Search A Novel
Search A Novel by Michelle Huneven is a reprint edition published by Penguin on April 25, 2023. This 400-page book presents a sharp and humorous narrative centered around a congregational search committee, told through the lens of a memoir that includes recipes. The story follows Dana Potowski, a restaurant critic and food writer, who is drawn into the complexities of her Unitarian Universalist congregation as she navigates the challenges of finding a new minister while secretly documenting her experiences.
Readers will find a blend of spiritual exploration and culinary delights as Dana engages with a diverse group of congregants and candidates, including a baker and a reverend who identifies as both a witch and an environmentalist. The novel delves into the dynamics of the search committee, revealing Dana’s growing investment in the church’s future and her determination to advocate for her perspective. With elements of fiction, literary satire, and humor, this book offers an insightful look at community and the search for meaning.
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An NPR Best Book of 2022
“Delectable. . . Huneven treats us to a savory plot that blends spiritual yearnings with earthly pleasures. Forks out!” —Oprah Daily
From critically acclaimed, award-winning author Michelle Huneven, a sharp and funny novel of a congregational search committee, told as a memoir with recipes
Dana Potowski is a restaurant critic and food writer and a longtime member of a progressive Unitarian Universalist congregation in Southern California. Under pressure to find her next book idea, she’s asked to join the church search committee for a new minister and agrees, resolving to secretly pen a memoir, with recipes, about the experience. That memoir, Search, follows the travails of the committee and their candidates—and becomes its own media sensation.
Dana had good material to work with: the committee is a wide-ranging mix of Unitarian Universalist congregants, and their candidates range from a baker and microbrew master/pastor to a reverend who identifies as both a witch and an environmental warrior. Although she may have been ambivalent about joining the committee, Dana finds that she cares deeply about the fate of this institution and she will fight the entire committee, if necessary, to win the day for her side. This wry and wise tale will speak to anyone who has ever gone searching.
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