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bellawoo's review
3.0
Pro-tip: listen to the audiobook, which is ready by Huang. He even breaks the fourth-wall and speaks to the listener directly at certain parts.
I didn't care for the last quarter of the book when he opens up Baohaus, even though that's what he's known for. But the anecdotes and references from his childhood were so spot on for me. I am an Asian-American raised in San Francisco, a city with a large Asian population, most of which are Chinese. Huang was mostly raised as an ethnic minority in Florida. He is almost a generation older than me. His family owned their businesses, which worked with and for non-AAPIs. Mine worked for businesses that catered to the AAPI immigrant populations. Despite these environmental and situational differences, I was delighted to learn that our experiences ran parallel in so many ways, that maybe there is a shared Chinese-American experience.
Reading through some of the critical reviews on Goodreads, I'll just say one thing... they were mostly by white people. He voices opinions about whiteness and cultural appropriation that so many of us share but are afraid to say out loud. Maybe you didn't relate to him because you can't, but that doesn't invalidate him and his experiences. Some of us were really baffled the first time we had tuna salad sandwiches. Some of us connect more to Wu Tang Clan than Dave Matthews Band (I will always remember the first time I realized people actually listened to DMB and that they weren't .99 cent bin has-beens). And some of us are angry.
I didn't care for the last quarter of the book when he opens up Baohaus, even though that's what he's known for. But the anecdotes and references from his childhood were so spot on for me. I am an Asian-American raised in San Francisco, a city with a large Asian population, most of which are Chinese. Huang was mostly raised as an ethnic minority in Florida. He is almost a generation older than me. His family owned their businesses, which worked with and for non-AAPIs. Mine worked for businesses that catered to the AAPI immigrant populations. Despite these environmental and situational differences, I was delighted to learn that our experiences ran parallel in so many ways, that maybe there is a shared Chinese-American experience.
Reading through some of the critical reviews on Goodreads, I'll just say one thing... they were mostly by white people. He voices opinions about whiteness and cultural appropriation that so many of us share but are afraid to say out loud. Maybe you didn't relate to him because you can't, but that doesn't invalidate him and his experiences. Some of us were really baffled the first time we had tuna salad sandwiches. Some of us connect more to Wu Tang Clan than Dave Matthews Band (I will always remember the first time I realized people actually listened to DMB and that they weren't .99 cent bin has-beens). And some of us are angry.
erinthelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
This was a near perfect memoir. I love to glimpse into other people's lives and view the world through their eyes, ears and experiences. Eddie Huang is a unique, fascinating, and brilliant person. His Chinese/Taiwanese American roots, his family, his friends, his socio-economic shifting and his experience of food makes for a full realized and fucking hilarious read. Huang's love and expression of hip-hop culture is so intoxicating and clearly evoked with his generous use of slang and colloquial phrases throughout the book as well. His thoughts and experiences on race, diversity and the "American" experience are great reading - it's a wonderful combination of light and heavy with profound insights popping up throughout irreverent riffs on weed, culture, food and music. I just want to get to Bauhaus after 11:00pm to experience the hotbox before he moves on to his next adventure.
serenabereading's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really great listen. I only knew Eddie Huang as the dude the show Fresh Off the Boat was based on so this was an eye opener. I never knew he had a restaurant(s), was a lawyer, street wear designer, comedian, and got into all of that trouble as a kid. We're the same age (shout out to us xennials) so the music references really got me. There were some tough moments hearing about how bad the fighting between his mother and father got and there were times were his dad sounded like a straight up A hole. It was also tough listening to how horrible the kids at his school were to him, calling him racist names. This also made me hungry. Hope I can go to Baohaus one of these days.
lori85's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely recommend the audiobook. Huang himself does the narration, which puts the extensive amount of hip-hop slang he uses (which some reviews complain about) in proper expressive context. I'm only three years younger than him and very much identified with his '90s childhood.
chefannette's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think I'm the intended audience... Too old, white and female... I appreciate his passion for food and enjoyed the cultural revelations but the tone and language were a bit much even for a 20 yr veteran of urban restaurant kitchens. Only made it to page 119 before had to return to library... Probably won't finish.
lexish00's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to read this because I watched the sitcom and enjoyed it. Coming as a shock to no one, the ABC sitcom is HIGHLY sanitized! Yet even though the show gave us an unrealistically wholesome family, I found that the real narrator Eddie Huang was still wholesome. Just different. The family he described is often abusive and dismissive, supportive of some things and entirely uncaring in others. He completely eschews a black and white story and doesn’t easily fit in a box. And for that, I love him. He gives us the good and the bad and is unapologetic.
He’s also sometimes a bit full of himself, but it’s mostly entertaining IMO. The book does get a bit repetitive, how many stories about smoking weed do I need to get the point? But I’m a sucker for complicated origin stories so overall I liked it!
He’s also sometimes a bit full of himself, but it’s mostly entertaining IMO. The book does get a bit repetitive, how many stories about smoking weed do I need to get the point? But I’m a sucker for complicated origin stories so overall I liked it!
d2mfc's review against another edition
3.0
Really liked it. And can't ever be mad at someone who stood their ground and stays fighting for what's right and what they believe in.