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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Books like this are important to me because he is right about the model minority myth. Even if you don't like his personality or his voice, it's still important to hear his story. The whole point is that there are Asian Americans with stories that don't line up with any stereotypes. There needs to be more stories of Asian Americans in general.
Many people say they think he would be rude in person, and that's enough reason to give this one star. But we've all heard stories about celebrities being rude and racist and still people continue to support their music, movies, and shows. As it's clear from some of these poor reviews, model minorities don't get that same luxury. I don't think that Huang's writing ability and creativity should be written off just because you wouldn't like him or be his friend in real life. It's also fine not to like his voice, but you cannot deny that he does have his own very distinct writing style and voice, which I think is a feat in itself.
I know that he has been accused of cultural appropriation. I think that's just a little part of the complexity of trying to find your own identity as an "other." I don't think it's okay. I just think that's not the point of this memoir or any memoir in general. This is his story and how he sees his own life. This is his journey no matter how insensitive or offensive it is.
Quite frankly, cultural appropriation is just a very American problem in general that all Americans need to confront. The idea that he needs to be above this because he is Taiwanese and a person of color discounts the fact that Eddie Huang is in fact an American who was born in America and lived here his whole life.
Many people say they think he would be rude in person, and that's enough reason to give this one star. But we've all heard stories about celebrities being rude and racist and still people continue to support their music, movies, and shows. As it's clear from some of these poor reviews, model minorities don't get that same luxury. I don't think that Huang's writing ability and creativity should be written off just because you wouldn't like him or be his friend in real life. It's also fine not to like his voice, but you cannot deny that he does have his own very distinct writing style and voice, which I think is a feat in itself.
I know that he has been accused of cultural appropriation. I think that's just a little part of the complexity of trying to find your own identity as an "other." I don't think it's okay. I just think that's not the point of this memoir or any memoir in general. This is his story and how he sees his own life. This is his journey no matter how insensitive or offensive it is.
Quite frankly, cultural appropriation is just a very American problem in general that all Americans need to confront. The idea that he needs to be above this because he is Taiwanese and a person of color discounts the fact that Eddie Huang is in fact an American who was born in America and lived here his whole life.
I would've liked this book more if he didn't incorrectly place "two words" as coming from late registration in 2003 bc it was definitely from college drop out. Took me right out of the book for real.
Also the timeline in storytelling sometimes was confusing because it bounced around too much.
However, any book that talks about din tai fung is legit so that works out
Also the timeline in storytelling sometimes was confusing because it bounced around too much.
However, any book that talks about din tai fung is legit so that works out
While the language in this book is not suitable for, say, your grandmother, your priest, your boss, or your young children, this is a very funny and interesting memoir that helped me understand Asian American culture in a new way.
This is the best audio memoir I’ve ever listened to, Huang chatting at the listeners from minute one (“Yp, it’s ya boy, Eddie Huang!), breaking down laughing at the audacity of half of the anecdotes he got away with including, and stepping back to address the listener directly over and over. Exactly what an audiobook memoir should be: overflowing with personality (his speaking the Chinese sprinkled throughout only adds to this).
One of the best audiobooks I've listened to (up there with Born a Crime Trevor Noah). I listen to audiobooks as much or more than I read them anymore, and it's a different experience, once in a while there's an audiobook that is a better listen than it is a read, and this is one of those. Having first seen the TV show inspired by this book I was shocked by how vastly different - and more abusive - Huang's actual experience was compared to what was portrayed on the sitcom. That stark contrast alone is a study worthy of its own book. Why do we present life in the way that we do in sitcoms, and how does that portrayal perhaps inform the world's perspective of life to everyone's detriment? Hearing the author perform this book gives it an extraordinary grit and vitality, and his incisive observations are worthy of the mantle of a moden day Jonathan Swift. There is a strange conflict between the feminism he seems to have and some of the ways he falls into some misogynist traps, as revealed by a few passages. But on the whole this is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to and will likely isten to again. Full marks on this one.
I came to the book (in my case audio book) because of Eddie's renown as a chef. He's smart. He's got a bit of a potty mouth. He's a bit boastful. He's got an incredible appreciation of food. The network television show by the same name is MUCH milder than the book so if you are going to pick up the book be forewarned. The language can be harsh and I found myself wincing at some of his descriptions of things.
