A review by hildamarie
On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu

3.0

I was very excited to read this book, but I was a little disappointed by it. My expectations of the book were simply different from what it turned out to be, and I think this was the source of my disappointment. The book gave some focus to the history and evolution the food, but the historical context is given a back seat to her day to day experiences cooking and eating along the Silk Road. It seemed to me that the author is really exploring and defining her role as a new wife. In doing that, she touches on the role of women in the various countries she visits. Although many of the women she encounters are quite interesting, the lens through which she views them is that of a new wife, a woman struggling with the compromises and adjustments that naturally occur when two people create a life together. So I was more interested in the history of the Silk Road and less interested in her personal relationship. But I felt the book was more interested in her personal evolution.