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A review by bethsreading
Takeaway: Stories From a Childhood Behind the Counter by Angela Hui
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I find it uncomfortable to rate books that are purely someone else’s life experience. While I acknowledge that part of the rating would be based on the writing style and formatting of the book, it feels wrong to give a number to someone’s life and traumas. So this is a review without a star rating attached.
This book is a fascinating and important view behind the counter of a place nearly every person living in Britain will have visited: the Chinese takeaway. It is very easy for many people to frequent shops, and not understand that real people work there, particularly within hospitality. This is clearly even more prevalent for businesses run by anyone who is not white. This book was enlightening to the reality of growing up in a family takeaway, working hard every night as a child, and dealing with the social repercussions of being asian in a very white area of Wales.
Hui paints the picture of the difficult family dynamics and cultural complexities that make up her childhood. One of the most standout elements is her description of food and all the emotional baggage — good and bad — that comes along with it. The addition recipes at the end of each chapter was particularly wonderful.
I do not feel there is much I can say as, like I said before, this is someone else’s life experience, and one that was very different to mine. All I can do is recommend the book, as it is one that I think anyone would have something to gain from reading.
This book is a fascinating and important view behind the counter of a place nearly every person living in Britain will have visited: the Chinese takeaway. It is very easy for many people to frequent shops, and not understand that real people work there, particularly within hospitality. This is clearly even more prevalent for businesses run by anyone who is not white. This book was enlightening to the reality of growing up in a family takeaway, working hard every night as a child, and dealing with the social repercussions of being asian in a very white area of Wales.
Hui paints the picture of the difficult family dynamics and cultural complexities that make up her childhood. One of the most standout elements is her description of food and all the emotional baggage — good and bad — that comes along with it. The addition recipes at the end of each chapter was particularly wonderful.
I do not feel there is much I can say as, like I said before, this is someone else’s life experience, and one that was very different to mine. All I can do is recommend the book, as it is one that I think anyone would have something to gain from reading.