The Australian cover

This vibrant cover – which neatly catches the East-West charms and tensions central to the book and looks to me like it will “pop” right off the shelf – is the classy work of my Australian publisher, Allen & Unwin. Their edition is due out in Australia on December 1st, and we all hope it will fill many a Christmas stocking.

But there is an interesting back story here. When I first did the deal with the Australian house last winter, the outfit’s urbane publisher, Annette Barlow, immediately contacted me via email and established a personal rapport. Pretty neat. But the demands of the US and UK launch were soon absorbing my attention, and I quickly forgot about Australia.

A couple of weeks ago, however, I noticed the book trade press Down Under was reporting that The Hundred-Foot Journey was garnering “early buzz.” That was in no small part because Allen & Unwin’s chief executive, Robert Gorman, was making the rounds in Australia and New Zealand and personally talking up my book and predicting it would be among “the next big titles.” Then, this last weekend, Allen & Unwin’s chairman, Peter Gallagher, added his personal twist by sending me a charming email, about “how delighted I am that we’re publishing this wonderful book, and that all the early signs are looking so promising.”

These sort of bespoke touches are not exactly common place in the publishing industry, and this Forbes-trained scribbler instantly said a silent prayer of thanks. It was clear I was in the hands of some world class publishing talent.

But the reporter in me was also retaining a healthy dose of skepticism. Was this “buzz” they were talking about real or imagined? My answer came, out-of-the-blue, from Scott Whitmont from Lindfield Bookshop, an independent bookseller in the northern suburbs of Sydney. This Australian bookseller reached out half way across the globe because he wanted me to see the advance review he was sending his local customers:

“Squeeze this evocative novel too hard and charm will ooze from its pages. Not since Major Pettigrew or Mr. Rosenblum has a fictional character become such a friend from whom I simply did not want to part.” After recounting the book’s basic plot, Whitmont writes, “Without giving more of the story away, we are led on the most delightful culinary journey which rivals that of Nicole Mones’’s The Last Chinese Chef. Aromas seem to exude their ways from the book’s pages into the reader’s’ nostrils in a fashion that I have not experienced since reading Patrick Suskind’’s Perfume. Who can resist a novel which encompasses overcoming adversity; following one’s goals and dreams; destiny; rivalry; love; family; mentoring; friendship and life’’s passions? All lovers of superb characters, astounding food and sublime story-telling will welcome The Hundred-Foot Journey, which will, I predict, be the number one gift novel this holiday season. Like me, you’’ll just want all your loved ones to read it.“

I must confess, after all the support I have received in Australia – from Allen & Unwin to this big-hearted bookseller – I was more than ready to jump on a plane when Whitmont finished his generous email with the remark, “I do hope that you might consider touring Australia so that the many fans you will inevitably have here can meet you.”