Slow Noodles is a memoir by Chantha Nguon, which is a coming of age story about the life in Cambodia to Vietnam and Thailand.

Chantha was a great storyteller, and it was so fascinating to learn more about the Southeast Asian region, as well as the people who live there. While parts of her story were devastating, I loved that she also included parts of her story with food and family.

I did a tandem read, pairing the book with the audio, and thought they were great!

*many thanks to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Such a heart-breaking story but also one of extreme resilience. This book was made even more special by the personal recipes the author shared, lovingly narrated by her daughter.

Thanks to Hachette Audio, Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the ALC.

“The murderers among us would have us believe that history is slippery and unknowable. Insisting otherwise is an act of defiance.”

Slow Noodles tracks the story of its author, Chantha Nguon, from her childhood in Cambodia, to the streets of Saigon, the refugee camps of Thailand and back again. All these places are visited by sharing the food that was cooked, shared, stolen or smuggled in and out of Chantha’s life.

This book is so powerful. What a gentle, loving and welcoming way to share culture and story. Gathering people to eat is universal and with Nguon offering both the recipes and stories of her food, I cannot imagine a better way to invite the world to learn. I must say I was quite ignorant of the story of Cambodia, knowing only that the country had been under the rule of Pol Pot and this had been devastating for the people of Cambodia. To be offered the opportunity to learn more has been a gift, and the perspective offered is wholly unique. I hope to take Chantha’s demonstration of strength, ingenuity, and kindness with me long into the future.

I would like to recommend that this is a book to tackle when you’re up for it, as there are some sections which are difficult. It is a very worthwhile and beautiful read but, as with many stories of survival among the worst circumstances, at times difficult.

Five star read. If you needed a view of why the ideology of the state at all costs/ the state or collective over the individual doesn't work, then let this author take you on a trip back to year zero. Slow Noodles is the author's recounting of her family's experience enduring Pol Pot's reign in Cambodia, their relocation to Vietnam, and everything that was lost and gained in the years after.

Slow Noodles is a family history punctuated by the recipes that the author associated with home. I highly recommend the audiobook read by the author's daughter.

I'm grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the early audio copy of this book, it has been the best read of 2024 so far.

I'm really feeling awkward to rate it so low as I loved this book but my issue is with the way it is narrated. I was thoroughly enjoying how it is written and overall content of the book but the narration kept bothering me and I just couldn't ignore it.

This book is one of the best memoirs I have read but the narration is one of the worst one can be. This is narrated by daughter of the author and it is just read plainly devoid of any ups and downs in the voice or any change in pitch. So basically she has just read the book not really narrated.

This book is 5 stars read for me but because of the audiobook I'm giving it 3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette audio for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This memoir is absolutely equal parts devastating and inspiring. Chantha Nguon details a poignant reflection of her survival of two wars, twice over becoming a refugee, the failures of humanitarian aid, and through necessity finding herself in the unique cultural cuisine of three countries.

Chantha’s extraordinary gift is one of a storyteller. She details every part of her life from growing up in a wealthier family in French controlled Cambodia, fleeing the Khmer Rouge to war torn Vietnam, to attempting to find humanitarian aid and a pathway to the U.S. in Thailand. Along the way she takes the reader on a culinary journey and shares recipes she builds. These recipes are filled with the rich ingredients of her early life with her mother to minimal and basic staples in the refugee camps. Hunger, poverty, fear, war, and lack of education are constant themes with the people she meets and shares food with. Despite this the spirit of survival is never lost in Chantha.

Her story is one that is incredibly unique. Not only did she escape the real possibility of genocide under the Khmer Rouge; she also escaped the likelihood of sex slavery that many young Vietnamese and Cambodian women found themselves in after the war. She takes her experiences and gives back to her community with a goal to rescue those she could through education and job training. Her story is one that I will not forget.

The audio production is fantastic. The narration is done by Chantha’s daughter and her pronunciations of local cuisine help build inclusiveness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advance audiobook of this title in exchange for an honest review.

As an adoptee with Southeast Asian background, I am always delighted to find titles that will teach me more about the region. I learned much from this book, about the politics and devastation in Cambodia under Pol Pot, as well as about Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. More importantly, I learned about what was like for the people there. The author vividly describes scenes--sights and smells--from childhood memories growing up in a family of means, to life as a refugee in the camps, to living in the forest, to returning and helping others. Always, food was part of the description, from pate de foie to slow noodles to how to cook meat that has spoiled.

