Praise for Shakespeare's Kitchen:

"[A] charming novel disguised as a book of short stories. . . . In Segal’s world, a world where domestic tragedies occur against the backdrop of historic human cruelty, people tend to behave badly not out of a perverted sense of ambition or power but from a deep need for attachment and belonging. . . . Lore Segal is an astute and gentle observer."
—The New York Times Book Review

 

"As the stories unspool and intertwine, one realizes that only in the hands of a master do a few vaguely defined characters and themes create such an exquisite tapestry. . . . The cumulative power of Shakespeare’s Kitchen lies in Segal’s dazzling ability to merge the mundane details of life—a missing pencil sharpener, a tipped-over garbage can—with the arc of human emotions."
—The Washington Post

 

"Shakespeare’s Kitchen is a delicate and droll examination of a topic you don't often encounter in American fiction: intimate friendship between consenting adults. . . . Segal is an enchanting storyteller."
—Los Angeles Times

 

"Filled with all the pomp and depressed glory of a modern-day Great Gatsby. . . . These vignettes are hilarious and telling. Segal exhibits a rare insight into the human character that is at once humbling and shamelessly enjoyable to behold."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

 

Lore Segal (1928–2024) was born in Vienna and educated at the University of London. The author of Other People’s Houses, Her First American, and Shakespeare’s Kitchen (all published by The New Press) and other works, she was a regular contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, and other publications.