estefaniavelez's review
2.0
If I, too, believed women were only good for sex and elevating my status as a self-hating pick me, I would love this book!
emilayday's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Melancholy and depressing read, but at least the language was evocative.
Spoiler
Not one but two deaths, no real plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
keyatlas's review
4.0
This would probably count as my introduction to the East Asian immigrant experience subgenre, and I was certainly pleased that this book in fact picked me in the Oxfam bookshop, or was serendipitously handed to me at least.
I felt the first part of the story had a solid build-up. It had all the right elements for what felt like an accurate portrayal of the emotional numbness that comes with the unending internal struggle of being stuck between appropriating cultures. This numbness that Sterling feels, as an American-born Chinese, was not void of feeling or empathy but a result of accepting that his life has always elicited disappointment in other people.
However, subsequent parts of the novel give us the bigger picture and a satisfying backstory but for some reason I was always hoping that the story would segue back to the atmosphere of Sterling's premarital life. Instead, things became grimmer with every page as the general theme of the book became more about advanced alienation and detachment than about merely not being able to meet all sorts of expectations preordained by your loved ones.
Reading this evokes clear images to the mind, aided by the author's/protagonist's enthusiasm for sublime culinary experiences. Contrasting Chinese and (Jewish-)American culture through food serves as a natural metaphor for describing belonging and identity, and this was done very tastefully.
I felt the first part of the story had a solid build-up. It had all the right elements for what felt like an accurate portrayal of the emotional numbness that comes with the unending internal struggle of being stuck between appropriating cultures. This numbness that Sterling feels, as an American-born Chinese, was not void of feeling or empathy but a result of accepting that his life has always elicited disappointment in other people.
However, subsequent parts of the novel give us the bigger picture and a satisfying backstory but for some reason I was always hoping that the story would segue back to the atmosphere of Sterling's premarital life. Instead, things became grimmer with every page as the general theme of the book became more about advanced alienation and detachment than about merely not being able to meet all sorts of expectations preordained by your loved ones.
Reading this evokes clear images to the mind, aided by the author's/protagonist's enthusiasm for sublime culinary experiences. Contrasting Chinese and (Jewish-)American culture through food serves as a natural metaphor for describing belonging and identity, and this was done very tastefully.
bachtalking's review
4.0
A really interesting Asian American read about a first generation Chinese male who gets conflicted between his desire to branch away from his ethnicity as a cook and take on a life as an American. It's an explicit and vulnerable read that pokes at many challenges faced by early generation Asian Americans, particularly those that are the first born in the US. One of the few books in its genre that I could not put down the second I opened it, very much close to home in more than one way.
keyatlas's review against another edition
4.0
This would probably count as my introduction to the East Asian immigrant experience subgenre, and I was certainly pleased that this book in fact picked me in the Oxfam bookshop, or was serendipitously handed to me at least.
I felt the first part of the story had a solid build-up. It had all the right elements for what felt like an accurate portrayal of the emotional numbness that comes with the unending internal struggle of being stuck between appropriating cultures. This numbness that Sterling feels, as an American-born Chinese, was not void of feeling or empathy but a result of accepting that his life has always elicited disappointment in other people.
However, subsequent parts of the novel give us the bigger picture and a satisfying backstory but for some reason I was always hoping that the story would segue back to the atmosphere of Sterling's premarital life. Instead, things became grimmer with every page as the general theme of the book became more about advanced alienation and detachment than about merely not being able to meet all sorts of expectations preordained by your loved ones.
Reading this evokes clear images to the mind, aided by the author's/protagonist's enthusiasm for sublime culinary experiences. Contrasting Chinese and (Jewish-)American culture through food serves as a natural metaphor for describing belonging and identity, and this was done very tastefully.
I felt the first part of the story had a solid build-up. It had all the right elements for what felt like an accurate portrayal of the emotional numbness that comes with the unending internal struggle of being stuck between appropriating cultures. This numbness that Sterling feels, as an American-born Chinese, was not void of feeling or empathy but a result of accepting that his life has always elicited disappointment in other people.
However, subsequent parts of the novel give us the bigger picture and a satisfying backstory but for some reason I was always hoping that the story would segue back to the atmosphere of Sterling's premarital life. Instead, things became grimmer with every page as the general theme of the book became more about advanced alienation and detachment than about merely not being able to meet all sorts of expectations preordained by your loved ones.
Reading this evokes clear images to the mind, aided by the author's/protagonist's enthusiasm for sublime culinary experiences. Contrasting Chinese and (Jewish-)American culture through food serves as a natural metaphor for describing belonging and identity, and this was done very tastefully.
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