While the language might seem stilted to some, I wonder what was meant by "over edited." Spencer, you seem to love the cheap shot, but of course you're a country club chef in Memphis. See what I mean? Coulld you put some substance behind that inane remark? I had no problem with the detached way in which Pepin delivered his story. His life was quite exceptional and I was glad to hear his story without being subjected to emotional pleas or poetic embelishments. I found it a good job of reporting. While I had no trouble putting the book down to attend to things I had to do, I was eager to pick it up again each time and finished the book in a few days. Over edited means, to me: simplistic sentence structure and descriptive terms that do not feel as if the author came up with them on his own. When you say detached: I think that detached is part of the problem for me. I know he's a chef and not a writer but this is, after all, a book and not a meal. The stories were related with a minimum of emotion. They felt like a stock that was missing the bouquet garni.