A Taste of Somewhere Else
Description
James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman delivers a father-son road-trip story about grief, second chances, and discovering that home might not be a place you left behind—but a person you’re just getting to know, one meal at a time.
Junior year was supposed to be Miles’s escape plan—survive one year in Cleveland with Jake, the dad he barely knows, then get back to his real life in New York.
But that was before he got suspended. Before his mom died and left a hole nothing can fill. Before Jake’s art house theater started facing closure—and before Jake dragged him on a half-baked quest across Spain to track down a film director who may or may not want to be found.
Between wrong turns and cryptic clues through Madrid, Toledo, and Seville, they find themselves at wobbly tables in tapas bars, sharing plates of jamon and squid, talking in ways they never have before. Something unexpected happens over bocadillos and café con leche: Miles stops seeing Jake as the dad who left, and starts seeing him as the person who stayed.
James Beard Award–winning author Michael Ruhlman delivers a story about grief, second chances, and discovering that home might not be a place you left behind—but a person you’re just getting to know, one meal at a time.
Praise for A Taste of Somewhere Else
"An engaging novel that explores grief, family relationships, and friendship. Highly recommended for library collections looking for realistic travel fiction."—School Library Journal, starred review
"Be swept along by the protagonist’s intense, even sensuous, responses to what he sees and especially tastes during this salutary, refreshingly offbeat odyssey...Dishes up a good dose of healing along with Spanish culinary delicacies."—Kirkus Reviews
"Ruhlman’s background as a food writer shines in the many enticing descriptions of Spanish tapas and desserts throughout the novel...The distinct setting will speak to fans of Tobias Madden’s Wrong Answers Only"—Booklist
