zhzhang's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely love this book. The author's writing is so beautiful as well as thought-provoking that I want to finish it all at once but also want to keep reading it. As an immigrant myself, I feel connected in a lot of parts that mentioned by the author. For his family, food brings all of them together. The lady who took care of his grandfather is the key of the family, I feel. The chapter that the author and the lady went back to hometown is the most impressive. Great read!
dray's review against another edition
3.0
Well worth reading, spanning the time period from pre ww2 until recently, the story is a nuanced look into the jewish immigrant from Russia experience, with food a main focus.
abookishtype's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite kind of family memoir is one that is as much about food as it is about the people and their experiences. Years ago, I read and loved Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, by Anya von Bremzen. I’ve been hunting around for something similar since. When I read an excerpt from Savage Feast, in which Boris Fishman discusses the mix of smugness and shame he feels when he is the person on a plane with dozens of tinfoil bundles of profoundly garlicky food, I knew I needed to read the rest of the memoir. Like von Bremzen, Fishman offers recipes and memories from Russian history. He adds his own journey through cultural schizophrenia, heartbreak, and depression to acceptance and love along with the memories and recipes. Like all good food-based memoirs, this one made me hungry; I flagged a few of the recipes to try out in my kitchen...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
sophierayton's review
3.0
I had no idea who the author was, nor was I familiar or particularly interested in Russian history and cooking, and yet, this was recommended on a podcast so I thought I'd give it a go and thought it was really good. I learned a lot and had fun while doing so.
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