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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Clearly not for everyone, but hilarious for those who get it. Eddie is awesome!
This is the first book that I consumed entirely as an audiobook. This was a really difficult read but very enjoyable listen. It really appreciated the sharp and bold wit and the upfront honesty.
Eddie Huang tells his life story from childhood to starting his first restaurant in New York City. It is a transparent depiction of what is it like to be a first generation immigrant in America. He gives detailed accounts of his life in the DMV, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Taiwan and New York. His journey of finding himself, his ever wavering love for his family and culture and embracing his interests (hiphop, comedy and food).
He talks up his Bao game and he absolutely backs it up! Baohaus is one of the better culinary experiences in NYC!
Eddie Huang tells his life story from childhood to starting his first restaurant in New York City. It is a transparent depiction of what is it like to be a first generation immigrant in America. He gives detailed accounts of his life in the DMV, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Taiwan and New York. His journey of finding himself, his ever wavering love for his family and culture and embracing his interests (hiphop, comedy and food).
He talks up his Bao game and he absolutely backs it up! Baohaus is one of the better culinary experiences in NYC!
I listened to the audiobook of this and I'm glad I did because I think it would be hard to enjoy/appreciate how Huang speaks in written form. The thing I found most interesting was how many different things he has done in his life. Star chef, comedian, law school graduate, felon. He's been there and done that. It was a good reminder to me that even people who become very successful in one area are so much more than just that one thing.
This book offers a fascinating (and occasionally funny) look at the experiences of first- and second-generation Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants trying to make a life in Virginia and Florida in the 1980s and 1990s. But I was turned off by the author’s not-so-subtle misogyny (ironically often expressed in the same sentence in which he’s upbraiding Americans for their very rampant racism!) and his casual endorsement of retributive violence as a way to deal with the (very real) racism he encountered as a child and teenager. Wouldn’t recommend.
It was more personal memoir than food memoir. Eddie is young and energetic and impressed with his mastery of the language of the things he loves - rap music, street culture, sports, sneakers... His love for food comes up from time to time, but is not the focus. I was saddened by some of his misogynistic turns of phrase especially after recounting a self-directed education that indicates that he knows better.
As a Hulu enthusiast, I’ve been enjoying new shows, like ‘Fresh Off the Boat.’ When I found out it was based on a memoir, I knew I needed to read it. Please read that as ‘loosely’ based.
Eddie Huang tells of growing up and being raised by a family known as FOB (Fresh off the Boat) that is equals parts crazy and awesome. Eddie finds his place in the outcasts, his love of food and rap music distancing himself from the homogenized suburbs of 90s Florida almost as much as his looks. At home, Eddie is sometimes the ‘old son’ and sometimes the troublemaker. His father runs a restaurant and his mother runs his family. And after school, there’s college and then there’s the real world—Huang is honest and forthcoming about the highs and lows of this time. No matter how incriminating they may be. Perhaps the deeper message running through Fresh Off the Boat is one of empowerment for Asians and minorities of all kinds to step away from what’s expected of them and be themselves, no matter the cost.
While I am a huge fan of the comedic and family-oriented aspects of the show based on this book, please note that the ABC network show is VERY different from what Huang discusses in the darker parts of his book—from a father with a dark side (whom was considered a ‘G’ in homeland Taiwan and the Huang boys’ propensity for carrying knives and fighting. It’s a very Disney-sensitized form of the book—and I really enjoy both for different reasons.
I was intrigued to read a book from a First Born American (child of an immigrant), as I am the daughter of an immigrant. Life is much harder for Eddie than it was for me, but it is definitely hard to live up to old country expectations in the US. Eddie uses rap music and street gear (and a little knocking heads) to get his message across. A lot is placed on Eddie, but it would take almost thirty years for Eddie to follow a passion of his to ‘make it’ (as he had been often considered the black sheep of the family).
Reading this book made me re-live things in the 90s (especially rap) that I was not allowed to listen to—I was very sheltered when it came to music growing up (I could tell you there was a B.I.G. and a Tupac and they repped the East and West, respectively, but that was about it. And while I thought it was cute for my brothers to recite lyrics like ‘I Wanna see your tootsie roll’ or ‘I like it when you call me big poppa,’ I was way more into the alternative music scene.
