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katieoxee's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
This book could have been something amazing. But it suffers from ineffective editing. The author has true moments of wit, humor, insight, and enlightenment, but these moments are overshadowed by endless pages of DNA report summaries and the repetition of fruits and vegetables that enslaved people grew throughout the south. His voice shined most brilliantly when discussing his ancestors’ stories and his interaction with the food and stories of the south. His narrative would have benefited from a more sequential order of events, but, instead, the reader is left reeling after introductions to different ancestors at different times without little sense of timeline order.
dasbooch's review
5.0
The best way to look at this book is seeing it as a memoir that highlights his personal story, that of his family (including those he never met but whose lives he was connected with through story) and a story of a people. This is a style that other memoirs I loved are written in, but he makes it truly unique by using the medium of food to explore his about past, part of the African American experience in the south and how their influence had often been ignored or whitewashed over, both in the culinary world and in general. He thus creates a deeply personal masterpiece. While it can be a bit dense in stories and material, and I am not crazy about the structure of the book, he was very effective in telling his story and illustrating why his story was so important to tell. I look forward to trying the recipes he included as well.
elemomi's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
There’s a lot to process in this book, and it’s so densely packed with information that I think it lends itself to reading better in print than in audio. Incredibly informative, and I don’t think I’ll look at a plate of southern food the same ever again.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing combination of the history of black american cooking and the story behind the food. If you don't like learning about the racist roots of the US past, and how it has grown into a big ugly misshapen form of life, this book is not for you. If you want to learn even more of the real history, I strongly encourage the reading, and re-reading, of this eye-opening account.
agnewjacob120's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
4.5
Excellent journey through the history of food and the key role of Africa and African Americans in developing Southern food. Sometimes a tad flowery in prose for my taste, but that is a personal taste
themodvictorian's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0