Reviews

Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirstin Chen

jeskaness's review against another edition

2.0

The soy sauce heritage was very interesting and enjoyable. Gretchen, on the other hand, was infuriating and made me not want to finish the book.

georgie_nicks's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting read to learn more about Singapore and its culture, bit of a generic back story for the main character though.

cheuksin's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

• Interesting small introduction to Singapore culture 
• What happened between Paul and Sumiko?
• Did Paul actually have a fetish for east-Asian women?
• I feel like we’ve to easily push past the fact he started a relationship with his 21 year old research assistant/student,  and the power imbalance there   “His page listed his name, the introductory class he taught at Berkeley, and a single posting: “Pretty cool dude, but flirts with female students.””
• Some parts were written too fast paced especially 
    Gretchen’s ‘relationship’ with James
   
• I hated the way Gretchen treated Frankie, just because Frankie doesn’t derive all her self worth from a relationship with a man i.e shaming her for not going on dates 
• Considering the title is soy sauce for beginners, I thought there would be at least one scene  of someone cooking with the soy sauce (besides the soy braised peanuts mention)
• Gretchen is an ugly name
• Gretchen also isn’t likeable or hateable 
• Categorically subpar 

didnot_finish's review against another edition

2.0

2.5?

erco's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

irishbookgirlies's review against another edition

informative inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The descriptive writing is lovely and the story about a family business was nice but I didn’t find the FMC likeable or relatable. This made it struggle to get through even though the book is quite short. I found Gretchen’s parents more interesting than herself, with her Ba being the most likeable character for me. Learning a little bit about Singapore made this a worthwhile read so I’m glad I finished the book in the end. Safe to say I’ll be investing in the premium soy sauce from now on! 

jaimeeslitlife's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

georgina_cobb's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

lisaeirene's review against another edition

3.0

The main character, Gretchen, leaves San Francisco and returns home to Singapore temporarily when her marriage ends abruptly. Her husband has decided to live with his 20 year old teaching assistant. In Singapore she stays with her aging parents and works temporarily at her family's soy sauce factory that was started by her grandfather.

The story is about redemption, healing, reconnecting with her parents, finding herself after divorce and family secrets.

I liked the book a lot. It was interesting reading about the cultural differences. I went back and forth between liking and disliking the main character, though. Sometimes I liked her and then sometimes she came across as kind of a terrible person--not very nice to her friends, kind of bratty and self-absorbed. I know that characters need to have flaws and grow from them but...if not done well in a book it can really detract. This book was right on the edge for me in that aspect.

sockielady's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0