A review by wendoxford
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Anya von Bremzen

3.0

A foodie memoir it ain't...It is, rather, a mix of a very personal view into several decades of family living under communism, Soviet then Russian life and the place of food as a citizen then emigre. Whilst it was endlessly fascinating, rich in curios of interest, I found the idiosyncratic writing style difficult. I wanted to hear both more about the eyewitness life in Moscow as well as the food culture but not in the format it was presented.
What I loved was the references to the communist bible "The Book of Tasty & Healthy Food" which changed its content dependent on leader, so Jewish recipes were published, only to be removed in the next edition. Likewise the ethnic food at the farther reaches of the state's "empire"