The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food is a 2008 non-fiction book by Jennifer 8. Lee, published by Hachette/Twelve. It discusses the significance of Chinese American cuisine.

Publishers Weekly described the book as a "travellike narrative".[1] The work discusses the sheer prevalence of American Chinese restaurants,[2] and the genesis of said cuisine. Lee also describes how the cuisine is fundamental in American culture.[3]

Background

Lee traveled to East Asia to do research. She, in a 16 day period, went to Mainland China and Hong Kong as well as Taiwan. Between the three areas she traveled to 16 different cities.[4]

Contents

The chapter "Open-Source Chinese Restaurants" compares the cuisine to open source software as restaurants shared recipes.[3]

The book discusses origins of particular Chinese food items, and it also discusses human trafficking involved in the restaurant trade.[5]

The bibliography has five pages.[6] Mark Knoblauch of Booklist described the bibliography as "Extensive".[7]

Reception

Leslie Cauley of USA Today described the book as a "sweet treat"; she stated sometimes there was excess "mind-numbing crush of details"[5]

Jacqueline M. Newman, editor of Flavor and Fortune, praised the extensive research and described the work as "a fine chow down".[6] Newman stated that she wished that the author had cited some articles in the magazine Newman edited, and that Lee "did not always delve deeply enough."[6]

Kirkus Reviews described the book, metaphorically, as "Tasty morsels delivered quickly and reliably."[2]

Martha Cornog of the Library Journal "[h]ighly recommended" the work, describing it as a "detailed and fascinating documentary".[8]

Tim Kindseth of the Far Eastern Economic Review criticized the book for having an overall lack of focus and for, at times, focusing too much on the author; he stated that the contents "only faintly resemble those of more serious academic studies" although he stated the content was "ravenously researched".[9] Kindseth stated that the content about the abuse of restaurant workers is the "most compelling", and a chapter about woes facing a Chinese immigrant family running a restaurant is "The most wrenching".[9]

Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review and stated that the work is "a winner".[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food". Publishers Weekly. 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  2. 1 2 "THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES". Kirkus Reviews. 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  3. 1 2 Stern, Jane; Stern, Michael (2008-03-09). "Wok On". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  4. ↑ Express (2008-03-17). "Promises, Promises: Jennifer 8. Lee on Chinese Food". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  5. 1 2 Cauley, Leslie (2008-03-19). "Smart 'Cookie' scoops up story of Chinese cuisine". USA Today. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  6. 1 2 3 Newman, Jacqueline M. (2008). "Review: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food , by Jennifer 8. Lee". Gastronomica. 8 (3): 123.
  7. ↑ Knoblauch, Mark (2008). "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food". Booklist. 104 (11): 13. - Accessed from Gale Academic OneFile
  8. ↑ Cornog, Martha (2008). "Lee, Jennifer. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles". Library Journal. 133 (3): 127 – via EBSCOHost. - Accessed from the Wikipedia Library
  9. 1 2 Kindseth, Tim (2008). "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food". Far Eastern Economic Review. 171 (4): 74 – via ProQuest.

Further reading

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