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    Soy Sauce for Beginners: A Novel
    Soy Sauce for Beginners: A Novel
    Soy Sauce for Beginners: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    Soy Sauce for Beginners: A Novel

    Written by Kirstin Chen

    Narrated by Nancy Wu

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Gretchen Lin, adrift at the age of thirty, leaves her floundering marriage in San Francisco to move back to her childhood home in Singapore and immediately finds herself face-to-face with the twin headaches she’s avoided her entire adult life: her mother’s drinking problem and the machinations of her father’s artisanal soy sauce business.

    Surrounded by family, Gretchen struggles with the tension between personal ambition and filial duty, but still finds time to explore a new romance with the son of a client, an attractive man of few words. When an old American friend comes to town, the two of them are pulled into the controversy surrounding Gretchen’s cousin, the only male grandchild and the heir apparent to Lin’s Soy Sauce. In the midst of increasing pressure from her father to remain permanently in Singapore—and pressure from her mother to do just the opposite—Gretchen must decide whether she will return to her marriage and her graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory, or sacrifice everything and join her family’s crusade to spread artisanal soy sauce to the world.

    Soy Sauce for Beginners reveals the triumphs and sacrifices that shape one woman’s search for a place to call home, and the unexpected art and tradition behind the brewing of a much-used but unsung condiment. The result is a foodie love story that will give readers a hearty appreciation for family loyalty and fresh starts.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 7, 2014
    ISBN9781480555709
    Soy Sauce for Beginners: A Novel
    Author

    Kirstin Chen

    Kirstin Chen is the New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit, Soy Sauce for Beginners and Bury What We Cannot Take. Born and raised in Singapore, she currently lives in New York City. 

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    Reviews for Soy Sauce for Beginners

    3.5/5

    85 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Excellent beach read about love, family, and hopes/dreams.

      The audiobook is narrated by Nancy Wu is exceptional.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I enjoyed the story very much. It was very entertaining.
    • 3/5
      A reasonably paced novel of a young woman (Gretchen Lin, the protagonist) who returns to her family in Singapore--and by extension the family business she never intended to join--after her marriage in the US fails. The Lins are both super-traditional and their own animal, with an alcoholic mother in denial and nakedly ambitious cousins among the characters. When Gretchen's best friend from college moves to Singapore and also gets a job with the Lins, the stage is set for the power struggle to control the future of the soy sauce-making corporation. Some of the characters and the ultimate storyline about the company felt kind of predictable, but that at least made this a fast read.
    • 3/5
      This was a beautiful book about dreams, family, and relationships. It was easy to read but sharp with pain at times.
    • 2/5
      Fluffy read with some interesting info about soy sauce. Selfish, self-centered protagonist makes it hard to care what happens to her.
    • 3/5
      In "Soy Sauce for Beginners", the protagonist Gretchen has returned from living in San Francisco, after the failure of her marriage, to her native home in Singapore. She gets involved in the family business, which creates artisanal soy sauces. I honestly had no idea that there was such a thing, and found all references to this craft intriguing. However, this novel seems to struggle between being literary fiction with substance, or being entertaining chick-lit. The latter seems to have won out for the most part. I think the author Kirstin Chen has potential in whatever direction she chooses to go in the event that she writes/publishes further, although I hope she goes for substance.
    • 3/5
      The most interesting thing, to me, about this novel is that it's chick-lit set in Singapore. I really liked the setting and learning all about soy sauce. But I didn't much care for the main character, a spoiled, self-absorbed 30-year-old from a wealthy family who returns from San Francisco to get over a break-up, work in her family's high-quality soy sauce factory, and embrace her Singaporean roots.
    • 2/5
      Current day story about a Soy Sauce family dynasty in Singapore. The company was founded by Gretchen's grandfather and is now being run by her father and uncle. Neither she nor her cousin really want anything to do with the company. And Ba and Uncle Robert area at odds over the direction of the company. Robert, with his black sheep son, Cal, want to expand to a less authentic, less costly product, while Ba (and his now reeled in daughter Gretchen), want to stay with the authentic, original version - which they now dub "artesian Lin's soy sauce". The story examines the interpersonal relationships in the family, and having the thrid generation come on board in the company.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful debut novel of self-discovery. Author does a nice job writing about San Francisco & Singapore's cultures, traditions, foods (including artisanal Soy Sauce), while incorporating these aspects into a story. Well-written and sweet.
    • 3/5
      A lovely first line promises good things in this book: “These are some of my favorite smells: toasting bagel, freshly cut figs, the bergamot in good Earl Grey tea, a jaw of whole soybeans slowly turning beneath a tropical sun.”Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't live up to the beginning. I really enjoyed learning more about making high-quality, small batch soy sauce, and I wanted to be able to taste it. The soft drink/soy sauce combo sounded intriguing.But the story itself? Not for me. Gretchen, who told her story in first person point of view, was not very likable. She rode rough-shod over her friends and family, leaving a trail of trampled people, while considering herself a victim.The story wasn't very interesting, mostly just what Gretchen does and thinks, which is all a bit boring. Some of the other characters were much more engaging. I did finish the book but, with the exception of knowing more about soy sauce, the story will have left my mind in a few days.Because the book I was reading was an advance reader's copy given to me for review, the quote may have changed in the final edition.
    • 4/5
      This book is a quick read. It is easy to follow and understand. It is the struggle of a family business and it’s choices of how to remain successful and carry on. This is the coming of age story of Gretchen who must make big decisions in her life about what she really wants to do both in her personal and professional life. She has to find her way and embrace who she is. There is also a little thread of a love story woven in. The book is full of information about soy sauce. There is also elements of the Asian culture clash. The new ways vs. the old and problems of immigrants. Should she give up tradition and become more American or embrace her Asian culture? I found this book interesting. I give this book a 4 out 5.