|
| Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China | 
 enlarge | Author: Fuchsia Dunlop
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.99
You Save: $11.96 (48%)
New (28) Used (14) Collectible (1) from $9.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 10033
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0393066576
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5951
EAN: 9780393066579
ASIN: 0393066576
Publication Date: April 14, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 2008 First American Edition as pictured -- bought at a "end of summer" bookstore sale
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Wanna Understand China? Learn About Chinese Food June 2, 2008
Food is an enormously important element of Chinese culture. I've lived in China for over a year now, but I don't really have an interest in cooking. I found this book to be extremely enlightening about China's food culture and customs. I laughed out loud at many sections. The author has a deep love for China, and I could relate to the "dual identity" that she spoke of as a Westerner and a Chinese person at heart.
My only concern about the book is that the author spent most of her time in South China. The diners there are far more willing to experiment with their dining options that people in Beijing and other areas of North China. The premise that the Chinese will "eat anything" isn't really true for the entire country.
Nonetheless, an extremely entertaining and important book!
 More than a travel book with recipes June 14, 2008
Although the cover of the book gives the impression that it is more a cookbook than anything else, it is really a travel book with with a search for identity subtext peppered (sorry) with some interesting recipes. It is not an existential chick-lit angst-laden outpouring in the manner of Julie & Julia. It is more in the style of Anthony Bourdain without the sarcasm. The author lives in China at a time where social and economic changes are taking place, and her observations of these changes are one of the highlights of the book. I think that is partly because she doesn't try to analyze them, but rather describes how she and the Chinese she interacts with respond to them. Ms. Dunlop is clearly an adventurous sort, and she does make some remarkable trips into the backwaters of western China. One of the more amusing themes is her immersion into Chinese culture, and the conflicts with her western upbringing and cultural viewpoint. Her attempts to introduce her Chinese friends to western food are funny.
This is, in the end, a good book, with several interesting interwoven story lines. While entertaining, you will also learn from it.
A non-Chinese Insider's View June 17, 2008
I own Fuschia's two cookbooks, but had the opportunity to read this as a library "new purchase" ... before deciding to purchase my own copy. As previous reviews have noted, this is not a cookbook/recipe book -- it has about 20 recipes (some in her previous books) ... and yet, it is far from being a travelogue. Fuschia is one of the few people fluent in Mandarin (and at least the Sichuanese dialect) who has lived in China and become almost accepted as a local (no non-Chinese will ever escape the "foreign devil / barbarian" label) or at least has been brought to distant places in the company of (and as the friend or colleague of) a local -- giving her a unique perspective. Fuschia also learned to sometimes hide her knowledge of Mandarin, so that she could hear people's true comments and opinions, a good way to learn the truth in a society that often hides its true feelings. In short, she had a view, over a 15 year period, of many of the changes in China -- and of the personal effects of those changes on individual Chinese families -- we are only beginning to appreciate and understand.
This book is a mix of a geographic travelogue (visits to rural communities, to restricted regions [eg, Mongolia]), a social/political history (the fear people had of speaking to her; the differing roles of men and women in modern China; the suspicion of local police; the welcome of entrepeneurial "communist" politicos), and a culinary travelogue (restaurants from the customer and chef/owner perspective; Chinese cooking school education; food sourcing).
Most important of all, she uniquely can contrast her culinary thoughts and feelings as a Westerner with those she has as a "pseudo Chinese". She brings the whole sense of what a Westerner might consider food appreciation and what a Chinese might consider into sharp perspective. She contrasts the Western squeamishness about where our food comes from and how it's prepared (eg, slaughter of animals) with the Chinese acceptance of the need to kill in order to eat. She shows that Chinese history and language nuances define an interest in and understanding of the subtlety and contrast of color, flavor, and texture and have recognized these as markers of civilization for millenia. You will also see that many Westerners will never be able to adapt completely the Chinese ability to eat almost anything (Fuschia's final essay, on whether to eat a caterpillar unknowingly steamed in a bowl of greens picked in her mother's garden) -- something that Fuschia eventually could do.
In short, this is neither a cookbook nor a travelogue ... it is far more and is a valuable read. Unlike a cookbook, this will not be a book you will return to and "cook from" often ... but it is a book that will help you be a better chef, a far better diner, ... and far more understanding of the last 15 years of change in China than most ...
Amazing must read August 23, 2008
If you are interested in China and/or Chinese food then this is a must read. It is about Chinese cooking - not a cookbook. Even if you think you know about Chinese cooking you will learn that there is much more to it than you ever thought. Not to mention a great book about what is going on in 2008 China in general.
Superb Book For the Armchair Traveler August 25, 2008
At this point in my life I'm certain that I will never get the chance to visit China. If by some miracle I get there, I will never be able to have the experiences that Fuchia Dunlop had, and so beautifully wrote about. I have to admit that I am very envious of her gastronomic adventures!
She was able to immerse herself in a completely different culture, and conveyed the sights, sounds, tastes and feel on each page of her book.
I enjoyed each and every chapter. She was honest about her experiences, how she actually ended up in China, and at the end finally found balance in an ever changing country. I highly recommend this book.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
