Today’s most highly regarded writer on Indian food gives us an enchanting memoir of her childhood in Delhi in an age and a society that has s...
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Jul 07, 2007
Abby
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I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of the food and spices were so visceral. However, I was left wanting much much more from this so very capable author. Jaffrey can definitely write and write well, though there were moments of frustration when she would gloss over events that she had been hinting at for the last 100 pages. The prime example is her uncle Shibudada (if I remember the name correctly) and the rift that eventually happened between the uncle and his family and Jaffrey's
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Nov 28, 2008
Kaye
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For Madhur Jaffrey cooking fans, this is an interesting read, the story of her early life in India. The descriptions of food are especially good, of course, as well as the look at daily life in a well-to-do family. There are some tempting family recipes included.
Small sections of the book are quite chatty and read nicely, but the book doesn't hang together. It feels like scraps of writing hastily thrown together. An editor to help with the structure and a proofreader to help with ty More...
Small sections of the book are quite chatty and read nicely, but the book doesn't hang together. It feels like scraps of writing hastily thrown together. An editor to help with the structure and a proofreader to help with ty More...
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Jan 21, 2009
Judith
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This is a really vivid view of India, as told through the eyes of a girl born in 1933 into a very wealthy and well-educated family. This book, for me breaks all stereotypes of an Indian girl during that time. Her parents insisted that she and her sisters be independent and well-educated, and she was raised in the lap of luxury. They wear a mixture of Indian and British clothing as suits their moods, and they are not segregated from boys or made to feel subservient. Her extended family live
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Dec 22, 2008
shruti
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We all know Madhur Jaffrey can write a mean cookbook and we all know she can act. But did you know she can write beautiful prose too? This memoir of her childhood is richly evocative, sprinkled with memories of family and food and everything in between. And food, oh the food. Do NOT read this book hungry, it will cause you to arrive at your destination and demand to be fed immediately (not that I did that or anything.)
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Aug 13, 2011
Jennifer
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For fans of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks, this memoir will be, well, ... weird. I have been a fan for years, ever since I picked up one of her cookbooks while living in London. She has come to feel very much of a household presence for me, and I have felt intimately acquainted with her for years through cooking and eating her family's recipes. (Which are all DELICIOUS, by the way....) I had seen some excellent reviews of this memoir on amazon, and confidently suggested it to my book club when
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Jun 12, 2011
Donna
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Jaffrey took me to a lost world: life in Delhi,pre and post partition, among her huge extended family who lived together/close by. Stories of food, fun and drama among her cousins, uncles and aunts are told from her child's perspective and later, her teen views. She gave me a child's view of how partition broke up life-long friendships with Muslim girls who had to leave suddenly and travel to safer places and how her school flooded with new students fleeing in the opposite direction.
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Mar 24, 2011
Ali
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This is a thoroughly enjoyable memoir, Madhur Jaffrey's descriptions of her family and their houses in Delhi and Kanpur are delightfully evocotive. Her life seems fairly idyllic for the most part - Madhur and her siblings enjoyed good relationships and good educations. I became quite fascinated by Madhur Jaffrey's Uncle Shibbudada, a slightly mysterious figure, who while being a magnet for children and adults alike, had a poor relationship with his own wife and children. This book however only
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May 28, 2011
Vasha7
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Madhur Jaffrey, the actress, cook, and cookbook writer, gives us a pleasant but not briliant memoir of her childhood growing up in a wealthy, aristocratic, and enormous family in Delhi. There is some mention of the tensions caused by relations between family members, and some evocation of her emotional uncertainties as she grew, competently written enough. There is description of the luxury of the life they lived and of course, food is a recurring theme. Social and political conditions get a loo
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Aug 29, 2011
Larry
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This is a very breezy memoir of a privileged childhood in Delhi. Madhur Jaffrey is, as always, charming, warm and just a bit reserved. Reading this, you get an intimate portrait of a well-connected family around the time of Partition.
I really wish this book had more depth. There was so much going on at that time and at best we get a light brush-by with experiences that should be conveyed more forcefully. For example, as a child Jaffrey attended one of the last talks/prayer meetings hel More...
I really wish this book had more depth. There was so much going on at that time and at best we get a light brush-by with experiences that should be conveyed more forcefully. For example, as a child Jaffrey attended one of the last talks/prayer meetings hel More...
