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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Not very often am I hooked from the first line, but Eddie Huang did just that. This was definitely the most exciting, enticing, and hilarious memoir I've read this year. Eddie recounts his childhood as an American born Chinese and all the cultural differences between him and "normal" Americans. In this country it can be tough to be different; Eddie recounts the experiences bringing "stinky" Chinese food to school, getting in fights, relating to hip hop, and having to deal with stereotypes. Times were tough in high school and college, but he was an exceptional student so even though he got into a lot of trouble, teachers saw potential in him and helped him as much as they could. Although he finished law school he still wasn't happy; not until he opened up his own restaurant in New York did Eddie feel he made it and felt like a true American, living the dream.
Listening to the audiobook was a real treat, as it was narrated by the author himself. Eddie has a hilarious and yet serious narration of his memoir, plus has the ability to start yelling in Chinese when he's describing his mother (hilarious). This is a great book for everyone. There is stuff for foodies, hip hop aficionados, American minorities, sports fans, memoir junkies and more. Truly a great read!
Listening to the audiobook was a real treat, as it was narrated by the author himself. Eddie has a hilarious and yet serious narration of his memoir, plus has the ability to start yelling in Chinese when he's describing his mother (hilarious). This is a great book for everyone. There is stuff for foodies, hip hop aficionados, American minorities, sports fans, memoir junkies and more. Truly a great read!
I was not familiar with Huang before I started Fresh Off the Boat, but I'm looking forward to reading more from him. He's hilarious, insightful, and a unique voice.
I tend to be extremely wary of one star reviews, because a book would have to be insanely awful for me to give it a one-star review; even more so if I had received it as a Goodreads giveaway. I'm especially wary of those who think they're being "cute" by placing the book on a book shelf with an insulting name. People just love to share their bad opinions, especially if the book is actually good (86% of 1998 readers here who liked this book can't all be wrong). Eddie Huang has written a provocative book. There is a lot of foul language, slang, and brutal honesty in it's pages. Don't be put off by his Hip-Hop vernacular. Fresh Off The Boat is a very entertaining read. Eddie Huang is not squeamish in writing about racism in America, politics, family issues, and food. Some parts are absolutely hilarious, some parts heartbreaking, and many parts, very raw and disturbing. While American-born, Eddie describes himself as an "internationalist" and one who has never "subscribed" to America which is understandable for one who has been called a Chink, laughed at because of his family, or because of the food he ate, or one who lost out on his first job interview simply because of the way he looked, i.e., "Asian". Since 9/11 Eddie, who lives in NYC, says that someone has told him to go back to China at least three times a year. Overall, I found this to be as a well-rounded book about a Chinese-American kid and his rise to fame as a chef in a New York East Side neighborhood restaurant, called Baohaus. Don't be put off by spiteful reviews by trolls here.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I got as far as the third chapter and gave up because I couldn't get interested in this book. It wasn't funny at all, and the story jumped from one subject to another in a disconnected way.
I’m all for people making sense of their identity and owning it in racist, xenophobic America. Huang does that and more in this foodie memoir that is about coming of age with hip hop, basketball, football, and Chinese school. His Taiwanese parents are a huge influence and he becomes a bad boy for his tween and teen years in part because of the abuse he gets at home. I look forward to watching his standup and his show by the same title.
I like memoirs. I often read them. I thought I would like this one. It had great reviews but after a few chapters I realized it wasn't for me. I kept reading partly because my kids had a summer challenge to read things out of the comfort zone, and read about other experiences. By the end, I was really, really tired of Eddie's voice. He drifts from recalling the great days of selling drugs to frat boys, to how smart he nearly always is. He admits to many life errors but still never stops patting himself on the back. I never think it's funny. He clearly is smart to overcome the stupidity of his youth, make it through law school to having a successful restaurant, to selling the book rights to TV. I just don't like the book, or him.
I opted to read this book after hearing about the TV show, Fresh Off the Boat. I checked out the show, thought it was funny, and saw that it was based on this memoir by a celebrity chef. I bought the book instantly because I was curious to read about how another Asian American grew up here. There are a lot of things that rang true for me as an Asian American (or Pacific Islander if you want to get technical), but also just things I felt I could relate to in this book. There was a lot of it that I couldn't (the violence, the fighting back, Eddie's OG dad, and a good chunk of the hip hop culture he adopts), so while I found the book entertaining overall, I sometimes got lost in the slang he used. On the whole, I don't know if I followed him all throughout the memoir, but I feel like I got the gist of how he grew up and learned to embrace who he is--even if it meant finding a different way to embrace his history and his culture. Overall, a quick/easy read that provides more depth than the show and encourages Asian Americans to be proud of who they are, where they came from, and to connect with their roots.
Listened to this on a road trip with John in Oregon - really great and funny, mostly coming-of-age in a Chinese American family story and then some food biz stuff at the end. Audiobook narration is excellent, author has a really clear 'voice' to his writing that comes through as he reads.
Passionate about race, food, and the bridge between cultures-Eddie Huang’s memoir is all the sauce. If you have seen award winning show based off this book, this is completely different and worth the read. Additionally, this book more aligns with Huang’s World in that it will make your mouth water as you see the world through a food lens.