The Restaurant Kid
By Rachel Phan
Book Description:
A warm and poignant narrative about finding one’s self amidst the grind of restaurant life, the cross-generational immigrant experience, and a daughter’s attempts to connect with parents who have always been just out of reach.
When she was three years old, Rachel Phan met her replacement. Instead of a new sibling, her parents’ time and attention were suddenly devoted entirely to their new family restaurant. For her parents—whose own families fled China during Japanese occupation and then survived bombs and starvation during the war in Vietnam—it was a dream come true. For Rachel, it was something quite different. Overnight, she became a restaurant kid, living on the periphery of her own family and trying her best to stay out of the way.
As Rachel grew up, the restaurant was the most stalwart and suffocating member of her family. For decades, it’s been both her family’s crowning achievement and the origin of so much of their pain and suffering: screaming matches complete with smashed dishes, bodies worn down by long hours and repetitive strain, and tenuous relationships where they love one another deeply without ever really knowing each other.
In Restaurant Kid, Rachel seeks to examine the way her life has been shaped by the rigid boxes placed around her. She had to be a “good daughter,” never asking questions, always being grateful. She had to be a “real Canadian,” watching hockey and speaking English so flawlessly that her tongue has since forgotten how to contort around Cantonese tones. As the only Chinese girl at school, she had to alternate between being the sidekick, geek, or Asian fetish, depending on whose gaze was on her.
Now, three decades after their restaurant first opened, Rachel's parents are cautiously talking about retirement. As an adult, Rachel’s “good daughter” role demands something new of her—and a chance to get to know her parents away from the restaurant.
Bringing to lyric life the poignancy of growing up in a "third culture," Rachel Phan has crafted a vibrant new narrative of growing up, the strength and foibles of family, and how we come to understand ourselves.
Review:
Ah, that title really caught my eye!
I love books that talk about food and if it's someone's life story too, I'm definitely more interested. From the Blurb itself, I was curious about what it was like growing up in the family restaurant and how that shaped the author. The combination of the restaurant setting, the cultural background, and Rachel's personal journey makes this book more valuable considering the journey of self discovery.
Don't expect plot twists or suspense, this is a simple book about someone trying to find her place in her own world, but it is beautifully written and I stayed up for a few nights until 3 am reading it. This book was very insightful and allowed me to learn more about the cultures. In addition, I was able to get a more in depth look at some of the difficulties that are encountered when families are trying to assimilate to the other culture.
It's entirely about the author trying to figure out who they are while jumping on different ideas about how she should be, based on where she come from. It's about finding her own way when the expectations from her different backgrounds don't quite match up. I really enjoyed this book and learnt about a culture I am not familiar with at the same time.
Rating: 10/10
Highly Recommended!!
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