The writer explains the value of girls and women in the Cambodia of her youth--men are gold, women are cloth--and how this contributed to her work later in life. She shares the work she and her partner/husband did with Medecins sans Frontieres and is not squeamish in describing their experiences with sex workers and what caused cholera in the refugee camp.

The story was made more meaningful for having been narrated by her daughter. I was occasionally confused, thinking that her daughter actually was her and confusing the generations, but that underscored the significance of family in the memoir.

I did love that the author was born in the year of the Water Buffalo and learning what this meant, as I consider myself to have been born in the year of the Ox.

The only thing I regret about having listened to the audiobook is that I was usually driving while listening and could not stop to make notes about recipes. I will definitely be looking for a print copy soon, and if the author ever comes to Connecticut, I will be in the front row!

Two different things can be true at the same time, and it is true that I loved this memoir, but I didn’t like the person narrating the story, I felt like she was so stoic, that I couldn’t really relate to her, I know this was more like a diary and its not supposed to have dramatization, but I felt like it was missing from the narrative… let me explain further, you have happy times and you have sad times in the memoirs, but the way they are told are always the same…

The book I will say its absolutely gut-wrenching, but in a good sense, you’ll understand the suffering and how much this woman was able to transverse in her life… things were so hard, and still she survived, I loved how she introduced some recipes and how to cook that in the middle of the story, I am Portuguese, and for me, food is a way to connect to other people. My only let down in the audiobook, is not the story, but Clara Kim, I wasn't really a fan of the way she narrated this book, I recommend the book but I cant really recommend the audio version, the best thing I can say about the audiobook is that Clara said perfectly well (As far as I can tell) the Cambodian names used in the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio, Algonquin Books, for the free AAC and this is my honest opinion.

Slow Noodles is Chantha Nguon's memoir of her life before and after the Pol Pot regime devastated Cambodia. She describes a life of plenty which suddenly turned to nothing, and then the difficulties of being a Cambodian refugee in Thailand. One thing she held onto was the memory of her mother's recipes, and she shares those recipes along with her story.

As she begins to relay the pain of her journey, she asks us to close our eyes and imagine losing everything we have. This book is a reminder to treasure the things that really matter. The story is both heartbreaking and uplifting, and the recipes sound wonderful. Although I received a free audio copy, I also ordered a hardcover copy for myself. This book and these recipes are meant to be saved and cherished.

The audiobook narrators, Kim Green and Clara Kim, do a wonderful job of portraying, the loss, pain, devastation, and death, but also the ray of hope that remains in the form of family recipes and traditions. The whole audiobook production just swept me away to this difficult time and place.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from Hachette Audio. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

“I will tell you my story, but I insist on telling it with hands busy and the kitchen full of enticing aromas. I’ll cook for you throughout the telling. You’ll see for yourself that the past cannot be erased so easily. You’ll taste for yourself the way that history can be carried forward, borne on the smoke from a long-gone mother’s charcoal fire.”

Chantha Nguon's emotional memoir, Slow Noodles, tells the story of her coming of age in the time of the Khmer Rouge's totalitarian regime in Cambodia. Spanning multiple decades and traveling across Southeast Asia, from Cambodia to Vietnam to Thailand, the author frames her narrative using vignettes about food and family.

As one might expect given the setting and content, Nguon's narrative is devastating, and while it is rife with stories of violence, abuse, death, and grief, the author's story is, at its core, a tale about a girl growing up. While many of her life experiences are truly unfathomable to someone like myself who lives with such privilege, Nguon also told plenty of stories that felt deeply relatable--stories about growing up, rebelling, and questioning herself and the world around her. The ability to relate to and understand Nguon made the tragedy she experienced all the more heartbreaking.

Content warnings: war, violence, genocide, grief, death, cancer, sexual violence

I listened to the audio version of this memoir, read by the author’s daughter. A line near the end sums up the purpose and beauty of the book when she reads, "The murderers among us would have us believe that history is slippery and unknowable. Insisting otherwise is an act of defiance.” Nguon has performed her own act of defiance by not only thriving after unthinkable hardship but by putting this book with her memories, true stories, and culinary heritage into the world. I was surprised to find that even the recipes translated well into audio. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen in exchange for an honest review.

