false 554865 6 Nicole Mones has mined the endless riches of China once again in <i>The Last Chinese Chef</i>. This time she hits the trifecta: the personal stories of Sam and Maggie, the history and lore of Chinese cuisine, and an inside look at cultural dislocation. Maggie McElroy is a widowed American food writer who is suddenly confronted with a paternity claim against her late husband's estate--by a Chinese family. Her editor offers her another reason to go to Beijing: write an article about a rising young Chinese-American-Jewish chef, Sam Liang. Having sold the home she had with her late husband Matt and reduced her possessions to only the barest necessities, with her life feeling as though it is contracting around her, Maggie embraces the oppportunity to sort out her feelings about Matt's supposed infidelity and do some work at the same time. <br><br> She and Sam hit it off right away, even though he is involved in a very important competition for a place on the Chinese national cooking team for the 2008 Olympics. They travel together to the south of China where she meets her husband's possible daughter--with Sam standing by to act as translator--and where Maggie meets much of Sam's family. He has been welcomed back with open arms, even though he occasionally feels that he has one foot in China and one in Ohio. The Beijing uncles and the Hangzhou uncle are a raucous, loving, argumentative bunch of foodies who advise Sam about menus, encourage a romance with Maggie, make him start over again when the dish isn't perfect, and alternately praise and criticize his cooking. <br><br> Maggie loves being in the middle of it all and finds herself more and more drawn to Sam. She begins, with Sam's help, to see food as "healing" and understands the guanxi or "connectedness" that takes place around food. At the beginning of each chapter is a paragraph taken from a book entitled <i>The Last Chinese Chef</i>, written by Sam's grandfather and translated by Sam and his father. Mones has written that book, too, which is an explanation of the place of food in Chinese history and family life. The novel is rich with meaning and lore and an examination of loving relationships. Don't even touch this book when you're hungry. The descriptions make the aromas and textures float right off the page. --<I>Valerie Ryan</I> 987521 4 5 2007 The Last Chinese Chef total:1182|5:253|4:500|3:333|2:82|1:14| 1182 4442 1738 437 5 3 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 18:19:03 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 18:21:28 -0700 2007
As someone who has limited cooking skills and who is even less adventurous with new food than your average five year old - trust me when I say that this book has made me want to try a world of new things.

Ma...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 16:58:28 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 09:19:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 28 08:52:46 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 08:19:08 -0700 2008 I really liked this book about a woman who is widowed when her husband is run over by a car when is is on a buisness trip to San francisco.
She is a food writer and travels often herself. They agreed to never ha...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 16:15:15 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 15:12:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Sep 18 06:31:15 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 21 22:17:14 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jun 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 15:48:28 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 18:40:06 -0700 2008
Yes, this is a novel, and a major component o...more...]]> 5 1 true false Sun Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Feb 17 20:57:44 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 21:01:49 -0800 2008
Fun learning that these things that I'm used to are... dissected so clearly and explained so well....more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 21:39:28 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 21:54:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 16:04:05 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 16:07:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 20:39:08 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 28 12:40:19 -0700 2009 I love books that revel in food. I also love reading about China. The Last Chinese Chef has both, what an indulgance.
...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 23 17:05:33 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 21:10:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false true Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Dec 28 12:45:11 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 12 20:22:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 07:27:51 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 07:40:04 -0700 2009 1
Having been to China myself, I could picture the banquet I attended while there in Beijing. The meal now...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 13:21:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 14:51:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 02 02:35:56 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 06:05:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Oct 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 12 21:29:11 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 13:26:17 -0700 2008
It was a great fall read warm f...more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 29 05:42:53 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 05:42:53 -0700 2009
The Last Chinese Chef satisfies the Recommended Daily Allow...more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Mar 26 17:59:18 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 05:42:03 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Oct 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 11:57:53 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 12:01:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Mar 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 16 17:29:32 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 16 17:32:22 -0700 2008