The Many Taste Grooves of the Chang Family

by Allison King, LeVar Burton (Narrator)

Siblings try to jog their ailing father's memory through his sense of taste. They discover that as much as he's lost -- he's retained his sense of humor.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories, Fiction

1 pages, Audiobook

First published May 1, 2022

About the author

Allison King is an Asian American writer and software engineer based in Massachusetts. In technology, her work has ranged from semiconductors to platforms for community conversations to data privacy. Her short stories have appeared in Fantasy Magazine , Diabolical Plots , and LeVar Burton Reads, among others. She is a Reese's Book Club LitUp fellow.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elderly Taiwanese father who is in the beginning stages of dementia, asks for a piece of new technology from his two adult children that can recreate tastes. The memory of food brings back other memories for them all, and the father plays a joke on them from a taste memory from his favorite restaurant from when they were children. This story will make you reflect on your own food memories- and it reinforces why I get so excited to eat Polish and German food from my father’s side of the family. I took those meals for granted then, and I am now over the moon when we go to restaurants that remind me of my Chicago grandma’s food and I try to recreate those recipes at home.

I listened to this story through the LeVar Burton Reads podcast.

[Chrysten McNiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐“And that maybe…half of what being a family is about, is just about having similar brain grooves.”

**mild content spoilers**

♡ LBR 2023 ♡

I am so, SO happy to plug in with these stories again on LeVar Burton Reads. I took a couple years to get my associate, and I can’t begin to express how difficult it was to find a free half hour in a day. I’m out of the woods, at least for a little while, and when I saw the new season update, my heart skipped a beat. Feels like a homecoming, and here I am, late to the party.

The food stories on this podcast are always so lovely and touching. I often have similar familiar callbacks to things in my life with scent. The right perfume, soap, odor, and even the scent of a favorite dish, and I’m transported away. What a beautiful way to fight the cruelty of aging.

Thanks for reading and if you wanna chat about the latest LBR episodes, come join us at the LeVar Burton Reads Official Community.

- 📚☕♥
Goodreads Official Star Representation
5 - It was amazing
4 - I really liked it
3 - I liked it
2 - It was okay
1 - Did not like it.

[Jenny Jacquot knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story! I just listened to Levar Burton read me this beautiful story of family and memory and caring and good. Just beautiful!

[Sharifa Hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending was absolutely perfect.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfectly executed short story on memory and food.

[Jennifer Zeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge is sweet no matter how long you have to wait to get it. Great story of how food and taste have strong ties to our memories.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to remind myself what chop suey is (meat stewed and fried with bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and onions, and served with rice) as I have never ordered it before. I love this idea that the aging father was on a quest to recall a simple dish as some of my favorite meals of my youth have been more simplistic (my mother's chicken and dumplings, my own 'peasant soup', etc.). And then the twist at the end was sweet: the concoction that the brothers had made when they were bored (and perhaps a little resentful) at the restaurant composed of sugar, soy sauce, duck sauce, and then tea that the father unknowingly picked up.

Memory of food and of being around the table with family can be pretty strong.

[Jacqueline Mudge-Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story feels like a family snapshot with a bit of sensory technology to make what may seem impossible, possible. Especially in this case for taste and food. Where the family go down memory lane with certain flavors, including one incident that isn't forgotten quite so easily. I was expecting something from Ba's childhood and instead we get something that the whole family experienced together once and again. I won't say more because of possible spoilers but highly recommend.

[Simon Bostock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two siblings use a technology that creates the taste of food in the brain, to try and help their father who has dementia, to remember the taste of food form home.

This is a book where the narrator reminisces about their childhood, and how they would always visit a certain restaurant Silk & Spice, for Chow Mein, whilst they wanted burgers or bad pizza, and wonder why their father always wanted greasy Chinese food.

[Mariano Hortal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lectura 192 (2023) Todos los matices de sabor de la familia Chang de Allison King
Traduccion Aitana Vega
El relato de Septiembre de Voces de lo insólito es, en esta ocasion, un relato de sci-fi muy sabroso. Juega con la capacidad de las comidas para generar recuerdos. Recuerdos que sirven para paliar problemas. Muy chulo.
3/5

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars, not rounded
Listened via audiobook on LeVar Burton Reads

I wasn't initially sold on the premise, but I definitely came around. This is a cute story, but it's also just cliché and tired enough to be a little too familiar. I'd still recommend it, but I'm not going to sing its praises from the rooftops.

[Manuel Botella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ese final... no me lo esperaba, me ha dejado loco y un poco roto a la vez.

[David Blaylock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for a sweet story.

[Julian Lanza · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting short story. Cool world building, but had a hard time relating with the characters

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to on LeVar Burton Reads podcast. I don’t think I was quite in the right headspace for this.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this was a lovely little story. Took a science fiction premise and just ran with it, with some humor and grace.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge is a dish best served ... old? A cute little tale that mixes humour and taste buds and novel technology. Narrated by LaVar Burton.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ankara Cabeza Lázaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ay, mi corazoncito. ❤️‍🩹