"One August day, months after the fallout of her marriage, a heart-shaped cake tin fell at Bee Wilson's feet. Not just any cake tin -- the one she had used to bake her wedding cake twenty-three years ago. This sudden discovery strikes a wave of emotion that will steer her on a sprawling exploration of kitchen objects and our emotional responses to them. Wilson finds others who have also invested objects with strong meanings and emotions, discovering the ways in which kitchen utensils can become symbols of love and friendship, steadfast household companions, tools of whimsy and joy, and even emblems of political resistance. From a grandmother's prized china collection to a Ukrainian kitchen cabinet which withstood Russian bombing to Queen Elizabeth I's penchant for sieves, Wilson explores how we attach profound meanings to spoons and pots, whisks and washing-up bowls, and, ultimately, how they impact our memories and emotional well-being. The central heart-shaped tin, in the end, becomes a moving reminder of the power of new beginnings. Crossing continents, cultures, and time periods, Wilson weaves her own experiences into a wider narrative that reaches back to the earliest human civilizations. Thoughtful, sharp, and beautifully written, The Heart-Shaped Tin is a profoundly moving examination of our relationship to the physical world -- and the people around us -- in an increasingly rational and secular age"-- Provided by publisher.
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