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Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds

Yemisi Aribisala

3.97 · Rating details · 108 ratings · 22 reviews

One of the most enduring myths on the Nigerian Femme Fatale - mammy-water, 'winch' or husband-snatcher - has to do with the cooking of fish stew ... A woman can do what she likes with a man When She knows how to satisfy his appetite for food. "Long throat Memoirs presents a sumptuous menu of essays about Nigerian food, lovingly presented by the nation's top epicurean write ...more

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Paperback, 357 pages

Published October 31st 2016 by Cassava Republic Press

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Jan 06, 2017 Temilade rated it it was amazing

Yemisi Aribisala definitely knows her stuff, the journeys she has taken in this country for food are fascinating. With the result being an essay collection that is witty, informative, heartbreaking and delicious. At least, I assume it is, I am yet to try out any of her recipes (because I’m lazy) but I have my eyes on her Peppered puff puff recipe.

Read more at https://homelandreviews.com ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 K.J. Charles marked it as pass

Shelves: dnf, african

Some really wonderful bits of writing, and some fantastic essays. Very culturally specific and I'm not getting a lot of it because I don't know Nigerian food. I suspect it would be amazing if you do, but lyrical food descriptions generally require reader knowledge to work. My loss. If I ever get to go to Nigeria I'm bringing this. ...more

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Oct 08, 2017 Shawn Mooney (Shawn The Book Maniac) marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: did-not-finish-2017

Bailed 12% of the way in. Fun and energetic but too detailed and loooong for me, especially not knowing anything about Nigerian food or most of the vegetables, spices, or other ingredients she rhapsodizes about. Might go back to it later...

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Nov 30, 2017 Olubukola rated it it was amazing

Shelves: african-classics

Aribisala writes about Nigerian ingredients and soups in the way one would a lover, a person whose tricks, tastes, and curves are as known and dear as one’s own body. She showcases the dynamic, larger-than-life personality of Nigerian food and seats it on its own throne among food royalty.

In each essay, every recipe or pot of soup she talks about, she describes every detail so exquisitely that as you read, you can taste the crunchy, bursting seeds of green, fresh, perfectly made okro, and the ta ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 Amyn rated it really liked it

All i have to say is: I'm glad this book was published. And i need more books like this that praise Nigerian cuisine. It was beautiful. ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Kene rated it it was amazing

Shelves: novels

Beautiful.
[edit because I didn't know what to write when I finished this]:

Longthroat memoirs is a beautiful & special book whose main concern is Nigerian food, its gastronomic features, and its importance, pertaining to Nigerians and the world at large. It's a book I'm probably going to read multiple times throughout my life -for reference and for pleasure.

Nigerian food (specifically, soups. Please stop talking about Jollof rice) really is the most amazing thing a person can create in a pot, and Beautiful.
[edit because I didn't know what to write when I finished this]:

Longthroat memoirs is a beautiful & special book whose main concern is Nigerian food, its gastronomic features, and its importance, pertaining to Nigerians and the world at large. It's a book I'm probably going to read multiple times throughout my life -for reference and for pleasure.

Nigerian food (specifically, soups. Please stop talking about Jollof rice) really is the most amazing thing a person can create in a pot, and another can have slide through their taste buds and down into their throat(I consider myself ”an authority" on food so..shh), and to have a book filled with essays dedicated to, and written about the *best* cuisine on the planet, with as much luster & detail as these are, is a charitable service for Nigerians and non-nigerians alike who ever embraced the notion -no matter how furtively- that our food is 'bland', 'boring' or 'disgusting' (never heard anyone dare to say this but there's probably some white man out there who has).

The experience of eating, and appreciating the taste of -any- food probably is the most evanescent -right after the feeling of waking up- that people go through on a daily basis, and being able to articulate one's sensory experience in speech is difficult enough, talk less of in writing. I firmly believe that anyone who has this gift, and chooses to share it with the world, should be lauded till they're red, as it's a rare & unsubstitutable one that *cannot* be reduced to being "a common trait among good writers". No. Writing about taste is a whole different ball game. The task of using simple adjectives that will be recognizable to the least voracious readers, to bring to mind long forgotten -in my case- or unknown gustatory experiences, isn't one that can be achieved by just any "good writer". It's a rare blessing that I'd do anything to be deigned upon me.

Yemi Aribisala uses stories about food & sex to discuss so much central to the experience of being a Nigerian, she uses these stories to elucidate the sources of myths-as she did with the Cross Riverian "mammywata"-, question the often parochial patriotism practiced by most Nigerians, and bring to mind the nature of tensions both malevolent and benign, that are familiar to us all (again, Nigerians.)- from the ideological battle of the sexes between men and women who refuse to be subservient, to the intertribal conflicts that often end up with harrowing consequences. Ms. Aribisala digs into all.
In fact, one of these -Dead man's helmet- is so well written, it's still a little too much for me to stomach at the moment, as its subject, the Biafran War, isn't one I gain much pleasure reading about -in fact, I believe my ability to stomach stories about this topic is inversely proportional to the quality of prose utilized- and so I postponed reading that essay for the near future.

All in all, it's a really beautiful book I'd urge any Nigerian or foreigner with the slightest love for our food to read. It's funny, informative about things you've probably thought about and are yet to receive answers to, and quite a pleasure to read. Oh, and most importantly, it includes some really interesting recepies that are sure to wipe away any thoughts of Nigerian food being too rigid. A subtext underlying every essay in this book is that experimentation is good, in every aspect of our lives. ...more

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Feb 23, 2019 Shirley rated it it was ok

The language in this book is beautiful at times but but a casual bit of homophobia inside made me put this down.

