Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon

3 reviews

jordynkw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nad_books623's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was a beautiful and incredibly sad story. The book was raw and as an American it was good reading her story while, living during the Vietnam war. 

This was the first time I've read a book that focused on food which, I believe made the book 5 stars. The way everything was connected was beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Genocide, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bibliomich's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Out of respect for authors' personal stories, I prefer not to provide star ratings for memoirs.

“I will tell you my story, but I insist on telling it with hands busy and the kitchen full of enticing aromas. I’ll cook for you throughout the telling. You’ll see for yourself that the past cannot be erased so easily. You’ll taste for yourself the way that history can be carried forward, borne on the smoke from a long-gone mother’s charcoal fire.”

Chantha Nguon's emotional memoir, Slow Noodles, tells the story of her coming of age in the time of the Khmer Rouge's totalitarian regime in Cambodia. Spanning multiple decades and traveling across Southeast Asia, from Cambodia to Vietnam to Thailand, the author frames her narrative using vignettes about food and family.

As one might expect given the setting and content, Nguon's narrative is devastating, and while it is rife with stories of violence, abuse, death, and grief, the author's story is, at its core, a tale about a girl growing up. While many of her life experiences are truly unfathomable to someone like myself who lives with such privilege, Nguon also told plenty of stories that felt deeply relatable--stories about growing up, rebelling, and questioning herself and the world around her. The ability to relate to and understand Nguon made the tragedy she experienced all the more heartbreaking.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism