{"product_id":"mastering-the-art-of-soviet-cooking-a-memoir-of-food-and-longing","title":"Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing","description":"\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMarc Notes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIncludes bibliographical references (pages 333-337).;Born in a surreal Moscow communal apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen, Anya von Bremzen grew up singing odes to Lenin, black-marketeering Juicy Fruit gum at school, and longing for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy and, finally, intolerable. In 1974, when Anya was ten, she and her mother fled to the USA, with no winter coats and no right of return. These days, Anya is the doyenne of high-end food writing. And yet, the flavour of Soviet kolbasa, like Proust's madeleine, transports her back to that vanished Atlantis known as the USSR . In this sweeping, tragicomic memoir, Anya recreates seven decades of the Soviet experience through cooking and food, and reconstructs a moving family history spanning three generations. Her narrative is embedded in a larger historical epic: Lenin's bloody grain requisitioning, World War II starvation, Stalin's table manners, Khrushchev's kitchen debates, Gorbachev's disastrous anti-alcohol policies and the ultimate collapse of the USSR. And all of this is bound together by Anya's sardonic wit, passionate nostalgia and piercing observations. Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is a book that stirs the soul and the senses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrief Description\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBorn in a surreal Moscow communal apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen, Anya von Bremzen grew up singing odes to Lenin, black-marketeering Juicy Fruit gum at school, and longing for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy and, finally, intolerable. In 1974, when Anya was ten, she and her mother fled to the USA, with no winter coats and no right of return. These days, Anya is the doyenne of high-end food writing. And yet, the flavour of Soviet kolbasa, like Proust's madeleine, transports her back to that vanished Atlantis known as the USSR . In this sweeping, tragicomic memoir, Anya recreates seven decades of the Soviet experience through cooking and food, and reconstructs a moving family history spanning three generations. Her narrative is embedded in a larger historical epic: Lenin's bloody grain requisitioning, World War II starvation, Stalin's table manners, Khrushchev's kitchen debates, Gorbachev's disastrous anti-alcohol policies and the ultimate collapse of the USSR. And all of this is bound together by Anya's sardonic wit, passionate nostalgia and piercing observations. Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is a book that stirs the soul and the senses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrologue: Poisoned Madeleines -- Part I. Feasts, Famines, Fables -- 1. 1910s: The Last Days of the Czars -- 2. 1920s: Lenin's Cake -- Part II. Larisa -- 3. 1930s Thank You, Comrade Stalin, for Our Happy Childhood -- 4. 1940s Of Bullets and Bread -- 5. 1950s Tasty and Healthy -- Part III. Anya -- 6. 1960s: Corn, Communism, Caviar -- 7. 1970s: Mayonnaise of My Homeland -- Part IV. Returns -- 8. 1980s: Moscow Through the Shot Glass -- 9. 1990s: Broken Banquets -- 10. Twenty-first Century: Putin on the Ritz -- Part V. Mastering the Art of Soviet Recipes -- Author's Note -- Acknowledgments -- Selected Sources -- A Reader's Guide -- A Conversation with Anya von Bremzen -- A Post-Soviet Zakuski Party.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Delightful . . . The culinary memoir has lately evolved into a genre of its own, what is now known as a 'oodoir.' But Anya von Bremzen is a better writer than most of the genre's practitioners, as this delectable book, which tells the story of postrevolutionary Russia through the prism of one family's meals, amply demonstrates. . . . Von Bremzen moves artfully between historical longshots and intimate details.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Von Bremzen ladles out a rich, zesty history of family life in the USSR conveyed through food and meals.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Beautifully told . . . \n\u003ci\u003eMastering the Art of Soviet Cooking\u003c\/i\u003e turns a bittersweet eye and an intelligent heart on Soviet history through food.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Von Bremzen knows how to tell a story--poignant, funny, but never lacking.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Brilliant . . . a lyrical memoir and multifaceted reflection on Soviet (and American) cultures.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Philadelphia Inquirer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"An ambitious food memoir that is also a meticulously researched history of the Soviet Union. . . . A meditation on culinary nostalgia.\" \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eJulia Moskin\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e, The New York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Both rollicking and heartrending.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Breathtaking . . . \n\u003ci\u003eMastering the Art of Soviet Cooking\u003c\/i\u003e is a painstakingly researched and beautifully written cultural history but also the best kind of memoir: one with a self-aware narrator who has mastered the art of not taking herself entirely seriously.