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May 20, 2018 Literary Everything rated it it was amazing

Longthroat Memoirs gets top marks for originality. Yemisi identifies a “gap in the market” and sets out to discuss this gap and she does a good job of it. In the book, we read about Nigerian food and the stories behind the food. So, it’s not just a recipe book of Nigerian foods, it looks at the relationship between food and culture and also serves as a travelogue about some parts of Southern Nigeria. Read the full review https://literaryeverything.com/2018/0... ...more

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Feb 13, 2019 Ayooluwa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Longthroat Memoirs is a lyrical compilation of essays about Nigerian food – primarily food enjoyed by Cross Riverians and their other South-Eastern counterparts. It's more of a memoir than a cookbook, which I should've guessed given its title, but in my defence I found it in the cookbook section of my local bookstore. Though Longthroat Memoirs features some recipes, I found that the recipes weren’t detailed enough for me.

I really enjoyed this book. I never thought that someone could love food as ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Gitanjali rated it liked it

I enjoyed this book. It was eye opening to learn about ingredients and dishes that I had no idea about! We need more books like these. Books that revel in local cuisine from developing countries - African countries in particular. My only exposure to "African food" has been Ethiopian food. I have heard of jollof rice but never tasted it and I knew a little bit about pepper stew only because I have a Nigerian colleague. What a crying shame though! Such a wasted opportunity.

I too want to eat pepper ...more

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Dec 08, 2017 Abbey rated it really liked it

Yemisi Aribisala clearly loves food. So do I (but I definitely don't have her talent with it!). And I love learning about food I don't know about and cultures and people I don't know about, so I enjoyed this book very much. I love the way she talks about Nigerian food; it's really fascinating. ...more

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Jul 10, 2019 Ben Mokaya rated it really liked it

First encountered Yemisi through her long essays. Here, she weaves cuisine, sex, culture, and makes for an interesting -though at times, a laborious - read. Also, Nigeria has like millions of condiments and cuisines, my goodness 😀.

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Apr 24, 2019 Agatoni rated it liked it

3.5 stars

Yemisi Aribisala writes freshly + defiantly (not in this book: “it was not my fault if I looked like butter would not melt in my mouth, like innocence and benevolence in a food processor”).

Read this after reading “Bad Woman Meat Pies”, the author's essay which is a perfect blend of recipe + social commentary.

The essays in this book are just as well-crafted but to their detriment, more food less food for thought. ...more

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Jul 13, 2020 HazzyHaz rated it liked it

Absolutely loved this style of food writing which tells a story behind ingredients and recipes also linking to the cultures. It’s a hard read if like me, you don’t know a lot about Naija food. It’s clearly written for the Nigerian audience but still works, particularly if you are from an African background. I found some of the vocabulary to be too deep English, almost for effect, when simpler words would’ve been more efficient. Great read still

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Oct 08, 2020 Margery Osborne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: memoir, cookbook

Really enjoyed the patois and observations of the marketplace(s) in Nigeria and the food culture. going to try the author's version of jollof rice (my previous attempt was from Marcus Samuelson). am *not* going to try her okra soup...I like my okra crunchy! ...more

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Aug 27, 2017 Fatou rated it really liked it

To like this book you need to be a foodie who is in love with Africa. And I am happy to be one. It may also appear to people interested in exotic foods and food writing in general.

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Apr 16, 2021 Sarah Swedberg rated it it was ok

I thought I would love this book but I didn’t. It had its moments but I found it tedious. I had to really work to make myself finish it.

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Dec 30, 2019 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Here is my review:
https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/why-a-ni... ...more

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Dec 07, 2019 Sally rated it liked it

I did not finish this book before it had to be returned to the library. I *did* make the jollof rice and it was delicious.

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Feb 16, 2019 Amara Ifeanyi-Okoro added it

Shelves: culture

This book is an in-depth into the culture and people surrounding Nigerian food
It may be a difficult read if you're not Nigerian as the author is unapologetic about the use of local names and terms. It reads as a romance between the author and the authenticity of Nigerian food cooked with the vital ingredients and not substitutes. In between pages of the love letter, you would find a recipe here or there.
The author is not opposed to experimenting and adding individuality to the food, but she pol ...more

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Sep 28, 2017 enyanyo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, food, non-fiction

Our soups are some of the best-kept secrets in the world. While the rest of the world has gone on and on about their cuisines, we have remained mute, with out mouths full of food. We love our food but we've not tried to win the world over with it.

Yemisi Aribisala's chronicling of the vastness and complexity of Nigerian cuisine is such a delectable read. You can tell the author is a foodie at heart. Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds weaves together love, sex, history, rec ...more

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Sep 23, 2017 Lindsey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: food-cooking, reviews

I know nothing about Nigerian culture or food but I do love food, and I love reading about food. I don't know whether Yemisi Aribisala can cook well but damn can she write. I flew through this book in a handful of days. I am, by no means, a picky eater but there are certain foods that instinctively gross me out just by virtue of being American. But Yemisi made snails sound delicious. She made okra (that hasn't been fried - I'm Southern) sound delicious. I bookmarked all of the recipes and resear ...more

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