973.04 Fis

Fishman shifts between heartbreak and humor revealing a personal story and family memoir told through meals and recipes. He begins with his childhood in Soviet Belarus where good food was often worth more than money. He describes the unlikely dish that brought his parents together. Boris’ family finally immigrated to America through Vienna and Rome filled with “marvel, despair, and bratwurst”. He tells that despite an abundance of food, years of Holocaust hunger left his grandmother so obsessed with bread that she always kept five loaves on hand. Both a recipe-filled memoir, a family story, an immigrant story, a love story, and an epic meal. Enjoy!

You don't have to be Jewish to love this book (I am not - and I truly, truly loved it). Although, it might help to be ex-Soviet to genuinely relate to this narrative. (This is not to discourage anybody else - it's a wonderful memoir altogether!). Boris Fishman (a Jewish immigrant from Belarus, arriving in U.S. at the age of 9 with his parents) masterfully recreates the life of his grandparents, parents and his own up to this point and through all the hardships and indecencies of the immigration process (incomprehensible to a child and yet forever imprinted in his memory), and then describes the life that the family made for themselves in America, his own private relationship troubles, his relations with his parents and grandparents. And all of it peppered with incredible Jewish/Soviet/Ukrainian recipes throughout the book! (Ukrainian - due to his aging grandfather having a Ukrainian caretaker Oksana, who is a super talented cook).

What is also striking in this memoir, is how Fishman describes the most intimate nuances of the Russian language, gestures and even meaningful glances of people in his immediate family - so that while reading, I couldn't help nodding in total recognition of those typical phrases (I imagined them in Russian - though he translates them into English... and that's why I say that, in this regard, being ex-Soviet helps a bit with reading this memoir...), appreciating his wonderful sense of humor (specifically Jewish and otherwise!) and also his self-deprecating frankness - both about himself and his family, not sparing his dear ones from unflattering portrayal that goes along with endearing one.

(I have to say, I have already tried one of the recipes from the book - the Liver Pie!... it's awesome!... and it's not at all what you might imagine from the name... Can't wait to try more!)

Easily 5 stars. And I can't wait to read Fishman's other books. ( )