Stealing Buddha's Dinner

I just finished the book Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen. It is a memoir about her childhood as a Vietnamese immigrant growing up in the 80's in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was a very quick read, but I enjoyed it for the most part. It was fun to lose myself in Nguyen's nostalgic homages to "all-American" foods like Hostess Cupcakes, Wonder Bread, Pringles, and Superman ice cream. It turned my stomach a little to think about the processed glory of all the foods of her (and my!) childhood. Even more appealing to me were the descriptions of the traditional Vietnamese food that Nguyen's grandmother made for the family throughout her childhood. Cha Gio dumplings, shrimp cakes, spring rolls, and beef satay. Her descriptions made my mouth water for rice noodles and such way beyond any description of Twinkies inspriring cravings for plasticky white cream filling.

Food punctuates Nguyen's memories first and foremost (maybe even a little much at times), but a close second in her memory are some familiar friends from my own youth. Like me, she was a bookworm as a child, and she goes into detail on her memories of Harriet the Spy, Laura Ingalls, and Ramona Quimby. She also spend a good amount of time remembering beloved 80's music. Throughout the book, it is clear that she is searching for her own identity through American consumerism more than in her Vietnamese heritage or the simple serenity of her grandma's Buddhism. It was an excellent memoir and a revealing glimpse to me of what it must feel like to be so thoroughly "other" in a culture that was embracing the extremes of both diversity and homogeneity at the same time.