This is my first experience of Jaspreet Singh and I will certainly be looking out for more by this author. The story of the young Kip, related by the dying Kip, is amusing, entertaining and full of wonderful descriptions of Kashmir and food. It is the story of Kip's apprenticeship to Chef and his induction into life in Kashmir under Chef's guidance. It is told in a light-hearted style that is easy to read but the subtext gives subtle glimses into the conflict that is taking place in Kasmir. It is this conflict that influences and determines the destinies of the characters but never dominates the story.

I've already reviewed the book, but... Near the end he actually gives the recipe for a Kashmir style Lamb Rogan Josh (with no tomatoes). My word, I cooked it the weekend after I finished the book... dear me, it is a slow process, but having managed to get all the ingredients, I decided to cook it and was extremely pleased with the finished product. It was delicious. Just thought I'd let you all know.

I enjoyed this full-length debut by Jaspreet Singh very much. I enjoyed taking a journey through another country, especially a country that is not Europe or America. It was refreshing to dip into a totally different culture and one which I know so very little about. A large part of the story comprises the reminiscences of Kip, a chef, as he takes a long train journey back to Kashmir after an absence of many years. Food, love, grief, people who influenced him, people he cared about, all beautifully described. A very good read and certainly an author I will be returning to in the future.

"Kip is a young man completely unprepared for normal life, that finds himself into army life during the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir. The story has many layers: the war, religious differences, Kip's relationship with women, with his dead heroic father, with his mentor Chef Kishen, with General Kumar and his daughter, etc. The list goes on as the story covers so many aspects of a human being's life over a confusing historic period. What I enjoyed most about this book is the way it is written. The readers feel like they are inside Kip's mind hearing his thoughts in the same way we hear our own sometimes disjointed and/or surreal inner voices. Far from being off-putting this helps to understand what the main character goes through almost first hand; something that wouldn’t really be possible if this story had been narrated in a more traditional way.

A beautifully written book which transported me to Kashmir. The story is simply told, but written in such a way that I could almost smell the cooking! It is set against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan conflict over the disputed region of Kasmir. A situation I knew little about prior to reading this book. Although the book does not give detailed information on the conflict concentrating, rightly so, on Kip's personal story it has inspired me to find out more. At times I did get a little confused as to whose story was being told when Kip was switching between his story and narrating Chef Kishen's journal, but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anybody who enjoys the writings of Rohinton Mistry and Aravind Adiga.