In Stealing Buddha’s Dinner: A Memoir by Bich Minh Nguyen, the glossy branded allure of Pringles, Kit Kats, and Toll House Cookies becomes an ingenious metaphor for Nguyen's struggle during the 1908's to become a "real" American, a distinction that brings with it the dream of the perfect school lunch, burgers and Jell- O for dinner, and a visit from the Kool-Aid man.
The 2009-2010 Great Michigan Read
Winner of the PEN/Jerard Award
A Chicago Tribune Best Book of 2007
Kiriyama Prize Notable Book
Asian American Literature Award Finalist
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Author's website
Please post a comment about the book and whether it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.
2 comments:
This book is a fun read, and I think students could relate to the author's authentic story. Bich Minh Nguyen immigrated from Vietnam, her stepmother immigrated from Mexico, and she is growing up in white suburbia, Michigan. She is living in three different worlds and can't seem to fit in to any of them. She yearns for “American food”, i.e. happy meals and pringles, while her family cooks traditional Vietnamese and Mexican meals.
Unfortunately, I think students could lose interest easily because Ngyuen often references early 80s music and media in a way that leaves out other generations. At times, it felt like there were inside jokes that not everyone could get.
Overall, a good book, but I am not a recommending it for the University Reading Program.
This book was an informative view on a Vietnamese immigrant's young life in Midwestern America. Unfortunately, it is not an especially poignant memoir that suffers from editorial ambiguity and jumps around a little bit chronologically. There are also some notable gaps, for example a dog mentioned once never appears again throughout the memoir.
Although I do appreciate the clash of cultures that is examined, and the refreshing view on the difficulty of reconciling a racial identity in a heterogeneous melting pot I think that it is not quite right for the CRP. I would say that the multiple references to the 80s cement the memoir in a specific time and place, and so much distance the reader as remind them on a constant basis of the time.
Due to the nature of the memoir, there is no real "plot" and it is at times so slow that you think you are stuck in the 80s.
-SG
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