Such a heartbreaking novel ( )

From the book jacket: (This) is a universal love story, a family saga, and a journey through Chinese history, myth, and culture. Following a young Chinese couple as their love grows, and is tested, during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, this debut novel provides a personal glimpse into the birth of modern China.

My reaction:
I’ve had this debut novel on my tbr since it was first published in 2010. I was intrigued by the love story coupled with 20th Century Chinese history. And I loved that part of the book. Jinyi is a hero whose experiences are far different than anything I’ve gone through, but whose character is universal. He embodies resilience, determination and love for his wife and family. Yuying grows from the somewhat spoiled eldest daughter of a “bourgeoise” restaurant owner to a humble, devoted and fierce wife and mother. Despite all they go through they remain steadfast in their love and never give up hope of reconciliation during the times they must be apart.

The format Meekings used to tell this story, however, did not resonate with me. He has the Kitchen God narrate the story. The Jade Emperor has challenged the KG to fathom the intricacies of the human heart, so the KG decides to follow this couple from their courtship to their old age. Well that’s not completely out of line; I’ve certainly read and enjoyed other books with a similar omniscient narrator. However, Meekings has the Kitchen God frequently interject his own story, his conversations with the Jade Emperor, and various Chinese folk tales. I found these to be completely unnecessary disruptions to the main story arc. Of course, if he were referring to Western fairy tales or folk tales, he might have been able to simply mention “Cinderella” or “Chicken Little” and I would have instantly understood the reference. Not the case with traditional Chinese folk tales, so I understand why Meekings would feel he has to give us the full story. Still, I found it distracting and thought it interrupted the story arc. ( )

I have to dump this book. It is just too disgusting. There is a jam jar of warm pig fat. A thief would be given a job in the restaurant if he would drink the whole bottle down. "Grey lumps floated like jelly in the thick, slimy liquid." Page 90. Only after the chef and all the other workers have spit into that jar, is it ready for the new employee to swallow it down.....
R-E-V-O-L-T-I-N-G!

I don't find pleasure in reading this.

The story switches between the magical life of the "Kitchen God" and a second thread that follows a Chinese couple from the 40s to modern times - historical fiction, a love story and Chinese folk tales. This could have been good if the writing had been better.

Dumped May 17, 2013 ( )

This novel explores the events of the Communist Chinese Revolution from the perspective of the ancient Chinese Kitchen God who is attempting to decifer the workings of the human heart. The Kitchen God follows Yuying and Jinyi, children at the beginning of the revolution, through their lives and marriage threading the story of their life toghether through the events of the revolution all the while providing exquisite description and deep insights into the human condition. Meekings charactors are so wonderfully developed and deeply human, one feels as though they are close family by the end of the novel. One feels almost as if they are reading a work of art. ( )

This historical family saga set in 20th century China covers so much time and so many themes that it's bewildering at times. Narrated by the Kitchen God, with Chinese folklore interspersed with the main plot, the story line covers the time span from the 1940's through the year 2000. I found myself wanting to skip ahead to the realistic plot , since I cared about the characters, but the amount of description and sidelines became ponderous in the middle of the 400+ novel. Nonetheless, the political backdrop was certainly interesting, and the kitchen God offered much wisdom to chew on.
But what on earth inspired the cover design? ( )