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ronni_sw's review against another edition
3.0
It took me awhile (two years!) to get into this book and finish it, but once I finally decided to be done with it, it turns out to be an enjoyable read. If nothing else, you'll learn more about India and Indian food..
jenawesomesbookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed reading about the author's childhood experiences and about some Indian celebrations. Otherwise, there were too many long descriptions of food and food experiences that made me want to skip ahead pages in the book. There are some recipes in the back though for those who would like to try cooking some Indian fare.
vasha's review against another edition
3.0
Madhur Jaffrey, the actress, cook, and cookbook writer, gives us a pleasant but not briliant memoir of her childhood growing up in a wealthy, aristocratic, and enormous family in Delhi. There is some mention of the tensions caused by relations between family members, and some evocation of her emotional uncertainties as she grew, competently written enough. There is description of the luxury of the life they lived and of course, food is a recurring theme. Social and political conditions get a look in; one thing that struck me was how easy it had been for her ancestors to switch from being chief administrators for the Moghul emperors to filling the same roles for the British. The departure of the British was much more of a disaster than their arrival; Jaffrey gives a picture of just how much of a catastrophe Partition was, how much it changed Delhi, and how torn she was as a cosmopolitan Hindu with many Muslim friends.
rdebner's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for my book group. Jaffrey is strongest when talking about food and the memories around food, which is not surprising for someone best known for her cookbooks. It is an interesting life portrait of growing up in India at a certain time, belonging to a certain socioeconomic class. My overall feeling, though, was that the memoir was not as informed by adult perspectives on things that happened while she was growing up as it could have been. For example, Partition was addressed, but in a rather glancing way, which perhaps accurately reflects the privilege that Jaffrey's family had. I loved the parts that touched on food -- and she provides a good number of family recipes at the end of the book. For the rest, I could have given it a pass. [author:Vikram Chandra]'s novels do a much better job of providing a portrait of certain times and places in India's history and culture than this memoir.
em_beddedinbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I devoured this book. This was a nostalgic journey through the privileged India of the early twentieth century. I got so engrossed, it was as if I had metamorphosed into the young girl who ran around orchids and kitchens and large rooms, ever inquisitive and all-absorbing. This book has rich descriptions of the food, heritage, lifestyle and architecture of the older India. One amusing thing is that, so far I was under the impression that Madhur Jaffrey is a famous Indian male chef and I was shocked to see the young girl in the various photographs and it was news to me that she had dabbled with the Indian theatre before diverting to cookery and cookbooks. Even now I dont know much about Madhur Jaffrey as the book abruptly ended at her early adulthood. I am eager to know of her further journey. I am planning to Google and find out more about her and I fervently wish she wrote more books (other than cookery books). This book will have a prominent place in my to-read-again shelf.
ens's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe more like 3.5 stars - I enjoyed reading this, particularly the descriptions of food and events, but it wasn't a particularly compelling or narratively-focused book.
akaroo's review
5.0
A wonderfully-written memoir of an enchanting, romantic childhood in India. Jaffrey' vivid descriptions of her homeland, "modern, joint-family" life and the ever-present food really make you feel as if you are there. It's the incredible details of this food that I found most appealing; with every mere mention of food, I felt my stomach rumble and my mouth water. I felt like I could taste each spice, each ingredient that she so lovingly, masterfully writes of. Her love of family and wild passion for food cannot be ignored. Simply delightful. 5/5
fallchicken's review
3.0
For [author: Madhur Jaffrey] cooking fans, this is an interesting read, the story of her early life in India. The descriptions of food are especially good, of course, as well as the look at daily life in a well-to-do family. There are some tempting family recipes included.
Small sections of the book are quite chatty and read nicely, but the book doesn't hang together. It feels like scraps of writing hastily thrown together. An editor to help with the structure and a proofreader to help with typos and grammar errors would have been appreciated.
Small sections of the book are quite chatty and read nicely, but the book doesn't hang together. It feels like scraps of writing hastily thrown together. An editor to help with the structure and a proofreader to help with typos and grammar errors would have been appreciated.
simran_silva's review
5.0
Being named Madhur meaning “sweet as honey”, seems to be an appropriate name for the author, for at the time of her birth, her grandmother welcomed her into the world by writing Om on her tongue with a little finger dipped in honey. As Madhur says, “I was left with honey on my palate and in my deepest soul.”
One can’t help but love how Jaffery incorporates every facet of food within the pages of her memoir. The reader salivates over the description of a spicy ground lamb with peas (Keema Matar) dish, which was enjoyed not only at home, but on family picnics and train rides in India along with deep-fried pooris. Childhood memories are relived over savory biscuits studded with cumin seeds (mutthris) polished off at tea time with sweet, hot and sour ginger-mango meethi chutney.
