Book Review: Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse
The Courageous True Story of Three Generations of Chinese Women
Dec 6, 2008
The story begins in Southern China in 1918 when the author’s grandmother Lily Kwok was born in a small, impoverished village. Readers learn much about her life, including her family’s love of home cooked food, her infatuation with a handsome scoundrel, her sacrifices for her family, and her father’s ambitions for a better life. Eventually Lily marries and moves away from her family in China, arriving with her employer in England in order to make enough money to later open a restaurant and send for her children.
Three Generations of Chinese Women
Lily’s inspiring story comprises the bulk of the book, with only brief descriptions of her daughter Mabel and her grandchildren Helen (the author), Janet, Lisa, and Jimmy. The memoir concludes with Tse’s account of how despite her family’s initial resistance to establishing a restaurant, she and her two sisters gave up their professional careers and in 2004 opened a Chinese restaurant and cookery school named Sweet Mandarin in Manchester, England. The story comes full circle as Lily’s restaurant experience and Sweet Mandarin interconnect in unexpected ways.
Sweet Mandarin is a Sweet Memoir
As this book pieces together stories about relatives living and dead, the reader observes that Tse strives to be objective in telling unsavory details (such as gambling, adultery, and involvement in Chinese Triads). However, it’s apparent that the author views her mother Mabel and grandmother Lily as extraordinary heroes, and occasionally presents them as larger-than-life in terms of courage, tenacity, and dedication. Although a British-born Chinese woman with a law degree from Cambridge University, Tse’s English skills sometimes fail her when constructing her sentences. Each chapter begins with an enlightening Chinese quote that summarizes the content of the chapter.
No Recipes Included in Sweet Mandarin
Although luscious descriptions of Lily Kwok’s Chicken Curry and Mabel’s Claypot Chicken appear throughout the book, no recipes are included. As the author co-owns the Chinese restaurant Sweet Mandarin in Manchester, England, with her two sisters, it’s understandable that Tse hesitates to share these secrets. Vivid references to ingredients and cooking techniques, however, provide plenty of stimulation for food lovers.
Book Details:
Sweet Mandarin. The Courageous True Story of Three Generations of Chinese Women and Their Journey Form East to West by Helen Tse. Published July 2008 by Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press. ISBN: 978-0312379360. Price: $23.95. Hardcover.
Restaurant Details:
Sweet Mandarin. Modern Chinese restaurant and cookery school located at 19 Copperas Street, Manchester, England, M4 1HS.
For more information about books with food themes, read 12 Surprising Facts About Coffee (Things You Probably Don’t Know From Taylor Clark’s Book Starbucked).
 |
