Autobiography

Tastes Like War

Tastes Like War

  • Downloads：1540
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-10 03:31:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Grace M. Cho
  • ISBN：1952177944
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Ellis ，

i dont usually like “[sibling/parent/child/partner/etc。] of [marginalized identity]” books but FUCK this was a MASTERPIECE。 such good stuff about colonialism and food and love。

Christine Rague ，

This is an amazing memoir that I couldn't put down。 The author richly and seamlessly blends memory and the present to attempt to piece together her mother's history。 I loved the evocation of food as sensory memory。 The book brings up a lot of difficult questions to grapple with regarding insiders， outsiders and who we in the United States want to believe we are， how we actually show up on the world stage， and how we treat people who are "outsiders。" As the author shows， the ramifications of this This is an amazing memoir that I couldn't put down。 The author richly and seamlessly blends memory and the present to attempt to piece together her mother's history。 I loved the evocation of food as sensory memory。 The book brings up a lot of difficult questions to grapple with regarding insiders， outsiders and who we in the United States want to believe we are， how we actually show up on the world stage， and how we treat people who are "outsiders。" As the author shows， the ramifications of this on both a political， but more importantly， a personal level， can be devastating。 Grace Cho is a brave， honest， generous， and vulnerable writer。 I was glad it rained all weekend so I could stay home and read this。 。。。more

Rebekah ，

Feeding others allowed her to transcend her origins。 It was a testament to her survival and her hope for the future。 （tw: sexual assault， violence， and trauma; suicide attempts; domestic violence; mentions of abortion）（i do hate the use of comp titles to pitch books but） This book is like Crying in H Mart and The Collected Schizophrenias met behind a tent bar to maybe swap books about trauma and Asians in the diaspora， but also maybe to get into a knife fight。 I do think if you read Crying Feeding others allowed her to transcend her origins。 It was a testament to her survival and her hope for the future。 （tw: sexual assault， violence， and trauma; suicide attempts; domestic violence; mentions of abortion）（i do hate the use of comp titles to pitch books but） This book is like Crying in H Mart and The Collected Schizophrenias met behind a tent bar to maybe swap books about trauma and Asians in the diaspora， but also maybe to get into a knife fight。 I do think if you read Crying in H Mart and thought it was too specific to Michelle Zauner and her life， this might be worth a try。 Grace M。 Cho excavates her mother's history and battles with multiple traumas - the devastation and starvation of the Korean War， becoming a sex worker adjacent to a US military base and giving birth to biracial children out of wedlock， immigrating with her children to the United States and becoming the first Asian immigrants in a completely white small town， and a diagnosis of schizophrenia around the time of menopause。 Cho attempted to bridge the gap by learning to cook Korean dishes for her mother， and there begins a second excavation of Korean food and culture in and around a postwar Korea and how Cho's mother used food in America as a weapon to work towards Americanness。 This memoir blends food memoir with Cho's background in sociology and her research into a generation of Korean women who were derided for their connections to American military men and the intersections of colonialism， racism， and war impact women in particular。 Cho expands the scope of the food memoir to interrogate the big picture and I think it's incredibly effective。 I do think that the theme of food does fade away in the bit in the middle as Cho focuses more closely on the limited mental health resources available for her mother when her schizophrenia began to make itself apparent， but the bookends of food and the very Korean way we express love through food tied things together well。 。。。more

Linda ，

After reading Ms。 Cho's first book， Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame， Secrecy， and the Forgotten War， I was looking forward to reading her next book， Tastes Like War。 It did not disappoint！ Ms。 Cho has presented in a most effective way the story of events in her mother's life and how those events affected Ms。 Cho's childhood and her growth into an adult。 I cried。 I laughed。 I smiled。 There are so many instances with which I can relate， having grown up with a mother who was very much like Ms。 After reading Ms。 Cho's first book， Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame， Secrecy， and the Forgotten War， I was looking forward to reading her next book， Tastes Like War。 It did not disappoint！ Ms。 Cho has presented in a most effective way the story of events in her mother's life and how those events affected Ms。 Cho's childhood and her growth into an adult。 I cried。 I laughed。 I smiled。 There are so many instances with which I can relate， having grown up with a mother who was very much like Ms。 Cho's mother even though my mother grew up in an entirely different culture than Ms。 Cho's mother did。 This story made me realize how interconnected we really are and that we share many of the same experiences。 The most amazing surprise to me was how I could relate to Ms。 Cho's emotions。 I also learned a great deal about the Korean War and life in Korea after the war。 I chose to read Ms。 Cho's books because I have a personal interest in learning about the real effect the U。S。 government had and continues to have on the Korean people。 This is a book I will refer to again and again。 It is beautifully written and thoroughly engrossing。 。。。more

Annie ，

When we think of war literature， we generally think of stories—either memoirs or works of fiction—about soldiers。 There are innumerable accounts of soldiers on fields， trenches， planes， and ships stretching back centuries。 Stories about civilians are rarer。 Even rarer are stories about the children of civilian survivors， although there is a growing body of literature by and about children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors。 Grace M。 Cho’s memoir， Tastes Like War， joins that expanding genre When we think of war literature， we generally think of stories—either memoirs or works of fiction—about soldiers。 There are innumerable accounts of soldiers on fields， trenches， planes， and ships stretching back centuries。 Stories about civilians are rarer。 Even rarer are stories about the children of civilian survivors， although there is a growing body of literature by and about children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors。 Grace M。 Cho’s memoir， Tastes Like War， joins that expanding genre。 Cho’s mother was a child during the Korean War。 She lost several family members and nearly starved to death during and after the war。 Her experiences haunted Cho’s mother for the rest of her life。 This means that those experiences also haunted Cho， her brother， and her father for much of their lives。。。Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type。 I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss， for review consideration。 。。。more