Noodle Pie

by Ruth Starke

Experiencing culture shock during a family visit to Vietnam, Andy struggles to respond to a Vietnamese name he does not recognize and is surprised by a family restaurant that is nothing like what he expected.

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Cultural, Middle Grade

189 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2008

About the author

Ruth Starke lives in Adelaide, South Australia, and has published more than 20 novels for young people including the award-winning NIPS XI, which was named Honour Book (Younger Readers) in the 2001 CBC Awards and is currently on the Fiction for Young Readers curriculum, Noodle Pie and the Captain Congo series of graphic novels.

She was awarded the Carclew Fellowship in 2002, and currently serves as a judge for both the Colin Thiele Writing Fellowship and the Independent Arts Fellowship. She is a regular and longtime book reviewer for Australian Book Review, Viewpoint, and Radio Adelaide, an an editorial adviser for ABR, and a past Chair of the SA Writers Centre.

Before becoming an author, Ruth worked in public relations and travel marketing, and at a great variety of other jobs - of which the most interesting, she says, were selling French perfume in Harrods, cooking on the radio, taking tourists to Kashmir, and interviewing Grand Prix drivers.

She turned to fiction writing in 1992, and since then has become one of Australia's best-loved authors for children and young adults.

For more information visit: http://www.ruthstarke.com/

Reviews

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★
Perfect for older primary and high school kids of Western/European (especially Aussie) background to get an idea of what life is like in Vietnam today. This is NOT ASIA, as Andy is told more than once. Vietnamese food and culture is Not Asian it’s Vietnamese!

Andy is the Australian-born son (almost 12) of a Vietnamese family, and his father (boat person refugee) works in the gardens department of the local Victorian council. His mother took his younger sister “home” to Hanoi to visit family previously, and now it’s Andy’s turn.

Inexplicably, Dad is wearing a suit, taking many suitcases full of gifts, and on top of that, he’s suddenly sporting a fancy gold watch and diamond ring! Andy is puzzled, but he’s looking forward to meeting the rest of his family who run, so he’s told, an important restaurant.

His father is “Viet Kieh”, meaning he’s a returning ex-pat Vietnamese who’s made good in his new country, so is expected to be generous because he’s obviously rich. We meet grandma, aunts, cousins Andy’s age, and he is thrown into a completely different world.

He actually handles it quite well, I think, and the author does a good job of describing the differences between what Andy’s used to, what he expected, and what he actually encounters. Minh is a girl about his age who lives with the family, works in the restaurant, and is saving to see her mother again in Saigon. She is a talented cook already and features heavily in the story.

The first day, he helps the women, who squat on the footpath at the side of the road, right next to the traffic, preparing and cooking all the produce they’ve been buying since dawn (or before!) to make sure they have enough dishes (30!) prepared for their bustling lunch trade.

“When all the preparation had been done—by this time it was almost ten o’clock—Minh and Aunty Mo and Aunty Thuy and Grandma squatted in a circle on the floor. In front of them were dozens of bowls and basins filled with meat, fish, mushrooms, spices, sauces, eggs, herbs and onions. “Now we make the dishes!’ Aunty Mo explained.

For the next hour or so the women hardly moved. Andy didn’t know how they could squat for so long, their knees tucked up into their shoulders, their bottoms hovering a few centimetres above the floor.”

The place is popular with local workers and the food sells out rapidly, for very little money. He and Minh and a cousin work on an enterprising new business model which shakes the neighbourhood up--in a good way. :)

Meanwhile, he learns about street kids and what life is actually like for many Vietnamese children. He’s shocked to learn that kids are bought from the country and serve as virtual slaves to their masters. This sure isn’t Melbourne anymore!

As we watch Andy grow up, we also see his father and the rest of the family come to terms with their own pre-conceived notions about themselves and each other. We see them begin to accept the reality of their lives, the good and the bad (Andy loves the rellies and loves the food!).

This is an excellent resource for schools, particularly, to help kids relate to cultural differences and how East can meet West in a humorous, respectful fashion.

It’s a nice story, simply told and I recommend it to kids, teachers, and travellers of all ages.

p.s. I forgot to mention the wonderful KOTO foundation started by Aussie Jimmy Pham to teach and train street kids for restaurant businesses. Great school - wish there were more of them!
http://www.koto.com.au/

[LN · Rating 1 out of 5]

Update:

I am a Vietnamese person, so I know what I am talking about. You can trust me.







Original text:

Representation: Asian characters.
Trigger warnings: Vietnam War mentioned, refugee experiences, displacement.
I own this book.

Noodle Pie by Ruth Starke was disappointing.

It starts with Andy, who arrives in Vietnam and overhauls the Phương Nguyễn restaurant.

While the characters are relatable for some, they lack likeability value, depth and development. The exception is Andy, who was once unlikeable but became likeable after a conversation with his father. He develops by regretting the restaurant overhaul and undoing it.

There is little action to find or discuss except for some scenes at the start, middle and end.

The writing style is simplistic but only a YA audience can handle it because it contains profanity, which would be inappropriate for younger audiences. However, the writing has fallen behind in that it uses 'Third World' instead of 'developing country' and portrays Vietnamese inaccurately by omitting diacritics. If Vietnamese words had diacritics in the novel, Vietnamese readers would not be confused or misinterpret them because they can understand what they mean. Even the references have become outdated when they mention Clinton and the Gameboy.

Andy frames Vietnam and Vietnamese negatively for many reasons, including a comparison to wailing cats, calling the Vietnamese language lazy and stating that the people are selfish, impatient and greedy. Thus, Andy spread stereotypes about Vietnam, even as a Vietnamese character. The novel is an example of cultural appropriation because a white author wrote about a Vietnamese character. Additionally, the lack of kinship pronouns makes Noodle Pie inauthentic.

