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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Finished the audiobook between LA and New Mexico! Highly entertaining.
I have watched the show and like it and am really disappointed that it is nothing like the book. I understand that the book is the way the author is but all the swearing really bothered me. To be honest I actually read it for the food.
Huang is a good writer. Is his voice one that I enjoy or relate to? Not really. But I can appreciate where he is coming from.
When I enjoy him the most is when he talks about AsiAm issues and race and racism and thoughts and ideas. That is when Huang comes alive to me. Possibly because those are the things I also care about.
Otherwise, despite also being Taiwanese American, I have a hard time relating to his life. His metaphors of hip-hop and basketball and food are not things I am deep enough into or obsessed with so a lot of it fell flat.
But I am glad I read this book and will consider reading his other one.
When I enjoy him the most is when he talks about AsiAm issues and race and racism and thoughts and ideas. That is when Huang comes alive to me. Possibly because those are the things I also care about.
Otherwise, despite also being Taiwanese American, I have a hard time relating to his life. His metaphors of hip-hop and basketball and food are not things I am deep enough into or obsessed with so a lot of it fell flat.
But I am glad I read this book and will consider reading his other one.
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Okay, so I have mixed feelings about this one.
Fresh of the Boat is heralded at Rollins College, my alma mater, as must-read material. The school probably partly does this to fight back against its stereotype as a country club for white kids, or maybe it does it to prove that it can produce an author/individual worthy of publication. Who knows.
That said, this book had its moments and its shortcomings. Like many of the reviewers, I picked up on the somewhat hypocritical racism. Huang is quick to criticize white people for racist behavior but dishes out quite a bit of his own, including racism against other Asians. I appreciate that when you're the subject of multiple setbacks stemming from racism, you have the right (100%) to call people out on it. But to then turn around and make the same kind of comments against the people in your own culture seems callous and terribly hypocritical. That said, I'm not in Huang's shoes, and don't know the challenges that come with not truly belonging fully to any culture.
Beyond that, this book does have quite a few strong points. Huang does an excellent job of opening up to the reader (which is one of the reasons I slowly adjusted to the inherent hypocrisy). To become that vulnerable to an audience must be terrifying, especially when it comes to opening up about acceptance and social assimilation.
Huang walks us through not only his childhood, which was a marriage of two cultures but also his adult life. By the end of this book, you will have an appreciation for any person (first or second generation) that comes to this country and lays down a foundation. Selfishly, one of the reasons I picked up this book was because I wanted to have a deeper understanding of the challenges an Asian immigrant can face in this country.
Going to China next year prompted me to learn more about the relationships between our two countries as well as where the cultures meet. On that note, Huang does an excellent job of weaving Chinese tradition with an American childhood. He does effectively call out existing stereotypes about Asian-Americans. And, perhaps best of all, he highlights the way two cultures can meet.
Fresh of the Boat is heralded at Rollins College, my alma mater, as must-read material. The school probably partly does this to fight back against its stereotype as a country club for white kids, or maybe it does it to prove that it can produce an author/individual worthy of publication. Who knows.
That said, this book had its moments and its shortcomings. Like many of the reviewers, I picked up on the somewhat hypocritical racism. Huang is quick to criticize white people for racist behavior but dishes out quite a bit of his own, including racism against other Asians. I appreciate that when you're the subject of multiple setbacks stemming from racism, you have the right (100%) to call people out on it. But to then turn around and make the same kind of comments against the people in your own culture seems callous and terribly hypocritical. That said, I'm not in Huang's shoes, and don't know the challenges that come with not truly belonging fully to any culture.
Beyond that, this book does have quite a few strong points. Huang does an excellent job of opening up to the reader (which is one of the reasons I slowly adjusted to the inherent hypocrisy). To become that vulnerable to an audience must be terrifying, especially when it comes to opening up about acceptance and social assimilation.
Huang walks us through not only his childhood, which was a marriage of two cultures but also his adult life. By the end of this book, you will have an appreciation for any person (first or second generation) that comes to this country and lays down a foundation. Selfishly, one of the reasons I picked up this book was because I wanted to have a deeper understanding of the challenges an Asian immigrant can face in this country.
Going to China next year prompted me to learn more about the relationships between our two countries as well as where the cultures meet. On that note, Huang does an excellent job of weaving Chinese tradition with an American childhood. He does effectively call out existing stereotypes about Asian-Americans. And, perhaps best of all, he highlights the way two cultures can meet.
If you had told me that the memoir of a foul-mouthed, hip-hop loving, delinquent Taiwanese-American restaurateur would speak to my soul, I probably would've laughed in your face. This book has made me think about my relationship with my parents, my heritage, and my POC peers (especially my fellow second-generation immigrant peers). I don't necessarily agree with everything in this book, and I get the feeling the author would not like me if he were to meet me, but the book really resonated with me. Also it was very, very funny.
Pretty much one of the worst biographies I've ever read. After chapter 1, I would have rated it 4 stars on here. Half way through, 2 stars. By the end, one star. I kept thinking it would get better. It never got better.
A fun coming-of-age memoir with lots of hip-hop culture. When reading, make sure to get out your 90s mixtapes because you will not understand half of what's Eddie's talking about without the references. Amazing food descriptions, family drama, and just crazy kid antics as Eddie tells us about trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to be when he grows up.
Incredible memoir about growing up in an Asian American immigrant family. It's full of hip hop, basketball references and food talk, which is hardly up my alley, but it's very engaging. He has such a bravado that's very honest, down to earth and approachable. I am glad I listened to audio book, since I wouldn't have been able to pronounce half the names. Plus he actually laughs at his own jokes.