Nordwesten Amerikas noch eine Seltenheit ist, und die Suche nach dem perfekten Rezept für Carne Asada entsteht eine innige Freundschaft. Ihr gemeinsamer Glaube an die Kraft von Essen und Liebe auch in düsteren Tagen schafft es sogar, Imogens Mann Francis zu erreichen, der mit seinen Erfahrungen aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg kämpft. Indem er ebenfalls das Kochen für sich entdeckt, kommt auch sein Lebenshunger zurück.