The pacing varies at more than 240 pages with some lengthy scenes and other swifter ones.

While Noodle Pie was intriguing, it is unoriginal because there are other better novels about Vietnam by Vietnamese authors out there.

The plot flows logically and linearly.

Ultimately, Noodle Pie was not enjoyable to read due to its flaws. To summarise, it fails to be well written on all fronts.

Score: Two out of ten.

[Ian Tymms · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect Middle School read for so many reasons: it's accessible, engaging, and has something important to say. Andy or Anh - depending on whether he is using his Australian or Vietnamese name - is going to Vietnam with his father to meet his relatives. It is the first time his father has been back since leaving as a refugee at age 15. The story is told through Andy's eyes and they are very much the eye's of an Australian kid confronted by his first experience of the bustle of a developing Asian city. Andy is also Vietnamese, however, and the novel is about learning some of what this means. The end is simple but moving. I can't wait to see what my students make of it.

[Readinftw · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5- cute cheesy story, lessons about race and culture in Vietnam, yadda yadda. Simply written but paints the world Andy lived in well nonetheless. Good story for middle schoolers, and a light read. Environment and characters seem realistic contextually for where and when they live, and don't really act out of character at any point (even though I haven't been to Vietnam or know much about it for that matter).

Ruth Starke doesn't do anything amazing in her book, but it was a nice writing style that I found reminiscent of Emily Rodda's for some reason (e.g Bungawitta). It's predictable and you know how it will end, but you keep reading anyway. Read for cute and light-reading story.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were elements of this story that I enjoyed, and the overall plot and moral was an important one.
However, I'm not sure how accurate to Vietnamese culture this novel was, and at times, it seemed to be treading the line of offensiveness. I think that if the author herself were Vietnamese, or even Asian, it would read differently, and I wouldn't have as much of an issue with it.

[zainab khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in elementary school like 4999 times

[Deanna Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Realistic fiction, immigration, family.

Andy visits Vietnam for the first time with his father who hasn't been back home in 20+ years.

I enjoyed Andy's humor and spunky attitude but throughout the first 100 pages Andy questions his father constantly about the gift giving to family, dressing to impress and pretending to be rich. Finally around page 100 the dad admits that he is lying to his family. The dad is a gardener in Australia but isn't comfortable telling his family what he really does for a living even though he enjoys it. His family thinks he is a business man. He borrows money to impress his family with a brand new suit, presents for the entire family and rented jewelry. I am not sure how I feel about this lying.

Andy also learns that his parents have been sending money for years to the family in Vietnam to help support them. This family has been lying to his dad too--exaggerating that their family restaurant is better than it really is.

Meanwhile one of Andy's cousins, Minh, is living a lie too. She skips school to sell pens or postcards to tourists to purchase a ticket to see her mom. No one in the family knows this except Andy.

In the end everyone fesses up to their lies and Andy helps the family restaurant obtain tourists which bring in more money.

I enjoyed the references to food and noodle soup but am wondering if this book is truly authentic to Vietnam culture and immigration. What else has Ruth Starke written?

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this lovely Middle School read. It's accessible, engaging and has tender moments between a father and his son. Also a lot to see and learn about Hanoi, it's people, Vietnam's past & special revelations involving family, culture, customs and what it means to go back "home."

A comfort to just right read for many of you, would love to see this on your To Read list and eventually talk to you about it. What about your culture might you think about as you read this book. Where is "home" for you.

[Jabiz Raisdana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really 3.5 stars as it is not terribly well written, a little cheesy and predictable, bit still a great little book. It tackles issues of bi-racial kids, identity, finding your culture, the difference attitudes toward life between cultures and countries. Another important book for the UWCSEA middle schooler. Great descriptions of Vietnam and an easy little just right book for many of you.

[Selina Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young Australian/Vietnames boy returns to Vietnam with his Father to visit his Father's family. Enlightened to the rules of the traditional Vietnamese family and his cheaky and mischievious cousin,the unfairness of the real Vietnam is revealed. Very funny in places and full of interesting cultural differences, great book to support the South East Asia topic.

[Katie Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade 4-6: an Australian Viet Kieu goes back home to Hanoi along with his 12-year-old son, who narrates his impressions - and his understanding of the cultural differences and the great economic ones. Identity, poverty, family relationships, migration, etc.

[Lauren]

Andy travels with his father to Vietnam to visit family and his father's homeland. Andy discovers poverty and eventually helps to bring business to the family resturant. This book would be good to use with students to teach them about diversity among families.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Vietnamese-Australian boy visits Vietnam with his father, and is overwhelmed and disturbed when he meets his extended family. Lots about cross-cultural awareness, doing what you have to do, and family bonds.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Australian boy goes back to Vietnam with his dad, and realizes the country and his Vietnamese cousins aren't what he expected.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great ead, cultures collide.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much plot, but presents an interesting view of modern Vietnam.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story for upper primary school. Would be good to read aloud to a class as there would be a lot to discuss.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Australian children's fiction. Explores issues of cultural identity and poverty. Suitable for kids aged 10-15.

[Tayla Brownhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

currently reading

[Jonty · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good.

[Alex Windheim]

I really liked this book because it's a fun way to learn non-fiction but at the same time it's a really good fiction story. I think this book was just right for me.

[Holly Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for middle school students.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Anthony McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book taught me that same same but different was a Vietnamese phrase. thank you Noodle Pie