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A review by starkiwi
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin
4.0
Everything I Learned I Learned in ___[insert place here]____ By: [Your Name]
Everyone has their own Chinese restaurant; I could write a book called Everything I Learned I Learned in Latin Class. I don’t normally like memoirs but I found this one to be interesting in the way that it was just a good story. It is witty, homey, and really made me want some egg rolls.
Ps. If you are interested in Chinese history or culture but don’t fancy reading a textbook this book is great! I also recommend two others mentioned in this book; The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tran.
Full Review:
Everyone has their own Chinese restaurant; I could write a book called Everything I Learned I Learned in Latin Class. Even if you don’t think you have somewhere, you probably do. That is what I believe Chin was trying to achieve with this book. To ask readers to look at the life around them and ask what shaped them. How did they come to be the way they are today? What developments did they have to go through?
The way he does this is a combination of witty and heartfelt. Throughout the chapters (or courses as they are labeled) he explores politics, sexuality, race, and always family. Normally I don’t love memoirs. Either because the ending is too obviously hinted at, they focus too much on how tragic the person’s life was, or other reasons unexplainable. This one, however, I greatly enjoyed. Partially because I could at least somewhat relate to it, but also because the writing had character and voice that appealed to the reader.
It certainly helped that I also have a fascination with Chinese history. Hence I could understand a lot of the references to Chinese history and culture Chin made. The amount of references is not overwhelming, however, and whenever one is made, he usually explains it concisely to keep the reader engaged but not lose that small piece of his story.
Some parts I did think were a little flat, especially around a third of the way through the book. Although I suppose food can get a little flat-tasting too if you have too much of one of thing. In the end the book had a good ending that left a little bit to question, demonstrating in a literary way that Chin is still living his life and, in the spirit of his upbringing, taking a few items to-go.
Everyone has their own Chinese restaurant; I could write a book called Everything I Learned I Learned in Latin Class. I don’t normally like memoirs but I found this one to be interesting in the way that it was just a good story. It is witty, homey, and really made me want some egg rolls.
Ps. If you are interested in Chinese history or culture but don’t fancy reading a textbook this book is great! I also recommend two others mentioned in this book; The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tran.
Full Review:
Everyone has their own Chinese restaurant; I could write a book called Everything I Learned I Learned in Latin Class. Even if you don’t think you have somewhere, you probably do. That is what I believe Chin was trying to achieve with this book. To ask readers to look at the life around them and ask what shaped them. How did they come to be the way they are today? What developments did they have to go through?
The way he does this is a combination of witty and heartfelt. Throughout the chapters (or courses as they are labeled) he explores politics, sexuality, race, and always family. Normally I don’t love memoirs. Either because the ending is too obviously hinted at, they focus too much on how tragic the person’s life was, or other reasons unexplainable. This one, however, I greatly enjoyed. Partially because I could at least somewhat relate to it, but also because the writing had character and voice that appealed to the reader.
It certainly helped that I also have a fascination with Chinese history. Hence I could understand a lot of the references to Chinese history and culture Chin made. The amount of references is not overwhelming, however, and whenever one is made, he usually explains it concisely to keep the reader engaged but not lose that small piece of his story.
Some parts I did think were a little flat, especially around a third of the way through the book. Although I suppose food can get a little flat-tasting too if you have too much of one of thing. In the end the book had a good ending that left a little bit to question, demonstrating in a literary way that Chin is still living his life and, in the spirit of his upbringing, taking a few items to-go.