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Loading... The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarketby Trevor Corson (otherwise under Trevor Corson)
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Not quite as zany as his book on lobsters, granted, but interesting read none the less. I really enjoyed the information about the history of sushi and the variety of fish that is used. As usual, Trevor Carson makes a story out of a non-fiction topic that leaves the reader learning more about a subject than they realize. I rated this with 3 1/2 stars because of the sections on the student he chose to follow. Her story did not add anything to the book and I was tempted to skip those sections. Overall, a very interesting book -- especially for sushi lovers. After hearing Trevor Corson speak on the radio about sushi, I picked up his book because I wanted to learn more about one of my favorite foods. The Zen of Fish follows a new student through a sushi course at the California Sushi Academy. Mixed in with the story of the student and her classmates are historical facts and other information about things related to sushi such as fish, knives, rice, and etiquette. While I was reading the book, I couldn't help feeling annoyed by the passages about Kate, the student going through the school. She's inept, clumsy, ditzy, and just not that interesting. I was more interested in the actual tidbits of information about sushi than Kate's classes. I would have rated this book higher if it only contained the informational passages about the Japanese cuisine. Those parts were interesting and worth reading for anyone who likes sushi, but the other parts felt like a waste of time. Corson might have been trying to get readers to relate to Kate, but he would have been more successful if he had chosen a stronger student from the class to follow. Amazing, amazing, amazing book! Not just a historical run-down on sushi, this is also a story of students at an American sushi school. Each real-life character is given thorough treatment, from their awkward beginning to their graduation day. There's a lot of history of sushi in here as well, along with accompanying dishes. Miso, sake, rice and other ingredients are explained fully, along with a great many different sea creatures. Unfortunately, one of my favorite pieces of sushi, inari (rice stuffed in a tofu skin) doesn't make an appearance. This was a really entertaining read, and I'm glad I noticed it propped up on an end cap at B&N. I must have gone in there and skimmed the pages three or four times before I bought it online. The hardback is a slightly pricy $25 (I bought mine "gently used" for half the cost), but the paperback edition will be released within a few months. I'd definately recommend it to anyone who loves food. 0.036 seconds to build listing
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0060883502, Hardcover)Everything you never knew about sushi—its surprising origins, the colorful lives of its chefs, the bizarre behavior of the creatures that compose it—is revealed in this entertaining documentary account by the author of the highly acclaimed The Secret Life of Lobsters. When a twenty-year-old woman arrives at America's first sushi-chef training academy in Los Angeles, she is unprepared for the challenges ahead: knives like swords, instructors like samurai, prejudice against female chefs, demanding Hollywood customers—and that's just the first two weeks. In this richly reported story, journalist Trevor Corson shadows several American sushi novices and a master Japanese chef, taking the reader behind the scenes as the students strive to master the elusive art of cooking without cooking. With the same eye for drama and humor that Corson brings to the exploits of the chefs, he delves into the biology and natural history of the creatures of the sea. He illuminates sushi's beginnings as an Indo-Chinese meal akin to cheese, describes its reinvention in bustling nineteenth-century Tokyo as a cheap fast food, and tells the story of the pioneers who brought it to America. He shows how this unlikely meal is now exploding into the American heartland just as the long-term future of sushi may be unraveling. The Zen of Fish is a compelling tale of human determination as well as a delectable smorgasbord of surprising food science, intrepid reporting, and provocative cultural history. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:03 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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There is an appendix with information on sushi-eating etiquette, and an accompanying website, http://www.trevorcorson.com/sushi/beh... , with pictures and more information. The paperback version is called "The Story of Fish." (