A lovely look at a country through it's food
As I have in interest both in food and in Japan I was thrilled to discover this book.
It turns out that Victoria and I were both in Japan at about the same time. She cooking in Kyoto and me studying photography outside of Tokyo. I fell in love with the colors and textures of this country and it's food... and this book captures it perfectly.
A wonderful read... and do try some of the recipes! As a broke student in Tokyo I lived on Okonomiyak.
A winding journey through Kyoto and Japanese food
I started this book in a blaze of interest, devouring the pages like the bite sized food Victoria was learning how to cook. Then my interest started to wane and I had to really push through the remainder of the book and in the end, I was glad that I did. I also had a powerful hunger for Japanese food and ate it more than usual while reading this book! As a matter of fact, I could eat some right now...
Parts of this book were fairly shallow, especially where the relationships of the friends the author made in Kyoto were concerned. I got the feeling Victoria didn't even like some of them, and despite their kindness towards her, she had little compassion or warmth towards them in her descriptions, with the exception of the couple she lived with for a short time. I also thought the ending was odd - [spoiler] Victoria is offered a year long teaching job at the end of the book but declines it because she feels she might end up like her quasi-friends, a gay couple who have lived in Kyoto for 14 years and never quite fitted in. m...hello? It is a bit different living in a country like Japan for 2 years and living there for 14 years! Basically I think she just wanted to get back to her boyfriend in the US. No shame in that, but at least be honest about your motivations.
The food descrptions in the book were overly detailed and I found myself skimming over ingredients I didn't understand and can't imagine. I much preferred the chapters of the book that detailed living in Kyoto as a foreigner, and I suspect there are better books that explore this theme.
I have visited Kyoto and this was my favourite part of the book - revisiting the landmarks and knowing where the train station is, and where the Philsopher's Walk is and generally enjoying Kyoto again. A good read, but only for those seriously interested in Japan or Japanese food.
I could relate to this book
Loved this book and could relate to the author and her adventures. It brought back memories of studying abroad in Japan and living with a host-family.
Check for more reviews on Amazon.com
Similar Products:
|