All senses are awakened while reading Jaffery’s story. Along with the warm sensation of a close-knit family both immediate and extended, you can hear the laughter at family gatherings, of which there were many ... Summer holidays and picnics in Delhi to name but a few. The smell, sound and taste of a juicy ripe mango being plucked from the trees in her grandparents’ orchard freely emanates, as we read of the older children on the higher branches peeling and slicing them, before passing the treasures on to the smaller children on the lower branches. The slices were then dipped in a spice mixture of salt, pepper, red chilies and roasted cumin and then devoured, as they enjoyed the company of brothers, sisters, cousins and friends. The once thriving orchards also had jujubes, mulberries and tamarind trees.
And yet with the good times, there were bad as well. There was pain and suffering from the loss of teenage friendships due to the Partition, loved ones because of disease and old age, along with those lost to the bloody aftermath of Independence Day.
When the family left Kanpur in 1944 and moved to Delhi permanently they all lived on the same street. It was the one named after her grandfather - Raj Narain Road - in the houses numbered 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 and 16. Jaffery takes the reader on a tour of the houses, their many rooms and impeccably kept grounds. Every kitchen was well stocked with spices and the necessary ingredients to create the most aromatic meals. There were endless serving dishes filled with savory game from the day’s hunt, fresh fruit, vegetables and so on cooked in the huge, steaming pots. Duck, chicken and goat also found their way to the large tables in a variety of ways.
The pages of Climbing the Mango Trees are dotted with stories surrounding delectable treats such as cold milk and jalebis (pretzel-like deep-fried sweet filled with syrup). Even in times when food was rather scarce (WWII), Jaffery found delight in the “K” rations, which included SPAM and Fruit Cocktail.
Her entire life revolved around food or visa versa. And she intricately weaves it through tales of first loves and first jobs, births and deaths, much the same way the jasmine flowers were gathered and threaded for many joyous weddings. Even good results of school exams “necessitated an immediate mango and ice cream party, sometimes with rasgullas (cheese balls in sweet syrup)
Jaffery’s tantalizing memoir contains over thirty of her family’s savory recipes to thoroughly enjoy. She ends her memoir just after her college years as she heads west, with the words ... “Somewhere in my depths, each bite, each taste of all I had eaten, lay cataloged in some pristine file, ready to be drawn up when the moment was ripe.”
One can’t help but love how Jaffery incorporates every facet of food within the pages of her memoir. The reader salivates over the description of a spicy ground lamb with peas (Keema Matar) dish, which was enjoyed not only at home, but on family picnics and train rides in India along with deep-fried pooris. Childhood memories are relived over savory biscuits studded with cumin seeds (mutthris) polished off at tea time with sweet, hot and sour ginger-mango meethi chutney.
All senses are awakened while reading Jaffery’s story. Along with the warm sensation of a close-knit family both immediate and extended, you can hear the laughter at family gatherings, of which there were many ... Summer holidays and picnics in Delhi to name but a few. The smell, sound and taste of a juicy ripe mango being plucked from the trees in her grandparents’ orchard freely emanates, as we read of the older children on the higher branches peeling and slicing them, before passing the treasures on to the smaller children on the lower branches. The slices were then dipped in a spice mixture of salt, pepper, red chilies and roasted cumin and then devoured, as they enjoyed the company of brothers, sisters, cousins and friends. The once thriving orchards also had jujubes, mulberries and tamarind trees.
And yet with the good times, there were bad as well. There was pain and suffering from the loss of teenage friendships due to the Partition, loved ones because of disease and old age, along with those lost to the bloody aftermath of Independence Day.
When the family left Kanpur in 1944 and moved to Delhi permanently they all lived on the same street. It was the one named after her grandfather - Raj Narain Road - in the houses numbered 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 and 16. Jaffery takes the reader on a tour of the houses, their many rooms and impeccably kept grounds. Every kitchen was well stocked with spices and the necessary ingredients to create the most aromatic meals. There were endless serving dishes filled with savory game from the day’s hunt, fresh fruit, vegetables and so on cooked in the huge, steaming pots. Duck, chicken and goat also found their way to the large tables in a variety of ways.
The pages of Climbing the Mango Trees are dotted with stories surrounding delectable treats such as cold milk and jalebis (pretzel-like deep-fried sweet filled with syrup). Even in times when food was rather scarce (WWII), Jaffery found delight in the “K” rations, which included SPAM and Fruit Cocktail.
Her entire life revolved around food or visa versa. And she intricately weaves it through tales of first loves and first jobs, births and deaths, much the same way the jasmine flowers were gathered and threaded for many joyous weddings. Even good results of school exams “necessitated an immediate mango and ice cream party, sometimes with rasgullas (cheese balls in sweet syrup)
Jaffery’s tantalizing memoir contains over thirty of her family’s savory recipes to thoroughly enjoy. She ends her memoir just after her college years as she heads west, with the words ... “Somewhere in my depths, each bite, each taste of all I had eaten, lay cataloged in some pristine file, ready to be drawn up when the moment was ripe.”