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gracefullypunk's review against another edition
3.0
If you suffer from endometriosis, read this. You may not agree with all of Lakshmi's life choices, but you'll almost certainly identify with the raw emotion she puts forth when writing about the disease.
bhnmt61's review against another edition
3.0
I raced through the first two-thirds of this book, but by the end she had lost me. She is at her best when describing her multicultural childhood, which involved frequent trips between India and the United States. That part was fascinating, and the food descriptions are amazing. And although of course I have no inside knowledge of her or Salman Rushdie, I found her re-telling of their marriage to be believable.
But then her life of jet-setting and dating wealthy men just got too far outside my own experience. I can’t judge her for any of it since I’ve never been in her shoes, but as she went on, more and more of it sounded like spoiled whining—that isn’t necessarily even true, just the way it was written didn’t hold my interest. And the (calendar) dates start to overlap- when she starts seeing the billionaire, the occasional reference to a date makes you think, wait, wasn’t that while you said you were devastated over the end of your marriage? Not that you can’t be devastated AND dating, but it just doesn’t compute for me with my boring life. I’m glad I read it, though, for the info on India and Indian food and the immigrant experience.
But then her life of jet-setting and dating wealthy men just got too far outside my own experience. I can’t judge her for any of it since I’ve never been in her shoes, but as she went on, more and more of it sounded like spoiled whining—that isn’t necessarily even true, just the way it was written didn’t hold my interest. And the (calendar) dates start to overlap- when she starts seeing the billionaire, the occasional reference to a date makes you think, wait, wasn’t that while you said you were devastated over the end of your marriage? Not that you can’t be devastated AND dating, but it just doesn’t compute for me with my boring life. I’m glad I read it, though, for the info on India and Indian food and the immigrant experience.
feliciasrose's review against another edition
Not feeling it and not caring enough to read more.
royce_mussman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Book on CD narrated by the author.
I don’t read a lot of celebrity memoirs, but when a friend recommended this one I had to see what the fuss was about. I’ve never seen Top Chef but I know of its existence. And I’d heard of Lakshmi, though I was completely unaware of her personal drama. (Don’t follow celebrity news outlets either.)
I liked the portions of the book that took us back to her childhood in India, to the cultures, foods, sights, sounds and smells that helped form her. I was much less interested in her marriage, divorce, new relationship(s), and pregnancy. From what she relates of her early adulthood (into her 40s), I got the impression that she identified herself by the man she was attached to. This irritated me and I didn’t really like her all that much as a result.
However, I still found her story compelling, and I kept listening and came to appreciate the woman she is today more than I did at the beginning.
Lakshmi narrates the audiobook version herself. I cannot imaging anyone doing a better job of it. The CD has a bonus PDF file with all the recipes that are included in the book.
I don’t read a lot of celebrity memoirs, but when a friend recommended this one I had to see what the fuss was about. I’ve never seen Top Chef but I know of its existence. And I’d heard of Lakshmi, though I was completely unaware of her personal drama. (Don’t follow celebrity news outlets either.)
I liked the portions of the book that took us back to her childhood in India, to the cultures, foods, sights, sounds and smells that helped form her. I was much less interested in her marriage, divorce, new relationship(s), and pregnancy. From what she relates of her early adulthood (into her 40s), I got the impression that she identified herself by the man she was attached to. This irritated me and I didn’t really like her all that much as a result.
However, I still found her story compelling, and I kept listening and came to appreciate the woman she is today more than I did at the beginning.
Lakshmi narrates the audiobook version herself. I cannot imaging anyone doing a better job of it. The CD has a bonus PDF file with all the recipes that are included in the book.
tiarala's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved Lakshmi's stories of India, of her youth and her family as she grew up. The book became weaker as I went on and by the end I was kind of over it, which made me sad because I really do adore Padma. I love her cookbooks and use them often. I think the story of her complicated love life is intriguing and while many seem to be writing her off as a gold-digger, those are the circles she runs in, and she seems to genuinely have loved the much older men in her life. It's not my place to judge that or any part of her life. That said, those parts of the book became muddled and often dull. Lakshmi is at her best when talking about food, cooking, and her Indian culture.