Nov 09, 2011
Smitha
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I devoured this book. This was a nostalgic journey through the privileged India of the early twentieth century. I got so engrossed, it was as if I had metamorphosed into the young girl who ran around orchids and kitchens and large rooms, ever inquisitive and all-absorbing. This book has rich descriptions of the food, heritage, lifestyle and architecture of the older India. One amusing thing is that, so far I was under the impression that Madhur Jaffrey is a famous Indian male chef and I was shoc
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Jul 29, 2011
A curry leaf for a bookmark serves as a suitable entre to this autobiography. A mesmerizing account of a girl's life growing up in India during WWII, Independence and
partition, ending in her teen years as she sails west , alone, on a P&O with drama scholarships from the
A curry leaf for a bookmark serves as a suitable entree to this autobiography. A mesmerizing account of a girl's life growing up in India during WWII, Independence and Partition, ending in her teen years as she sails west, alone More...
partition, ending in her teen years as she sails west , alone, on a P&O with drama scholarships from the
A curry leaf for a bookmark serves as a suitable entree to this autobiography. A mesmerizing account of a girl's life growing up in India during WWII, Independence and Partition, ending in her teen years as she sails west, alone More...
Oct 05, 2009
Sorayya
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Madhur Jaffrey's Invitation to Indian Cooking cookbook has been a staple in our home since I moved to the US years ago. But I only recently turned to Climbing the Mango Trees because it was suggested to me as an example of evocative writing about childhood memories. It is, indeed, evocative, both in terms of the childhood experience it recreates, but also in terms of the political history that the "story" takes place in. It's not a "story" in a novel sense -- this is clear
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Dec 08, 2010
Margaret
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Really enjoyed this memoir of famous Indian cookbook author & actress, Madhur Jaffrey, especially after seeing her recent talk for the Pittsburgh Arts and Lecture Series. Surprisingly, unlike Madhur's cookbooks, the memoir is less "user-friendly" for readers not familiar with general aspects of Indian culture and politics, particularly India's history under British rule and the internal tensions between Hindus and Muslims. That said, I loved reading about the young life of one of my
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Apr 22, 2009
Krista
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Jaffrey reflects on her earliest memories in this autobiography. Steeped in Hindu culture and learning, she grew up within an extended well-to-do Delhi family that expected the best of each. Starting with her grandmother's placing honey on her tongue shortly after birth, Jaffrey's life began to arrange itself around all that food represents in Hindu life. Some of her most touching and distressing scenes come with the advent of India's independence and its partition. Jaffrey's friends and schoolm
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Feb 13, 2010
Stacey
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Madhur Jaffrey is an amazing cook. I love cooking from her cookbook because she does a great job of writing about what the food means to her, when to cook it and what to pair it with. Plus the food is incredible!
I had high expectations of this book and I came away from it feeling very disappointed, although I'm not sure I should have been. It isn't badly written, and it does communicate her memories of her childhood. And there were moments that I really enjoyed, learned more abou More...
I had high expectations of this book and I came away from it feeling very disappointed, although I'm not sure I should have been. It isn't badly written, and it does communicate her memories of her childhood. And there were moments that I really enjoyed, learned more abou More...
Sep 19, 2010
Donna
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This book is a good introduction into the world of the extended family in India. Set against the backdrop of the last years of India under the Raj, through Partition and Independence, and into the years following, this memoir by Madhur Jaffrey simply lays out the family world she grew up in through the eyes of the child she was. Any of the drama that existed in her family, for example, the emotional cruelties her uncle inflicted on his wife and children, are stated and then left unexplored. G
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Dec 30, 2008
Patricia
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Madhur Jaffrey's clear, delicious, and reliable recipes are much loved at our house. The memoir also reflects her talent for clear and evocative writing. Jaffrey vividly conveys pleasures of taste and color. The memoir was frustratingly choppy though. Even the frequently evoked themes of learning and taste didn't quite manage to hold to together fascinating but disparate themes. The chapters usually fell into short chunks that often skimmed across topics that deserved more thorough development
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Oct 30, 2009
Denise
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I liked the idea of this book, a memoir of a childhood in India, but the execution left things to be desired. Ms. Jaffrey grew up in a very wealthy family during the British rule of India and experienced the changeover to Indian self-rule. But many important things were glossed over and instead the focus was an artistic version of her wonderful childhood. It was interesting, but not important. The thing that does stand out in the book is the authors descriptions of food. I really don't have
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Jun 27, 2009
Hannah
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My gut reaction was to give this book 5 stars, but I just didn't feel like I could. Although Jaffrey was SO good at conjuring up images and smells and (most of all) tastes, I just wanted more out of her tales. They tended to end just as they were getting really interesting, leaving out details that she would start talking about and then back out of. Humph. But I would still recommend this book; it took me FOREVER to read since it made me EVER so hungry. yum! Also the fact that there are approxim
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Nov 07, 2010
Adina
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I like books about food. I like books about India. and I like a good "growing up in ___" story. But this book didn't really any of these things well. There are many ellipses and allusions when it comes to the real drama. They are taken up but then brushed aside with a description of tomato ginger potatoes.
I loved the food description, and even how the culinary tradition of Delhi changed after partition (from dominantly muslim cuisine of the old city to creamy Punjabi). But partiti More...
I loved the food description, and even how the culinary tradition of Delhi changed after partition (from dominantly muslim cuisine of the old city to creamy Punjabi). But partiti More...
