Local Author with International Reach: Marc Fitten Presents New Novel at Carter Library

Having graduated high school and college and still residing locally, Marc Fitten is truly an Atlanta author.

The few youthful years he spent in Eastern Europe, however, defined him as a writer.

Europe also gave Fitten his wife, his subject matter for his fiction and, for his debut novel at least, Europe provided Fitten his greatest audience.

In 2009, Valeria's Last Stand was a bestseller in several European countries, and while the author's allegorical, sensual books have not yet found a wide readership in the US, critics have certainly taken notice.

The Los Angeles Times' Eric Miles Williamson even compared Fitten's work to Melville, Hawthorne, Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy. Time Out in New York focused on its "fairy-tale charm." The bestselling author of Serena, Ron Rash, even found hints of Chaucer's Wife of Bath.

On Wednesday, July 11, at 7 p.m. Fitten reads from, discusses and signs copies of his follow-up novel, Elza's Kitchen, at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

The new book's title character has a little restaurant in the Hungarian city of Delibab, cooking quality versions of her country's classics and serving them with a smile. But lately her smile has become tired. She is weary of serving the same customers the same dishes, and the loveless affair with her sous-chef is now an irritation.

With her country in a state of transition from communism to capitalism, Elza embarks upon her own change. She decides to woo The Critic, one of the harshest, most powerful restaurant columnists in Europe, in the hope of landing a glowing review that will push her above the competition. But as relationships in the kitchen sour, the food threatens to turn with them, and not even Elza's strained composure can prevent the chaos that seems fated to engulf her.

Filled with charm and humor, Elza's Kitchen is a wonderful celebration of culture and cuisine, serving up all the heat, sensual delights and rich atmosphere of the restaurant itself. Resisting the comfortable pattern of her old life, Elza finds that true joy - and love - can be hidden in the most surprising of places.

The event is free and open to the public. A Cappella Books will have copies of Elza's Kitchen for sale in the library lobby.

The Carter Library is located at 441 Freedom Parkway NE.

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