Love & Saffron

A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love

By: Kim Fay

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr, Cassandra Campbell, Mark Bramhall, Maggi-Meg Reed, Kim Fay

The Instant National Bestseller and #1 Indie Next Pick

In the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.

When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter—as well as a gift of saffron—to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she’s never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.

Food and a good life—they can’t be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen’s decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen’s friendship—a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.\A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.

©2022 Kim Fay (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"One of Bookreporter’s Favorite Books of 2022
One of The Buzz Magazine’s Best Books of 2022
Shortlisted for the 2022 RUSA Reading List for Relationship Fiction
One of Zibby Mag’s Ten Books to Awaken Your Appetite
One of Library Journal’s Historical Fiction Bestsellers for June 2022
One of Booklist’s Editors’ Choice for Audiobooks
One of Wit and Delight’s 6 Meaningful, Captivating Books to Gift this Holiday Season

“Impossible to put down… By the end, I was shedding tears along with the characters, and felt as if I’d made two friends. This is an irresistible story of two women from a lost time, both determined to make the best of things." —The Seattle Times

“Delicious food, wonderful characters, and adventures abound in this delightful story that simmers with affection.” —Christian Science Monitor

“Food is far from the only thing to provide nourishment: I absolutely loved this novel….I wanted to go on reading it forever.” —Nigella Lawson, author of Cook, Eat, Repeat

A beautiful friendship through correspondence

I loved the formal language of this era and the wonderful performances by the readers. A jewel!!

So Inspiring in so many ways

An amazing writer friendship by pen. I confess, I resolved to read this book in order to glean from its penmanship offerings—I was immediately swept up into it and never looked back. Melt my heart writing, story, and narration. This gets a #sydaudie award. 😉🥰

Beautiful story

Enjoyed reading this book so much, beautiful story and loved all the recipes! Thank you!

What an amazing book !

thank you. this beautiful story was just what i needed and the narration was spectacular. I will think of this story long after and reread it

More than just recipes

This was a story that spoke of a beautiful friendship that developed through written correspondence. It was in the 60’s and the story infuses the reality of the time talking about the death of President Kennedy and how people did not accept marriages between mixed races. It also talks about the plight of woman during that time in history. I really would have loved to know the characters in the book. The author is great a character development. The book was the perfect length!

A Reading Joy

Kim Fay's LOVE & SAFFRON is heart warming and a pleasure to read. It's an epistolary (written in letters) between two women whose friendship grows through the experiences (and recipes) they share.

One woman is older, married, lives in Washington state, and writes a newsy, "down home" column. The other is a single, younger gal living in Los Angeles who works for a local newspaper.

The younger begins the correspondence with praise for a column she read and a gift of saffron. The Seattle woman responds with surprise snd joy. And so begins a sweet, deep, lasting friendship. Only once do they actually meet in person.

The women share cooking ideas, hopes and dreams, experiences, and heartaches. A few secrets also get passed along. Each is lovingly "there" for the other in their time of need.

This is a short book, meant to be read in one sitting, but I listened to it over a few days of travel. I was sorry when it ended. Kim Fay's writing is smooth and authentic. The research she did for the era (1960's) was remarkable. (I remember it well.)

The narrators for the women, and a snippet of other characters, are easy to distinguish and listen to.

I highly recommend this book to women of all ages, especially those who like to write (letters or otherwise) and love interesting recipes and cooking. (There is also a sweet romance "on the side.")

FIVE stars.

An absolute delight

The story here is quite endearing and the performances were spot on. I enjoyed this immensely!

A touching store of enduring friendship

What a good and heartwarming story, you will smile, laugh out loud and shed a few tears

A Gift of Friendship

Lovely Story very tender friendship and wonderful food. Definitely a keeper book and a great gift.

sweet story of friendship

This story was a lovely way to brighten the gray days of winter. I especially enjoyed the historical information. I look at chance encounters differently after reading this and wonder who might be a meaningful friend.