Jul 13, 2008
Liza
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What on earth... so many favorable reviews. I had to give it one star because there wasn't a BARF option. I'm quite mature and eloquent, I know - no need to respond.
This book as concept sounds great - portrait of an extended family living on one compound under a patriarch, during partition and told from the p.o.v. of a foodie (as I understand it, Jaffrey is the Martha Stewart of Indian cookbooks). So far, I'm totally on board.
And then I have to read the words as Jaffre More...
This book as concept sounds great - portrait of an extended family living on one compound under a patriarch, during partition and told from the p.o.v. of a foodie (as I understand it, Jaffrey is the Martha Stewart of Indian cookbooks). So far, I'm totally on board.
And then I have to read the words as Jaffre More...
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Jul 18, 2008
FicusFan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 28, 2011
Lynne
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Jaffrey wrote one of my favorite cookbooks, Indian Cooking. This is her account of growing up in and around Delhi, part of a large, wealthy, extended family. It is written from her point of view as a child moving toward the day she leaves for college. It takes us through the wrenching partition of India and Pakistan and the assassination of Gandhi. I loved the detailed descriptions of food as culture and ritual. There are lots of family recipes in the back.
May 31, 2011
Helen
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Truly enjoyed this memoir of Jaffrey's childhood and how the dynamics of her extended family. The days of the patriarch (in this case, the grandfather) ruling family lives have passed, however, or are, at any rate, rare. She describes the Delhi of the days before Partition and the social adjustments after that.
And, as you would expect, lots of memories of food and events that centered around it. Loved the black and white photos and the recipies in the back.
And, as you would expect, lots of memories of food and events that centered around it. Loved the black and white photos and the recipies in the back.
Aug 24, 2011
gayatri
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my fav quote:
"The innocent Indian honey of my infancy was now mixed with the pungencies of India spices, the sour and bitter, the nutty, and the tinglingly aromatic. Births, deaths, illnesses, caste, and creed had woven their way through the flavors like tenacious creepers, and yet, somewhere in my depths, each bite, each taste of all I had eaten, lay catalogued in some pristine file, ready to be drawn up when the moment was ripe." p243
"The innocent Indian honey of my infancy was now mixed with the pungencies of India spices, the sour and bitter, the nutty, and the tinglingly aromatic. Births, deaths, illnesses, caste, and creed had woven their way through the flavors like tenacious creepers, and yet, somewhere in my depths, each bite, each taste of all I had eaten, lay catalogued in some pristine file, ready to be drawn up when the moment was ripe." p243
Aug 23, 2011
Janie
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Very pleasant. Rather choppy.
After visiting Delhi (mostly *New* Delhi, I was told, though the (sociopolitical) distinctions between the different layers of Delhi were unclear to me then and are still mysterious to me now), I've tried to explain to people about the food (northern vs. southern, Muslim vs. Hindu vs. Punjabi), but I've never succeeded. From now on I'll just refer people to this book.
Now more than ever I want to learn to cook and bake with chickpea flour.
After visiting Delhi (mostly *New* Delhi, I was told, though the (sociopolitical) distinctions between the different layers of Delhi were unclear to me then and are still mysterious to me now), I've tried to explain to people about the food (northern vs. southern, Muslim vs. Hindu vs. Punjabi), but I've never succeeded. From now on I'll just refer people to this book.
Now more than ever I want to learn to cook and bake with chickpea flour.
Dec 17, 2009
Stephanie
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I read this for my book group. Jaffrey is strongest when talking about food and the memories around food, which is not surprising for someone best known for her cookbooks. It is an interesting life portrait of growing up in India at a certain time, belonging to a certain socioeconomic class. My overall feeling, though, was that the memoir was not as informed by adult perspectives on things that happened while she was growing up as it could have been. For example, Partition was addressed, but
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Jul 13, 2008
Shelah
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Since finishing my MA, I've decided that if I ever went back to school, two of the things I'd love to study are Indian-American writings and books about food. Climbing the Mango Trees combines both of these interests, so it should come as no surprise that I was totally entranced by this memoir. I've read several of Jaffrey's cookbooks, and even cooked dinner from them a few times, and as I was reading the memoir, I felt like I could taste the food she described. Her stories made me wonder which
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May 11, 2011
Emma
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Don't read this memoir when you're hungry - her tantalizing description of the glorious Indian dishes of her childhood is more than an empty stomach can bear. She paints a lovely portrait of growing up in a special time and place, but her ominous hints at family strife are glossed over and never explored, which is frustrating as a reader. A fun quick read, but lacking in depth.
Oct 09, 2010
Anne
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I enjoyed this evocative memory of growing in India in the late 1930's to 1953 when she leaves for London. As a member of a joint-family of aunts, uncles, and cousins living under the same roof in a wealthy and well-educated family, this memoir is really delightful about the day-to-day rituals, particularly food. And, ends with a selection of family recipes that I plan on trying!
