Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen, the complex first novel by Globe and Mail drama critic Kate Taylor, threads together three related stories. In one, Marie, a simultaneous translator from Montreal, escapes to Paris after a failed love affair, where she begins translating the diary of Marcel Proust's Jewish mother. The second thread consists of the fictional diary entries themselves, which are excellent evocations of the period, with Mme Proust in a constant state of anguish over the health of Marcel, her extravagant invalid son. The third element is the story of Sarah Bensimon, a 12-year-old girl sent by her Jewish family from Paris to Toronto for safekeeping during the Second World War.