A moving #ownvoices memoir about a Cambodian refugee growing up in Vietnam during the 70s that is infused with memories of food (including many delicious recipes), experiences of poverty, family and the strength of survival during trying times. Great on audio (even though it wasn't read by the author herself). Highly recommended if you enjoy learning about other cultures and inspiring immigrant stories. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

All I have to say is, brace yourself because this book is about to grip your soul in a way you are not prepared for.

Nguon so beautifully tells her story of how she and her family were impacted by the regime of Pol Pot and relays her struggles as a Cambodian refugee in Thailand. Not only does she so eloquently share her story, but what ties this book together is that she shares the recipes of her mother that carried her through the darkest times. Absolutely breathtaking!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook.

A powerful memoir by a refugee from Cambodia. I enjoyed listening to the author’s struggles and victories as she builds her life back up after leaving her country as a young woman. An incredible read that I would recommend to fans of autobiographical books.

Slow Noodles is unlike any other memoir out there. The unique voice and structure reflect the author’s equally unique life as a spirited child turned tenacious refugee. Each chapter of the Chantha Nguon’s life is accompanied by a remarkable recipe. Sometimes for a traditional dish, and sometimes it is a recipe is for success or resistance or love or survival. I hungrily devoured this work via audiobook and I’m so glad I did! In this format, it felt as if I was sitting at the feet of my own grandmother listening to her stories. I have just ordered the hard copy so that my next read through I can cook with her along the way.

So this book could not have been anything less than a 5 just because of this amazing narrator (the author's daughter!). This is an unflinching story of the hardships the main character had to go through, but it's also filled with sweet memories of those she loved. There are also so many recipes for foods she shared with her family.
Thanks so much to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for letting me listen to this amazing audiobook.

I tend to love foodie memoirs so I was eager to read this one. However this one had a much more depressing tone and I just was not having a good time reading it. While an important narrative, it was not one I was mentally in the right space to read. Perhaps I should have predicted to tone from the premise. Regardless, I wish the descriptions of food had played a larger role.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for my copy of Slow Noodles by Chantha Nguon Narrated by Clara Kim in exchange for an honest review. It publishes February 20, 2024.
First off, the narration was extremely well-done, and I loved the fact that it was the author's daughter, I feel that made it much more meaningful and special.
Secondly, this book was so incredible and important! THis story is so important to tell, and what a beautiful way to tell it, via recipes and food and family. It was so beautiful and heartbreaking and inspiring.

If you're a human, you need to read this book.

A memoir of the loss of home and country told through the lens of food. A Cambodian refugee during the Vietnam War, this is a both a unique and common story, how commonplace violence becomes. Nguon is able to survive by becoming a brothel cook, a nightclub waitress, a street-food vendor,, and a make-shift nurse for refugees. Nguon loses everything, her home, her family, her nation and the only thing tying her back to all of these things are the recipes she remembers and prepares. Food has the ability to instantly bring a person back to a particular time and place.

I have not been exposed to a refugee story from the Cambodian lens so I found this a fascinating memoir. And as a lover of food and as someone who spends much of my personal time when I travel going into food stands and on food tours, I truly believe you learn a culture through its food so I loved hearing the recipes and how Nguon integrated those recipes into her memories in this book. I listened to this memoir on audio (which is my preferred medium for memoirs) so I felt she was telling me her story and I loved it, but I am sad that I cannot refer to the recipes and attempt to make them myself.

4.25 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this ARC to review

4.5/5

Wow! This was one of the best memoirs I have read in a long time. The author, Chantha Nguon, tells her story as a survivor of the Cambodian genocide and her life as a refugee in the decades that followed. Each part of the story is accompanied by stories of the recipes that Nguon's mother taught her, and dozens of her mother's actual recipes are included in the book.

I thought that connecting everything in the story back to food/recipes was a beautiful way to take back the narrative as well as honor the author's mother and the culture her recipes came from (and one that some tried very hard to quash). I found this choice very moving on a personal level because I am a descendant of genocide survivors, and my great-grandmother was also very passionate about using food to keep her culture and memories of home alive. It was very moving for me to read about someone else having a similar experience, then going so far as to share her family recipes with readers. I look forward to trying out some of Nguon's recipes myself — especially the green papaya pickles that sounded amazing!

I also enjoyed reading about how Nguon openly defied societal expectations for women and how throughout her entire horrific experience, she did her best to help other women who were suffering, then eventually made it her life's work to help women once she herself escaped poverty and war. Her journey with this was also very inspiring!

Overall, cannot recommend this enough!

(Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Book Group for the ARC!)