roseltov's review against another edition
4.75
On a practical level, as a vegetarian, it was hard to listen to all the seafood descriptions - of which there are a lot. But they are totally integral to the book, and there’s no way it would have been as real without them.
Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Abortion
miggyfool's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Moderate: Abortion and Emotional abuse
rieviolet's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the way food was a focal point throughout the narration, how its connection with one's cultural heritage was so strongly and beautifully illustrated. It really prompted me to reflect on the food I've grown up with and its significance for my own selfhood.
The linguist in me also really appreciated the lovely reflections on language and on a mother tongue.
The writing style was just *chef's kiss*. There were so many passages that I kept re-reading thinking to myself "How could she manage to capture this feeling with such poignant words and turn of phrases?", I was just floored.
My mother had struggled to understand me just as I struggled to understand her. Thrown as we were on opposite sides of a fault line - generational, cultural, linguistic - we wandered lost without a reference point, each of us unintelligible to the other's expectations, until these past few years when we had just begun to unlock the mystery, carve the psychic space to accommodate each other, appreciate the differences between us, linger in our refracted commonalities. Then, what would have been the most fruitful years of understanding were cut violently short, and I was left alone to decipher the secrets of inheritance without its key.
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Excrement, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Addiction, Abortion, and Rape
seanajk's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Death, Medical content, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Excrement
Minor: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Abortion
smaber23's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Drug use, Grief, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Abandonment, Abortion, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia