toyaalex's review against another edition
3.0
Got this on Amazon because it was on Kindle unlimited and the cover looked nice. If I didn't listen to the audio of the book I prob wouldn't have finished it.
chaiteaolg's review against another edition
2.0
unlikeable protagonist, family drama and cultural trauma, just like me
nakedsushi's review against another edition
3.0
A decent vacation read set in Singapore. Much more enjoyable than the last book I read set in that country. Very predictable but a fun read.
shuzhens's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this, Gretchen is far from perfect but very real. Some of the themes resonated - adjusting to home after a long absence, and realizing that your parents are not young any more, for example.
jeskaness's review against another edition
2.0
The soy sauce heritage was very interesting and enjoyable. Gretchen, on the other hand, was infuriating and made me not want to finish the book.
georgie_nicks's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read to learn more about Singapore and its culture, bit of a generic back story for the main character though.
cheuksin's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- Interesting small introduction to Singapore culture
Spoiler
What happened between Paul and Sumiko?- Did Paul actually have a fetish for east-Asian women?
- I feel like we’ve to easily push past the fact he started a relationship with his 21 year old research assistant/student, and the power imbalance there “His page listed his name, the introductory class he taught at Berkeley, and a single posting: “Pretty cool dude, but flirts with female students.””
- Some parts were written too fast paced especially
Spoiler
Gretchen’s ‘relationship’ with James - I hated the way Gretchen treated Frankie, just because Frankie doesn’t derive all her self worth from a relationship with a man i.e shaming her for not going on dates
- Considering the title is soy sauce for beginners, I thought there would be at least one scene of someone cooking with the soy sauce (besides the soy braised peanuts mention)
- Gretchen is an ugly name
- Gretchen also isn’t likeable or hateable
- Categorically subpar