Tuesday, March 20, 2007

'80s Books and Food

I read a poignant, fun memoir of growing up Vietnamese in the '80s in Michigigan, and eating lots of junk food: Stealing Buddha's Dinner, by Bich Minh Nguyen. (Check out the short interview and excerpt I wrote here.) I have a real weakness for '80s culture, since that's the decade I grew up in. This memoir reminded me a lot of a Judy Blume book. In fact, Judy Blume wrote a blurb for the back of the book: "Only a truly gifted writer could make me long for the Kool-Aid, Rice-A-Roni, and Kit Kats celebrated in Stealing Buddha's Dinnner. In this charming, funny, original memoir about growing up as an outsider in America, Bich Nguyen takes you on a journey you won't forget. I can hardly wait for what comes next."
Just in case you possibly don't know who Judy Blume is: She wrote '80s teen classics such as "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" (which actually was published in 1970).
Nguyen's working on a novel called "Short Girls" that I'll be interested in reading.

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