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pussreboots's review against another edition
2.0
I feel rather split brained about Burnt Bread and Chutney the memoir by Carmit Delman. Her book is both a biography (that of her maternal grandmother's life as a Bene Israel (Indian Jew) and a memoir of growing up poor in the United States and Israel. I enjoyed the bits about the grandmother but was bored by the rest of the book.
Carmit Delman tries to show how exotic her own life was growing up in the United States being not quite Indian-American and not quite Jewish-American but her descriptions of life here are banal and ordinary.
Her choice of subjects are universal: conflict between older and younger generations, blending of cultures between families and between country of birth and adopted country, the embarrassment of being poorer than friends, and so forth. Whenever the memoir seems to be stalling in one of these ever so ordinary passages, Delman would throw in a reminder that her life was fundamentally different because of her Indian ties and that by itself was not enough to make this memoir interesting or all that memorable.
Carmit Delman tries to show how exotic her own life was growing up in the United States being not quite Indian-American and not quite Jewish-American but her descriptions of life here are banal and ordinary.
Her choice of subjects are universal: conflict between older and younger generations, blending of cultures between families and between country of birth and adopted country, the embarrassment of being poorer than friends, and so forth. Whenever the memoir seems to be stalling in one of these ever so ordinary passages, Delman would throw in a reminder that her life was fundamentally different because of her Indian ties and that by itself was not enough to make this memoir interesting or all that memorable.
sariggs's review against another edition
It's about the fourth memoir I've read during covid times, and I am frustrated with how plotless memoirs can be. I have to force myself through them. On the other hand, the author here does have a unique perspective. Her intersectionality is uncommon and that makes the book worth reading. I have been interested in the Jews of India since I discovered the remains of their once vibrant community in Mumbai. It was my first visit to a temple with no active members. I'm also interested in the experiences of sephardic Jews both in Israel and the US, and that thread is woven throughout the book. I loved the reimaginings of the grandmother's life in India, and the knowledge she tried to pass down to her granddaughter. I was frustrated by the sexism and abuse heaped on the grandmother by her own family, and also the importance of acknowledging the grandmother as a wife, when the husband in question was a grade A shit-head who doesn't deserve to be claimed by the author's family. In any case, Carmit's experiences in Israel made me think about similar findings by Ethiopian Jews in Israel, and her experiences in the US made me think about how white my temple community was as a child.
bookwormmichelle's review
3.0
This was interesting in many ways--my second book, I think, on the Jewish community in India . . .I really wanted to like this, but the writing killed it, I think. It seemed poorly organized, and at times like the author was just trying too hard reaching for the metaphors and descriptions. I'm still a little confused---was the author's mother "Evie" or not?
aje9065a's review
2.0
The scattered approach could have worked if it didn't end up feeling so contradictory. The conclusion bothered me a great deal.
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