Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen

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allisonwonderlandreads's review

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.0

I was intrigued by this book from the title alone, but when the opening pages not only drove home the focus on marginalized voices but also set out to interrogate the role of capitalism in erasing them, I was sold. It offers a deeply personal introduction that not only sets out the author's intentions with the book but also explains his role, decisions, and lens in approaching the topic. It's a book about collective food knowledge and the amazing accomplishments of seven immigrant women, in particular.

In the book's collected essays, readers are invited to see the women's journeys as chefs alongside their experiences as immigrants in the United States. It touches on the way each fought against white American views of their home countries' cuisines, the struggles to find success in a food culture that doesn't welcome them or only does with a patronizing tone, and the way identity, artistry, and commercial pressures influenced their careers. It's a fascinating read centering impressive women.

The author decided to only rarely use direct quotes or sources in the narrative itself to leave the reader's focus on the chefs themselves. While I respect that purpose, the anthropologist in me would have enjoyed more context to the information to allow interrogation of the different viewpoints that filter the information provided. Also, he chose to focus on food-related events in the subjects' lives to keep the narrative focused on their careers. I think more personal details (where available) would have added color and context to each accomplishment and given a clearer view of each woman's personality and lived-in experiences. Finally, I appreciated the analysis offered in the introduction but didn't always see it carried through the essays themselves. For example, I couldn't help but notice how many of the women discovered a love for cooking first in the necessity of cooking for a husband early in marriage. The tension there is intriguing and meaningful, and I think with the book's stated anti-capitalist stance, there was an opportunity there to examine how this unpaid women's labor translated into financial success later on and a powerful form of self-expression and joy.

This is a carefully researched but concise read about some amazing women and larger trends in food in America that span their different stories. I found it informative and powerful. 
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