Style
Unquenchable is the 2011 sequel to wine writer MacLean's 2007 debut novel Red, White and Drunk All Over. I have not read her first work. I am likely to catch it on audio book at some point. Unquenchable was a difficult read at first. MacLean is clever and tries to be even more clever. Switching around the sentence structure would help a lot. Often the adjectives or adverbs were presented before the subjects of the sentence was known to the reader. My mind grew tired of playing guessing games. My mind enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of the book's varied topics, locales, and characters, though.
It was refreshing to hear about winemaking and the wine industry from the point of view of a female narrator. Also, I am not surprised in the least that a buxom blonde gained access to forbidden wine cellars. The industry has a ways to go in terms of acceptance.
It is an interesting oddity that the author shared she dislikes getting dirty in the soil but she took on a book writing journey to visit so many outdoor locales. I am curious to know if visiting the fresh outdoors changed her perspective on going outside at all. I feel very sorry for people who live their lives trapped indoors.
Content
The book is highly entertaining and educational interspersing of personal stories, expert interviews, nonfiction wine history, prose on the love of winemaking and wine drinking, and scientific techniques of winemaking. The author moved from one topic to the next in a comfortable, conversational manner. She kept the romantic prose to an acceptable level. I foretell a film documentary in the future.
Often I wanted more information on what she was talking about. (The difference between Labrusca grapes and Vinifera grapes?) Maps of the places in the book would have also helped greatly with context (Where is the Moselle River?) I place these faults on the book editor, who should have offered guidance in these respects. The spelling of words and names in the book and the placement of punctuation was flawless, however. Kudos to the editor in that regard.
The book referenced many quotations from authors who I have not read personally and am not ashamed to admit not reading. I am talking about the types of authors who frequent lists of books to read for PhD candidates in English Lit. As an everyday mere mortal, I dive into those books rarely. I do not begrudge Natalie's sharing of her interest in reading lofty titles. Rather, I hope she taps into it a bit more to give a unique reading experience which is her own personal style. An idea for a future book: Whimsying and Wining on Famous Writings: Wine pairings to Book excerpts by Famous Authors.
On the Author
Ms. MacLean delivers a good amount of personal narrative in the book so I think it appropriate to discuss her personage. She comes across as highly likeable, because of her good humor, balanced perspective, and natural curiosity and observation of things. She is a person I would not mind sharing a taxi with. The kind of person who would make a watchable guest judge on "Iron Chef". (Anyone out there reading from Iron Chef?)
I do think she is too overly humble and self deprecating in the book at certain moments. Women have been beaten down throughout the ages to accept mediocrity in themselves and apologize when it is exceeded. Ms. MacLean need not apologize for her wine expertise nor her humanity during stressful situations. She's written a bestselling book that is deservedly so.
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