⚠ This review contains a spoiler.
It tells a story of Tan de Bakery, which had been shut down, along with its loyal, older staff. As I mentioned in the image above, Tansen, a free-spirited guy hustling through random gigs, suddenly inherits a new family member named Madre—from a total stranger he doesn't even know. That’s when his whole family history starts to unfold. Coming from Bali, Tansen has to go to Jakarta and learn how to take care of Madre. The name Madre comes from Spanish, meaning “Mother,” and was “born” in 1941.
Tansen initially plans to give Madre to Pak Hadi or Mei—a reader of his blog—while he just wants to go back to Bali and continue his life. But his mind changes; he starts to take care of Madre… and the whole family.
This story is light, a page-turner, and full of insight! When I finished reading the prose in the third part, I was like—wait, that’s not a part of Madre? That’s it? Madre is over already?ðŸ˜.
Also, one new thing I learnt: yeast can be preserved for years, unlike yogurt, which seems like it can’t last that long. There’s a quote in the book: “Kalau dirawat dengan benar, banyak hal di dunia ini yang makin tua makin berharga. Makin hidup dan malah makin enak".
Some of the other stories in this book are also interesting, but Madre is definitely the one you can’t skip—especially if you’re a bread lover. 5/5 for Madre, and 3.5/5 for the book.