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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
This review can be found at www.amazon.com as part of the Vine program of www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Would give it 3.5 stars. A little slow but gets better so stick with it. Jen Lui decided to follow the path of the Silk Road to discover where noodles originated. Beginning in China and ending in Italy, she chronicles her journey through different countries. Ultimately a satisfying read.
I do not understand the terrible reviews given for this book. This is a delightful book written by someone who cares deeply about food and culture, and as a journalist and chef she has the credentials to do it well. The test of a good travel book is if it makes you want to travel to the areas and this book certainly meets the mark. The author also follows the golden rule of travel: people are always eager to show you what they love about their hometowns.
Her journey is as much about the silk road as it is about her marriage. As a married person I heard this and thought, "sounds like marriage." I'm not sure why people should bristle at her description of her marriage - why is it so sacred to discuss struggling with your identity in marriage? Why can't someone talk about how their ambitions might not line up with their spouse's? Further, she proves that she learns the key to a successful marriage at the end of the book: there's some give and some take.
Her journey is as much about the silk road as it is about her marriage. As a married person I heard this and thought, "sounds like marriage." I'm not sure why people should bristle at her description of her marriage - why is it so sacred to discuss struggling with your identity in marriage? Why can't someone talk about how their ambitions might not line up with their spouse's? Further, she proves that she learns the key to a successful marriage at the end of the book: there's some give and some take.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Some parts were really good and others were a bit dry.
So reading about this I thought I would get some history of noodles. I learned a Ted bit. However she spent way too much time whining about what she should do about her husband and her personal life than actually teaching us anything about noodles along the silk road. I definitely was not impressed with this book and would not recommend this to anybody. It definitely gets the one start that I rate it.
Quite a travelogue, I found myself enjoying the writer's adventures in little known (to me) parts of the world. I congratulate her on her courage to go off the beaten path with a focus on regional foods. The recipes are almost incidental and reflect the mainstream geographic areas she travels through. Her journey is much more interesting than the recipes.
I loved this book. Although at times it seems as if the author threw in random moments of contemplating about her life & role as a woman in her marriage & in society as she traveled, I didn't mind it. Her quest to discover the origins of noodles is ultimately a metaphor for discovering herself, and the ending wraps up what she learns very nicely.
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced