A review by sariggs
Burnt Bread and Chutney: Growing Up Between Cultures - A Memoir of an Indian Jewish Childhood by Carmit Delman

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.