The Baker’s Alchemy by John Stephenson

Review by Robert Jones for the Blue Mountains Gazette:

Stephenson’s first opus, The Optimist, is based on the early years of the iconic Australian poet, Christopher Brennan.

The new novel, The Baker’s Alchemy, also has at its core the central themes of romance and difficult liaisons except, and with painstaking authentic detail, this book is set in Poland and weaves a dense story of magic laced with ancient European ‒ and specifically ‒ Polish beliefs and traditions.

This is a truly hilarious book, very well written and most enjoyable. I found myself reading aloud to my partner great slabs of Stephenson’s glorious prose, ripe with clever wit and marvellous word-play. Be warned, if you pick it up to read you honestly won’t be able to put it down. Like one of the baker’s piquant gingerbread men, it is a pure delight!