I was hoping for many more descriptions of food. Last year I read (listened) to The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes of My Life. Conroy was a celebrated southern writer who loved food. (He died March of 2016 at the age of 70 and is responsible for The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini and others) It didn't matter the chapter I was salivating. The description of pickled shrimp for example was just splendid. The last CD of this book is much more what I was anticipating.
Eddie's book isn't a cookbook. It is more about growing up as a gifted Asian kid trying to find his place in an adopted country. For example, is it cultural misappropriation for a Taiwanese-American kid to love hip hop as much as Eddie does? It is exactly his thoughts on what cultures have in common (more than what we have that is outside of each other) that makes the read so interesting. The show Huang's World follows more of this line of thinking and is worth checking out.
The book is interesting if for no other reason than to see how an immigrant kid can accomplish so much. He's young, (35) and brash but has already had a few businesses under his belt, has written this book, has television shows, had a clothing line, and most of it since finishing law school.
I was hoping for many more descriptions of food. Last year I read (listened) to The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes of My Life. Conroy was a celebrated southern writer who loved food. (He died March of 2016 at the age of 70 and is responsible for The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini and others) It didn't matter the chapter I was salivating. The description of pickled shrimp for example was just splendid. The last CD of this book is much more what I was anticipating.
Eddie's book isn't a cookbook. It is more about growing up as a gifted Asian kid trying to find his place in an adopted country. For example, is it cultural misappropriation for a Taiwanese-American kid to love hip hop as much as Eddie does? It is exactly his thoughts on what cultures have in common (more than what we have that is outside of each other) that makes the read so interesting. The show Huang's World follows more of this line of thinking and is worth checking out.
The book is interesting if for no other reason than to see how an immigrant kid can accomplish so much. He's young, (35) and brash but has already had a few businesses under his belt, has written this book, has television shows, had a clothing line, and most of it since finishing law school.
This was okay. For a book about someone who's a chef, I expected more food stuff, but it's more about getting high, getting in fights, fashion, shoes, and hiphop than it is about food. I tend to mostly like autobiographies when they're funny and for all Eddie apparently was a comedian for some time, the book really isn't that funny. And it's all told from this macho straight guy POV that I find really exhausting to read.
It's also nothing like the show, which I did know going in. If you like the show and are looking to read this for more of that, just don't. :p The Huangs on TV are a typical sitcom family who have typical sitcom problems that get solved in an episode and although they have fights and misunderstandings, everyone really loves each other. In real life, Eddie's parents' marriage was unhappy, his dad (and sometimes his mom) beat the kids, and Eddie was a troubled child who got in fights and one time beat another kid so bad he was sent to juvie. That would have been a pretty interesting show, too, but it would have been a gritty drama. I have no idea why they decided to make it a sitcom...
It's also nothing like the show, which I did know going in. If you like the show and are looking to read this for more of that, just don't. :p The Huangs on TV are a typical sitcom family who have typical sitcom problems that get solved in an episode and although they have fights and misunderstandings, everyone really loves each other. In real life, Eddie's parents' marriage was unhappy, his dad (and sometimes his mom) beat the kids, and Eddie was a troubled child who got in fights and one time beat another kid so bad he was sent to juvie. That would have been a pretty interesting show, too, but it would have been a gritty drama. I have no idea why they decided to make it a sitcom...
I read this as part of my "Asian subcultures" study. I couldn't figure out how much of this book is fact or fiction, but many parts of it were humorous, even if they seemed exaggerated (the scene with Eddie and his crew vs. the neighborhood bullies). Eddie Huang is a self-made, cocky upstart. If you don't like that vibe, you probably shouldn't read this book. But if shenanigans and rule-breakers and mouth-watering descriptions of food is what you enjoy, go for it.
I really appreciated most everything the author had to say about race, the absurdity of American exceptionalism, and the cultural significance of food; I had a hard time relating to the syntax and vocabulary of the text, the author's experience of violence as victim and perpetrator, and his one-dimensional, often objectifying, perspective on women.