Publishers Weekly
03/18/2024
Poet Nezhukumatathil (World of Wonders) presents a smorgasbord of concise and lyrical odes to foods linked to some of her most important memories. She associates saba bananas, a Philippine staple, with a vacation she took to the country, where she felt the kicks of her first baby in utero (“I’m convinced I had the quickening—this baby jumping—earlier than expected, because was enjoying the delicious foods of his Lola’s country”). Mangosteen fruit—“a cage trap of lightning, a sheen of sugar in a bowl”—brings to mind a trip to Hawaii with her husband. Other pieces unravel foods’ complicated origins and histories, including an ode to vanilla and Edmond Albius, the enslaved boy who in 1841 developed a revolutionary technique for pollinating the plants (white botanists attempted to take credit for his method). The author’s dazzling prose is the highlight, though her loose and associative internal logic can sometimes make the connections she draws feel tenuous or underdeveloped (a brief entry notes the proximity between the Buffalo grocery store that was the site of a 2022 mass shooting and an orchard where she and her sons once picked apples, leading to the somewhat odd observation that “there are not apples enough to cure this country’s sickness”). Readers will find this to be an appealing if inconsistent banquet. (May)
From the Publisher
A collection of flavorful memories. . . . A graceful memoir. . . . not unlike halo-halo, a mixture of unexpected ingredients that make for a delectable dessert. . . . Savory food writing." — Kirkus
“Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Bite by Bite is an intimate invitation to come sit at her table; each essay is studded with richly rendered traditions and unexpected anecdotes that range from tender to hilarious to downright devastating. A feast of a collection.” — Elizabeth Acevedo, author of Family Lore and The Poet X
“Over the years, Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s writing has fed me in ways I didn’t even know were possible. So it is appropriate, then, that she has now turned her attention to the world of food, which she writes about with such remarkable dexterity. Bite by Bite is a book about memory, pleasure, regret, and celebration. It uses food to talk about what it means to be human—to love, to learn, to laugh, to lose. Nezhukumatathil’s writing has changed the way I look at food, and made me infinitely more grateful for those whom I share it with. I love this book.” — Clint Smith, author of How the Word Is Passed and Above Ground
“Nezhukumatathil’s background as a poet is obvious throughout. Her writing is lyrical (some essays include poems), and her brevity shows her skill in word choice and description. Bite by Bite will be an especially good option for anyone trying to get out of a reading slump.” — Eater
“Nezhukumatathil’s prowess as a poet infuses this unique memoir meditation on the foods that mean the most to her. . . Each chapter weaves facts, trivia, mythology, and personal stories together, linking Nezhukumatathil's food subjects through space and time. . . She ties it all up with vivid prose that recalls the excitement of a mother anticipating her child eating their first handpicked berry. This whimsical and soothing work will appeal to fans of food writing, memoirs, intercultural stories, and poetry.” — Booklist
“A lively and delicious read. . . [Nezhukumatathil’s] book is an invitation to ask what nourishes us.” — Seattle Times
“With Bite by Bite, the author of World of Wonders is gifting us a collection of essays about how food is inherently tied to our memories and emotions. From shaved ice to rambutan to lumpia, what we eat and drink can summon feelings of joy, grief, and nostalgia, just as it carves out ethnic boundaries.” — Book Riot
“Nezhukumatathil weaves a personal memoir through food...[She] doesn’t waver. Food can be a map toward home, toward memory, toward lineage, her book argues. And with it, she beckons us to explore.” — CNN.com
“Delightful...The book of bite-sized essays...take readers on a gastronomic tour around the world...[Nezhukumatathil’s] writing is much more than an exploration of nourishment. It’s also an invitation.” — Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
“A smorgasbord of concise and lyrical odes to foods linked to some of her most important memories. . . .The author’s dazzling prose is the highlight.” — Publishers Weekly
“From crispy fried sticks of lumpia to sugar-sweet watermelon, these lyrical essays dive deep into the joys of flavor and being alive to savor it all.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“Nezhukumatathil catalogs how food – whether nourishing family or consumed among friends — charges her imagination...Fumi Nakamura’s illustrations add lush visual representations of the foods and flora that Nezhukumatathil takes up in this new book’s forty essays. Frequently, the author’s riffs close with notes of wonderment, merriment, delight, or celebration...Charming and skillfully sculpted, Bite by Bite compels readers to engage their own delicious memories and complex inheritances.” — Boston Globe
“So often, the first and most powerful memories we have of our parents and families of origin center around food. The flavors of our childhood can contextualize who we are and where we came from, and who we want to become. In her new book, Bite by Bite...Nezhukumatathil interrogates the way food and drink intertwines with our human experiences and identities and explores the often murky boundaries between heritage and memory.” — People
“As she shares her memories around her favorite foods, each essay celebrates Nezhukumatathil’s life. She has such a unique way of giving readers glimpses of her life, giving us details about her family’s love of mangos or parties of all kinds featuring lumpia. Every dish or ingredient holds a special place in her heart. With its illustrations, Bite by Bite is the perfect gift book for any food lover. Fumi Nakamura illustrates the foods featured in every chapter, making each essay feel unique.” — Book Riot
Kirkus Reviews
2024-02-10
A collection of flavorful memories.
Poet and essayist Nezhukumatathil, award-winning author of World of Wonders, creates a graceful memoir centered on 40 different kinds of food, some exotic, some familiar, all evoking recollections of childhood, family, travels, friendships, and much more. “This book is a bite of personal and natural history,” she writes, “a serving if you will—scooped up with a dollop of the bounty and largesse of the edible world.” With a father from India and a mother from the Philippines, some of the author’s memories center on traditional food such as kaong, the fruit of the sugar palm, prized in Filipino salads; jackfruit, her favorite fruit, which she first tasted during a visit to her grandparents in Kerala; bangus, the national fish of the Philippines, served fried as part of breakfast; and lumpia, a deep-fried Filipino finger food, with a crisp outer skin filled with chicken, ground beef or pork, carrots, and green beans. She takes sides in her parents’ debate over which mangoes are sweetest, those from India or those from the Philippines. For her, it’s Alphonso mangoes, from India, “hands down.” Eating lychees reminds her of her 20s, when she lived in Buffalo and would fly to New York City to meet friends. She’d buy a sackful of lychees, eating them happily on a bench while people-watching. Cherries, figs, and maple syrup are among other foods that elicit the author’s lyrical responses. The taste of apple banana, for example, “becomes a party in your mouth featuring a banana host and a sort of pineapple-strawberry DJ spinning tunes.” Her memoir is not unlike halo-halo, a mixture of unexpected ingredients that make for a delectable dessert. "With halo-halo," she writes, "you never know what you are going to discover and when."
Savory food writing.
