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Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir
Stealing Buddha's Dinner A Memoir
Author: Bich Minh Nguyen
As a Vietnamese girl coming of age in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Nguyen is filled with a rapacious hunger for American identity, and in the pre-PC-era Midwest (where the Jennifers and Tiffanys reign supreme), the desire to belong transmutes into a passion for American food. More exotic- seeming than her Buddhist grandmother's traditional specia...  more »
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PBS Market Price: $12.29 or $8.39+1 credit
ISBN-13: 9780143113034
ISBN-10: 0143113038
Publication Date: 1/29/2008
Pages: 272
Rating:
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 38

3.6 stars, based on 38 ratings
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Describing her growing up in USA after escaping from Vietnamese war. I especially appreciate the way she writes about her step-mother. Ms. Nguyen writes well about some very hard to describe feelings. This is a very warm book. Well worth reading.
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nightprose avatar reviewed Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir on + 112 more book reviews
This is the memoir of a young Vietnamese girl growing up in 1980s Michigan. Bich Nyugen tells her emotional story--- of being a Vietnamese immigrant after the fall of Saigon, 1975.

Not long after settling in Michigan, Bichs father marries a Hispanic woman. It is interesting to see yet another culture blend into Bichs young life. Throughout the book we gradually learn about Bichs mother and the mystery surrounding her absence.

Bich artfully exposes moments and facts through food, tradition, culture, and the youthful desire to fit in, to belong. Her story is both universal and intimate.

A very unique memoir, sweet and poignant, its flavor will linger.
luxtempo avatar reviewed Stealing Buddha's Dinner: A Memoir on + 20 more book reviews
A little gem of a memoir. For anyone who ever felt like they never "fit in", this book captures that experience. Beautifully simple yet profound.


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