Reviews for Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes

The average rating for Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-05-03 00:00:00 Mary Lauer I had a hard time getting into this book. It took four different times for me to get through it. I don't think it was the writing per se but the subject matter. I wasn't the right reader for this one. My Rating: 3 stars

Review # 2 was written on 2007-05-28 00:00:00 Maria Teresinha Cardoso A really personal look at growing up in India and what it means to be an outsider living and studying in the United Sates, this book gives its readers a comic but movingly accurate version of things we can all relate to and choices we all have to make. Narayan gives us mouth-watering glimpses of Indian food (and how to make it) as she tells her tale, imprinted so deeply with the spices, smells, textures, and tastes of Indian cooking. With each recipe, Narayan provides a myth that relates to and/or explains the dishes. She also explains how each spice, each topping, each method of cooking has a special use- some of them are to be used when pregnant, some are good for colds, each have their own occasion, and some are even used not only in cooking, but as face cream (and a cure for all ills)- all according to her very ambitious and often overpowering mother. In her memoir, Shoba wishes to study abroad, to the objection of her large family. They make a deal with her that, if she is able to prepare a complete satisfactory Indian meal for the entire family, her wish will be granted. She cooks the meal and off she goes. Within the story she weaves about herself, Narayan contemplates the good and the bad of both the Indian society she has lived in and the American one she moves to. This is a truly entertaining and worthwhile book to read.