The Telling Room

The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese (2013) by Michael Paterniti. In the quaint village of Guzman, Spain, in a cave dug into the hillside on the edge of town, an ancient door leads to a cramped limestone chamber known as "the telling room." This is where villagers have gathered for centuries to share their stories and secrets -- usually accompanied by copious amounts of wine. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti found himself listening to a larger-than-life Spanish cheesemaker named Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras as he spun an odd and compelling tale about a piece of cheese. It was a special piece of cheese, made from an old family recipe, and was reputed to be among the finest in the world. But then, after Ambrosio had developed his cheese and expanded production to sell it worldwide, everything went terribly wrong. This book, equal parts mystery and memoir, travelogue and history, is an astonishing work of literary nonfiction which you will not soon forget. Grade: A-