Review of The Art of Entertaining

[Vanessa Alobo]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Art of Entertaining" by Maggie Fleming.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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I have always wanted to read a book on entertaining guests. The Art of Entertaining was a good entry into this genre of literature. It was a quick and easy read. Maggie Fleming did a commendable job of covering all the essential events that most people would need assistance with.

The book was filled with many considerations that people would neglect to do. On page 10, Maggie Fleming reminds the reader to have gluten-free food for guests who may have allergies. This is a piece of advice many hosts, including myself, would forget. Another wonderful piece of advice is found on page 13. Our four-legged friends can easily and quickly become invisible during our social gatherings. Remembering something as simple as putting a bandana around your dog's neck when attending a tailgate party will make them feel included.

Nevertheless, The Art of Entertaining felt a bit distant. The author should have added some personal anecdotes to make the book more relatable. This would have also allowed me to see how applying her tips has worked for her as a host. Providing readers with a personal touch would have made even generic tips feel authentic and new. I also took issue with the repetitive phrasing used when detailing different tips. This made it seem as if the author wasn’t truly passionate about the topic and struggled to find interesting comments to make
about each tip.

I give the book a rating of three out of five. Although it was an easy and quick read, it didn’t have any groundbreaking tips that would make me want to reference the book. Most of the good tips in The Art of Entertaining weren’t anything new or groundbreaking. I found a few tips interesting such as couples walking around to greet guests at their reception (on page 25). The book had little gems but overall it lacked relatability and originality. A point of commendation is the fact that the book lacked any objective errors. This is rare for most books.

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The Art of Entertaining
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