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sairashahid's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
I was excited to find a memoir by Bengali author, especially centered around food which is a central part of Bengali culture. However I was very disappointed by how choppy and unconnected everything was. The books skipped between topics, time periods, anecdotes, history lessons, reflections, and recipes with poor and sometimes no transitions between them. I enjoyed the reflections of the author’s childhood and the role food played in her relationship with her parents, but a lot of that was drowned out by seemingly disconnected history lessons and parts about social media food influencers.
bionerdatgc's review
emotional
informative
reflective
4.0
Ghosh weaves together threads from her childhood, early adulthood, and present day. Together with stories from others in the food world, she creates a tapestry vibrant with warmth, nostalgia, big personalities, and lots of emotion.
This book was less about her immigration experience than I expected, and yet, her immigrant status lends color to most of her stories. It's less about immigration and more about succeeding as an immigrant.
Her emotional expression carried me along with her on her highs and lows - until it pulled me down her own spiral and I almost had to stop reading because of the triggers. However, after a break, I continued on her journey and was rewarded with her pulling me out of the spiral again, just as she did for herself. She breaks, but then pieces herself back together into something new and stronger. Readers burdened with emotional trauma may have a hard time getting through later parts of her story. However, I feel like her victory over that trauma offers hope and healing.
Fair warning:Many of the trigger warnings I tagged come from other people’s stories woven throughout. The stories she takes from India's near history involve assassination, riots, and intense religious discrimination. Her own trauma stems from years of emotional abuse from her spouse, and more years trying to break free from it.
This book was less about her immigration experience than I expected, and yet, her immigrant status lends color to most of her stories. It's less about immigration and more about succeeding as an immigrant.
Her emotional expression carried me along with her on her highs and lows - until it pulled me down her own spiral and I almost had to stop reading because of the triggers. However, after a break, I continued on her journey and was rewarded with her pulling me out of the spiral again, just as she did for herself. She breaks, but then pieces herself back together into something new and stronger. Readers burdened with emotional trauma may have a hard time getting through later parts of her story. However, I feel like her victory over that trauma offers hope and healing.
Fair warning:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
Moderate: Colonisation, Grief, Animal death, Death of parent, Suicide, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Islamophobia, and Murder
Minor: Incest, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault
sashika_fortheloveofbooks's review
4.0
Thank you @booksparks for the gifted copy ❤️
Reading this book felt like a hug from home. Being a south Asian girl, in a faraway country, the book felt very relatable, some of the lines hit me right on the spot. While reading this, I learned that the author was the first girl from her family that came to US to do a PhD, same as me! Reading a bit more I learned that she has done a PhD in biochemistry in the same university as me, again same as me! What are the odds?! I was amazed.
So of course, the book felt close to my heart
Reading this book felt like a hug from home. Being a south Asian girl, in a faraway country, the book felt very relatable, some of the lines hit me right on the spot. While reading this, I learned that the author was the first girl from her family that came to US to do a PhD, same as me! Reading a bit more I learned that she has done a PhD in biochemistry in the same university as me, again same as me! What are the odds?! I was amazed.
So of course, the book felt close to my heart
cassiepeachy's review
3.0
A beautiful book of food, family, culture, and life’s ups and downs.
“It’s been many years since that day in court. Almost as many since I saw him in person. It’s been as many years since I’ve been that woman at the courthouse. Even though I still have that scarf. And even though I mostly wear my hair down. I am still that woman but mostly I am not. Sometimes I wonder what attracts me to stories of strangers. Of strong women who knowingly get into abusive relationships. Or do they. Why do I devour news articles about women who make immensely rational, smart decisions all the time, and then suddenly, without much logic fall in love with someone who pulls them down? According to Shannon Thomas, author of Healing Hidden Abuse, ‘success and strength in such women attracts narcissists and psychopaths. These women, besides being strong, are also extremely empathic people….’ Sometimes I, too, don’t know if I imagined what happened to me, Baba’s daughter, that I let my then-husband treat me the way he did. I also don’t know why, for years and years, I held on to him thinking that without him I’d be nothing. I only know that’s what it was. And how it’s been years after I was that woman. But sometimes, more rarely now, but sometimes I do wonder why.”
maria_hossain's review
4.0
When I began this book, I thought "Oh goodie, a memoir about food and immigrant nostalgia about food and homeland!" Little did I know that alongside all those, the author will bring up important, timely topics such as domestic violence, spousal abuse, anti-Sikh prejudice and violence during the 1980s in India, the alarming rise of Hindu nationalism in India, and the pandemic. With dry, witty humor and thoroughly enjoyable descriptions of food and Bengali food culture, I got immersed into this book for days. So many dishes I recognized and so many new ones I got acquainted with. A book I'll highly recommend, especially to my fellow Bengalis.
Thank you, NetGalley and University of Iowa Press, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you, NetGalley and University of Iowa Press, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
kairosdreaming's review
4.0
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
It's pretty easy to draw me in with a memoir that revolves around food. This one, while not all about food, still was captivating and worth the read for the various aspects it brought outside of food.
Ghosh, in a non-linear method, tells of her life in India, adjustment to living in America as an immigrant, relationship issues and domestic violence, her career, and her family, in a myriad of stories and remembrances of the past in this book. Politics, gender, and other aspects also get attention from her as well.
While the non-linear method for me was sometimes a bit disorienting, I ultimately enjoyed this book because I learned quite a bit from it, which is sometimes rare in memoirs. There were a few recipes (after all, the initial attraction for this book was the food), an inspiring tale of family dynamics, and an inspiring (albeit in a different way) look at personal relationships and how to make hard decisions that ultimately will give you a better quality of life.
Definitely an interesting memoir.
Review by M. Reynard 2021
It's pretty easy to draw me in with a memoir that revolves around food. This one, while not all about food, still was captivating and worth the read for the various aspects it brought outside of food.
Ghosh, in a non-linear method, tells of her life in India, adjustment to living in America as an immigrant, relationship issues and domestic violence, her career, and her family, in a myriad of stories and remembrances of the past in this book. Politics, gender, and other aspects also get attention from her as well.
While the non-linear method for me was sometimes a bit disorienting, I ultimately enjoyed this book because I learned quite a bit from it, which is sometimes rare in memoirs. There were a few recipes (after all, the initial attraction for this book was the food), an inspiring tale of family dynamics, and an inspiring (albeit in a different way) look at personal relationships and how to make hard decisions that ultimately will give you a better quality of life.
Definitely an interesting memoir.
Review by M. Reynard 2021