''The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food'' is a 2008 non-fiction book by
Jennifer 8. Lee, published by
Hachette Hachette may refer to:
* Hachette (surname)
* Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing
** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary
** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm
See also
* Hachett ...
/
Twelve. It discusses the significance of
Chinese American cuisine
American Chinese cuisine is a cuisine derived from Chinese cuisine that was developed by Chinese Americans. The dishes served in many North American Chinese restaurants are adapted to American tastes and often differ significantly from those ...
.
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
described the book as a "travellike narrative".
The work discusses the sheer prevalence of American Chinese restaurants,
and the genesis of said cuisine. Lee also describes how the cuisine is fundamental in American culture.
Background
Lee traveled to
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
to do research. She, in a 16 day period, went to
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
as well as
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. Between the three areas she traveled to 16 different cities.
Contents
The chapter "Open-Source Chinese Restaurants" compares the cuisine to
open source software
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open ...
as restaurants shared recipes.
[
The book discusses origins of particular Chinese food items, and it also discusses ]human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
involved in the restaurant trade.Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
described the bibliography as "Extensive".
Reception
Leslie Cauley of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' described the book as a "sweet treat"; she stated sometimes there was excess "mind-numbing crush of details"[
]Jacqueline M. Newman
Jacqueline M. Newman is a professor emeritus at Queens College, City University of New York, Queens College-CUNY, specializing in Chinese cuisine, history, gastronomy, and food culture. Considered a trailblazer in the field, Newman has authored num ...
, editor of '' Flavor and Fortune'', praised the extensive research and described the work as "a fine chow down".[ Newman stated that she wished that the author had cited some articles in the magazine Newman edited, and that Lee "did not always delve deeply enough."][
]Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
described the book, metaphorically, as "Tasty morsels delivered quickly and reliably."[
Martha Cornog of the '']Library Journal
''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
'' " ghly recommended" the work, describing it as a "detailed and fascinating documentary".[ - Accessed from the ]Wikipedia Library
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read reference ...
Tim Kindseth of the ''Far Eastern Economic Review
The ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' (''FEER'') was an Asian business magazine published between 1946 and December 2009 in the English language. Based in Hong Kong, the news magazine published weekly until December 2004, when it converted to a m ...
'' criticized the book for having an overall lack of focus and for, at times, focusing too much on the author; he stated that the contents "only faintly resemble those of more serious academic studies" although he stated the content was "ravenously researched".[
Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review and stated that the work is "a winner".][
]
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Fortune Cookie Chronicles
' official website
*
* Book excerpt: - Alternate copy:
* - Video showing Lee speaking about her book
MP4 link
2008 non-fiction books
{{Nonfiction-book-stub