Review: Sunday Brunch with the World Maker

Sunday Brunch with the World Maker by Stefan Stenudd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Drawn by an old love affair with the city of many faces the author travels to New York with the intent of having the world famous Sunday brunch at the Waldorf Astoria. Having been, among other things, a food critic for a dozen or so years, he can't help himself but to ponder upon what he will think of it this second time around. Upon entering the Peacock Alley of the Waldorf Astoria he is first lead to a table near the kitchen but then the waitress halts herself in her tracks and offers a table at a much nicer setting. As he settles himself with a first glass of champagne a beautiful young man in a perfectly fitted Armani suit approaches and asks to sit down. Introductions made and glasses filled the young man beckons the author to guide them through the buffet, something he agrees to do - And so, truly, begins the Sunday Brunch with The World Maker.

This is a book of ideas - no no, let me try again. This is a book of religion - bah, rubbish. This is a book of Magick - no no no, that won’t cut it. This is a book of the Way - no it can’t be. This is a book of the Art - yes that’s it - Art it is.

To the author everything worth anything is Art at a level perhaps few would appreciate. The food is the anchor for the story as he and “Cael”, his mysterious companion, eat their way through the grandeur of the Sunday Brunch. Texture, taste and combinations thereof are a topic of conversation, a trip through many memories and entry points for the discussions of mind, time and the creation of everything. As the story progress and more and more of what really is going on is revealed the reader is led in circles within circles delving deeper and deeper in to the cosmology of mind and art. The lines between fact and fiction blurs and makes great fun of of the ever sceptical protagonists attempts to reveal the obviously fraudulent young man sitting before him.

This is one of those books I will carry with me and it is one of those books that kind of expands after it is finished. It progresses and extends and that is truly a gift in itself alas one that is rare. It is one of those books that should be read more so if you are in need of some art and a tad of food porn thrown in the mix - get it - you won’t regret it.


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