Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the sweetness of watermelon and the saltiness of fish. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. Through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. Strawberries come to signify struggle as Thien's mom and dad look for work. Potato chips are an indulgence that bring Thien so much joy that they become a necessity. Behind every cut of steak and inside every croissant lies a story. And for Thien Pham, that story is about a search - for belonging, for happiness, for the American dream. The story ends on a happy note with a fortysomething Thien becoming a U. S. citizen and registering to vote.
The author originally published this memoir serially to Instagram. His artwork is done in traditional six-panel comic strip panels and he used Procreate to do the drawings on an iPad. The drawings are colored with a muted brown palette. If you loved Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese and Thi Bui's The Best We Could Do you will want to read Family Style.
5 out of 5 stars.
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