“[A] glorious mash-up of memoir, love note, and cookbook . . . Every sentence is as sensuous as the first bite into a cold, juicy plum.” ―Hillary Kelly, Vulture “[A] dazzling, thorny new essay collection.” ―Samin Nosrat, The New York Times Inspired by twenty-six fruits, the essayist, poet, and pie lady Kate Lebo expertly blends natural, culinary, medical, and personal history. A is for aronia, berry member of the apple family, clothes-stainer, superfruit with reputed healing power. D is for durian, endowed with a dramatic rind and a shifting odor―peaches, old garlic. M is for medlar, name-checked by Shakespeare for its crude shape, beloved by gardeners for its flowers. Q is for quince, which, when fresh, gives off the scent of “roses and citrus and rich women’s perfume,” but if eaten raw is so astringent it wicks the juice from one’s mouth. In a work of unique invention, these and other difficult fruits serve as the central ingredients of twenty-six lyrical essays (with recipes). What makes a fruit difficult? Its cultivation, its harvest, its preparation, the brevity of its moment for ripeness, its tendency toward rot or poison, the way it might overrun your garden. Here, these fruits will take you on unexpected turns and give sideways insights into relationships, self-care, land stewardship, medical and botanical history, and so much more. What if the primary way you show love is through baking, but your partner suffers from celiac disease? Why leave in the pits for Willa Cather’s plum jam? How can we rely on bodies as fragile as the fruits that nourish them? Kate Lebo’s unquenchable curiosity promises adventure: intimate, sensuous, ranging, bitter, challenging, rotten, ripe. After reading The Book of Difficult Fruit , you will never think of sweetness the same way again. A Best Book of the Year: The Atlantic , NPR, The Globe and Mail , Electric Lit , New York magazine Winner of the Washington State Book Award for Creative Nonfiction Shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Book Award "[A] glorious mash-up of memoir, love note, and cookbook . . . Every sentence is as sensuous as the first bite into a cold, juicy plum." ―Hillary Kelly, New York magazine "Darkly funny . . . often fascinating, sometimes juicy, rarely dry . . . The Book of Difficult Fruit is brimming with obscure knowledge that’s going to loom over every gin martini I drink for the next decade, and there are fantastic recipes too . . . Delicious and meaningful." ―Alex Beggs, The New York Times Book Review "A collection of personal essays about family, illness and nature, each linked to a different fruit that―over the years, warranted or otherwise―has developed something of a bad reputation. It is a beautiful read." ―Stuart Heritage, The Guardian “A brilliant, richly layered and absolutely delicious book. [Lebo's] writing―breathtakingly beautiful, brave and complex―sparkles and lingers . . . Sharp, poetic, enchanting and chockfull of precise language, insight and wit, [ The Book of Difficult Fruit ] is as well-researched and recipe-tested as it is intimate―contemporary food writing at its finest.” ―Adriana Janovich, Washington State Magazine “[A] freewheeling, recipe-filled journey through the interconnected natural and social worlds of fruit.” ―Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic “Weaving botanical and medicinal histories, relationships between people and land, and the idea of nourishment, this book (which includes recipes) is inventive and charming, but it’s also profound and deeply felt. The connection between food and land is never forgotten, and the writing is superb.” ―Sarah Neilson, Buzzfeed “[A] richly researched food history, gentle memoir and left-field recipe book . . . It would be a shame if this book didn’t attract readers without an existing curiosity in the subject, because Lebo brings as generous an eye to its broader topics―relationships, reproductive health, illness and death―as she does her fruits and their histories and uses, their beauty and their terror.” ―Sophie Morris, i newspaper “A zingy blend of natural, culinary and personal history . . . A prickly, piquant delight.” ―Hephzibah Anderson, The Observer "Delightfully unexpected . . . Eloquent, well-researched, and thoughtfully conceived and organized, this genre-defying book will appeal to foodies as well as those who appreciate both fine writing and the pleasures of domestic arts and crafts. A one-of-a-kind reading experience." ― Kirkus Reviews , starred "Witty . . . Unusual and piquant, this . . . will hit the spot with readers hungry for something a little different." ― Publishers Weekly , starred “A remarkable combination of food writing, memoir, medical and natural history, and cultural anthropology that's unlike anything you've read before . . . Taking a ‘food book’ into all those areas in a compelling way is a high-wire act that Lebo performs with seeming ease and an inviting style. There are hila