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A review by alpal_collective
Be My Guest: Reflections on Food, Community, and the Meaning of Generosity by Priya Basil
3.0
I was *really* excited to dive into this book. Not only was it my first publisher-approved NetGalley request, but if you happened to be looking for my heart, you would find it sitting contentedly at the crossroads of food x literature--chef bios, hungry traveler journals, "my life in recipes"...I love it all.
With that in mind, I think I was expecting something a little different from Ms. Basil. I enjoyed her memories of the religious services she spent plotting how to sneak extra portions of semolina-based karah parshad, and her reflections on meals shared with hundreds of strangers all scattered around the floor. I ate up (pun intended) the portions of her story devoted to the admiration of her Mumji's aggressive, accusatory brand of hospitality. Her ruminations on the meaning of the word 'hospitality,' too, were intriguing and insightful--she clearly did her homework. While her writing was strong as a whole, I found myself yearning for some richer detail, or maybe even a recipe stuck at the end of a chapter, so that I could better understand some of the dishes she referred to. (I firmly believe that you can enrich your palate by consuming the written descriptions of dishes you may never actually eat.)
Where I think the book diverged from my interests, though, was in her exploration of some of the more challenging topics facing European Union citizens and lawmakers in light of the current refugee crisis. Perhaps it's because I fall into neither of those categories, but I found these excerpts to be a little fragmented, or dissatisfying. She brought up a lot of interesting, thoughtful suggestions, but without much background on the subject, I felt a little left behind. It seemed as though she was posing a lot of suggestions without spending much time to unpack or develop her concepts. This also may be a result of the formatting presented in my ARC (so take my notes with a grain of salt), but I had a hard time judging the 'flow' of the overall piece. With appropriate page and chapter breaks, it could be much easier to navigate, but as it was, I felt like I was bobbing along in her stream of consciousness.
In hindsight, I'd be interested to read the review of someone closer to the author's own background. I appreciated the cultural picture she painted, but I found it hard to connect with. I would recommend this to other friends who work in hospitality, like I do, as well as folks with more of a political or cultural touchstone in Europe. Ultimately, though, it doesn't quite hit the mark as a 'must-read' for me.
With that in mind, I think I was expecting something a little different from Ms. Basil. I enjoyed her memories of the religious services she spent plotting how to sneak extra portions of semolina-based karah parshad, and her reflections on meals shared with hundreds of strangers all scattered around the floor. I ate up (pun intended) the portions of her story devoted to the admiration of her Mumji's aggressive, accusatory brand of hospitality. Her ruminations on the meaning of the word 'hospitality,' too, were intriguing and insightful--she clearly did her homework. While her writing was strong as a whole, I found myself yearning for some richer detail, or maybe even a recipe stuck at the end of a chapter, so that I could better understand some of the dishes she referred to. (I firmly believe that you can enrich your palate by consuming the written descriptions of dishes you may never actually eat.)
Where I think the book diverged from my interests, though, was in her exploration of some of the more challenging topics facing European Union citizens and lawmakers in light of the current refugee crisis. Perhaps it's because I fall into neither of those categories, but I found these excerpts to be a little fragmented, or dissatisfying. She brought up a lot of interesting, thoughtful suggestions, but without much background on the subject, I felt a little left behind. It seemed as though she was posing a lot of suggestions without spending much time to unpack or develop her concepts. This also may be a result of the formatting presented in my ARC (so take my notes with a grain of salt), but I had a hard time judging the 'flow' of the overall piece. With appropriate page and chapter breaks, it could be much easier to navigate, but as it was, I felt like I was bobbing along in her stream of consciousness.
In hindsight, I'd be interested to read the review of someone closer to the author's own background. I appreciated the cultural picture she painted, but I found it hard to connect with. I would recommend this to other friends who work in hospitality, like I do, as well as folks with more of a political or cultural touchstone in Europe. Ultimately, though, it doesn't quite hit the mark as a 'must-read' for me.