As much as it sounds like Eddie is trying to be a gangster, he comes by it honestly—as his father’s experiences in Taiwan were pretty gang-laden. But whatever the case, Eddie details honest, gritty details about showing authenticity in the US when the cards are stacked against you. And readers will keep pulling for Eddie and will be pulling for him throughout reading the novel.
While I picked this up electronically, Fresh off the Boat is available at your favorite retailer in your favorite format. Pick it up today!’
Eddie Huang tells of growing up and being raised by a family known as FOB (Fresh off the Boat) that is equals parts crazy and awesome. Eddie finds his place in the outcasts, his love of food and rap music distancing himself from the homogenized suburbs of 90s Florida almost as much as his looks. At home, Eddie is sometimes the ‘old son’ and sometimes the troublemaker. His father runs a restaurant and his mother runs his family. And after school, there’s college and then there’s the real world—Huang is honest and forthcoming about the highs and lows of this time. No matter how incriminating they may be. Perhaps the deeper message running through Fresh Off the Boat is one of empowerment for Asians and minorities of all kinds to step away from what’s expected of them and be themselves, no matter the cost.
While I am a huge fan of the comedic and family-oriented aspects of the show based on this book, please note that the ABC network show is VERY different from what Huang discusses in the darker parts of his book—from a father with a dark side (whom was considered a ‘G’ in homeland Taiwan and the Huang boys’ propensity for carrying knives and fighting. It’s a very Disney-sensitized form of the book—and I really enjoy both for different reasons.
I was intrigued to read a book from a First Born American (child of an immigrant), as I am the daughter of an immigrant. Life is much harder for Eddie than it was for me, but it is definitely hard to live up to old country expectations in the US. Eddie uses rap music and street gear (and a little knocking heads) to get his message across. A lot is placed on Eddie, but it would take almost thirty years for Eddie to follow a passion of his to ‘make it’ (as he had been often considered the black sheep of the family).
Reading this book made me re-live things in the 90s (especially rap) that I was not allowed to listen to—I was very sheltered when it came to music growing up (I could tell you there was a B.I.G. and a Tupac and they repped the East and West, respectively, but that was about it. And while I thought it was cute for my brothers to recite lyrics like ‘I Wanna see your tootsie roll’ or ‘I like it when you call me big poppa,’ I was way more into the alternative music scene.
As much as it sounds like Eddie is trying to be a gangster, he comes by it honestly—as his father’s experiences in Taiwan were pretty gang-laden. But whatever the case, Eddie details honest, gritty details about showing authenticity in the US when the cards are stacked against you. And readers will keep pulling for Eddie and will be pulling for him throughout reading the novel.
While I picked this up electronically, Fresh off the Boat is available at your favorite retailer in your favorite format. Pick it up today!’
There is so much that I want to say about this book, but in all honesty it can be summed up as follows:
Eddie Huang is an unbearable, racist jerk, and the fact that he wrote a book that is basically nothing more than a long essay about how cool he is only underlines that fact.
There. If you haven't read the book, I just saved you from it. I couldn't even finish the damn thing, and I don't give up easily.
Eddie Huang is an unbearable, racist jerk, and the fact that he wrote a book that is basically nothing more than a long essay about how cool he is only underlines that fact.
There. If you haven't read the book, I just saved you from it. I couldn't even finish the damn thing, and I don't give up easily.
My own Taiwanese-American childhood looks a lot more like the stereotype, so I really loved reading Eddie’s story because it was so different from mine — but also very similar in some ways; there are, after all, many universal aspects of growing up with immigrant parents.
This book bursts with personality and energy: moments of doubt and of triumphant epiphany, poor choices later regretted, love of music and food and people. It’s relatable on a human level, for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or lost their way.
This book bursts with personality and energy: moments of doubt and of triumphant epiphany, poor choices later regretted, love of music and food and people. It’s relatable on a human level, for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or lost their way.
