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Fresh Off the Boatby: Eddie Huang
New York City NY:
Ppiegel and Gram Trade Paperbacks 2013, $15.00, Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8335-7
Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Fall Volume: 2017 Issue: 24(3) page(s): 20
This book has no
recipes; and is not
a cookbook. It
is often funny, a
provocative true
tale and memoir of
a Chinese-American
boy growing up and
trying to fit in, but does not. He finds himself in a
stifling culture and not fitting in any level nor any time.
As the son of a brash intense restauranteur father, both
have a passion for food as this son seek different ways
to seek it. Like his dad, he eventually becomes a chef
and a restauranteur finding his place in society, though
not really saying so. From boyhood through manhood, he tells of trials and
tribulations growing up. This memoir of his living a
continent away from his heritage, a brash youngster
who does not fit in, does show him loving his family and
friends, always searching for things including the perfect
dumpling. He functions better as he ages, continues his
search often unaware he is doing so. Reading his trials is sometime a belly laugh, often a tale of
his tribulations. This book and its tales reflect his anger.
It is anything but about a kid from a model minority as
he shares his inability to cope in an environment he
does not seem able to deal with. Reading what he goes
through is delving into his anger more than his ethnicity
as he tries to adjust to his new environment. The book ends abruptly hardly learning about his
becoming an American, a cook, or a restaurateur; so
does this review! |
