You will absolutely fall in love with Ms. Mebel, a sixty something woman in the prime of her life, even though she doesn’t know it yet in this empowering, imaginative and very funny story.
You see, Ms. Mebel is married but has been sheltered most of her life. Her husband, very rich…not her it seems but him… has pampered her with anything and everything her little heart has desired. Designer clothes, shoes, fancy restaurants and let’s not forget the jewelry! But Mebel expects it because that is how it is in their culture which is Chinese Indonesian. The husband takes care of the family. Until…
Said husband decides to fall in love with their very young chef who cooks for them and asks her for a divorce. Excuse me? Mebel is the only trophy wife in this forty-year marriage. But he has made up his mind.
Angry, embarrassed and lost, Mabel against her sons wishes, who feels she should just divorce his father, decides to fix the situation. She will win back Henk, her husband by going to a prominent culinary school in England. So what if she can’t cook. She will learn, he will fall madly in love again with her and dump trophy wife number two!
Mabel applies and gets into the school. She along with her beautiful jewelry, clothes and shoes schlep to the school. It’s….not what she thought it would be. It’s in a small village near Oxford not at Oxford which seems to be the first mistake. But she is determined.
The oldest student in the bunch, Mabel begins her experience by trying to pull her privilege card. Unfortunately, that does not seem to work with the other students, or the teacher.
As Mabel begins to understand how her young classmates seem to be determined to succeed, she herself with their help starts to appreciate them as well as herself. The better she does the more confidence she seems to exude. She becomes the other students’ advisor on life and problems, something she was never asked to do her whole life.
Mebel will begin to learn and understand how people can seem one way and be another. She becomes good at cooking and communicating (for the most part) with others. And she begins to grow in so many other ways. For herself, but for others as well. She now is determined to succeed not for anyone else but Mebel. Well, maybe for her family also whom she begins to understand in a way she never had.
Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block is such a humorous special story, in which there are so many lessons to be learned. You can change not matter what your age. You can absolutely do whatever you set your mind to. And it’s never too late to learn about love and humanity. A trophy wife? Well, I don’t think so!
Thank you #NetGalley #Berkley #JesseQ.Sutanto #Ms.MebelGoesBacktotheChoppingBlock for the advanced copy.
Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block: Sutanto, Jesse Q.: 9780593953051: Amazon.com: Books
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