Ortolan

A masterful novel about the reluctant inheritor of a French family restaurant who agrees to prepare the legendary, and illegal, dish of ortolan—only to discover the consequences are more horrifying than he ever imagined. In a quiet French village, a renowned family restaurant has been passed down through generations. With the death of its distinguished chef, the chef's prodigal son, Albert—a divorced, surly, middle-aged father—unwillingly takes over. Above all, Albert resents the traditional dish the restaurant is known for: ortolan, a tiny songbird cooked in brandy and eaten whole. Far more than just another French delicacy, ortolan is so sinfully delicious that customers have been known to do almost anything for a taste. Fortunately, in twenty-first-century France, serving ortolan is illegal, and Albert is happy to comply with the law—that is, until a former American soldier pays a visit and offers him a sum he can't refuse to make ortolan one last time. As Albert sets out to catch and prepare an ortolan, he soon realizes the bird is somehow attuned to his deepest insecurities, his five-year-old daughter, and the history of the restaurant...and that preparing ortolan may come with extraordinary—even deadly—ramifications.