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Masha Gessen, \u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"At once harrowing and funny as hell, an epic history told through \n\u003ci\u003ekotleti \u003c\/i\u003e(Soviet hamburgers) and contraband Coca-Cola.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--James Oseland, \u003ci\u003eSaveur \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"There is no book quite like \n\u003ci\u003eMastering the Art of Soviet Cooking\u003c\/i\u003e. . . . Through all of this lovely and moving memoir's good humor, bittersweet reminiscences, and gorgeous evocations of food, there hangs the 'toska, ' the Russian nostalgic 'ache, ' of Anya and Larisa's conflicted feelings about the past.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A masterful telling of Soviet history through the eyes of a cook . . . a collection of fantastic stories that you hear only when sitting on a bar stool or in a church pew. Von Bremzen offers remarkable--and personal--insight about the Cold War, its politics, military strategy and the human suffering that accompanied it.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Minnapolis \u003ci\u003eStar-Tribune\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Moving . . . funny . . . fascinating . . . Soul-stirring for any emigrant to read, \n\u003ci\u003eMastering the Art of Soviet Cooking\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully written tale of heartbreak and ultimately happiness.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eEpicurious\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I don't think there's ever been a book quite like this; I couldn't put it down. Warm, smart and completely engaging, this food-forward journey through Soviet history could only have been written by someone who was there. Part memoir, part cookbook, part social history, this gripping account of Anya von Bremzen's relationship with the country she fled as a young girl is also an unsentimental, but deeply loving tribute to her mother. Unique and remarkable, this is a book you won't forget.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Ruth Reichl, author of \u003ci\u003eTender at the Bone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Anya's description of the saltiness in vobla is as poignant and image-filled as her reflection on a life that started out one way, but ended up in a better place by chance and fate. Her experience of growing up a child of two different worlds tells the beautiful tale of so many American immigrants.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Marcus Samuelsson, chef-founder, Red Rooster Harlem, and author of \u003ci\u003eYes, Chef\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Anya von Bremzen describes the foods of her past powerfully, poetically, and with a wicked sense of humor. Anyone can make a fancy layer cake sound delicious. To invoke an entire culture and era through an intimate story about a salad or soup--that's taking food writing to a whole different level.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--David Chang, chef-founder, Momofuku\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAnya von Bremzen \u003c\/b\u003eis one of the most accomplished food writers of her generation: \n\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ethe winner of three James Beard awards; a contributing editor at \n\u003ci\u003eTravel + Leisure\u003c\/i\u003e magazine; the author of six acclaimed cookbooks, among them \n\u003ci\u003eThe New Spanish Table\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Greatest Dishes: Around the World in 80 Recipes\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003ePlease to the Table: The Russian Cookbook\u003c\/i\u003e (coauthored by John Welchman); and the author of two other works of nonfiction, including \n\u003ci\u003eNational Dish\u003c\/i\u003e. She also contributes regularly to \n\u003ci\u003eFood \u0026amp; Wine\u003c\/i\u003e and \n\u003ci\u003eSaveur\u003c\/i\u003e and has written for \n\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, Departures\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \n\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e. She divides her time between New York City and Istanbul.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA James Beard Award-winning writer captures life under the Red socialist banner in this wildly inventive, tragicomic memoir of feasts, famines, and three generations \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"Delicious . . . A banquet of anecdote that brings history to life with intimacy, candor, and glorious color.\"--NPR's \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBorn in 1963, in an era of bread shortages, Anya grew up in a communal Moscow apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen. She sang odes to Lenin, black-marketeered Juicy Fruit gum at school, watched her father brew moonshine, and, like most Soviet citizens, longed for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, naively joyous, and melancholy--and ultimately intolerable to her anti-Soviet mother, Larisa. When Anya was ten, she and Larisa fled the political repression of Brezhnev-era Russia, arriving in Philadelphia with no winter coats and no right of return. \n\u003cbr\u003eNow Anya occupies two parallel food universes: one where she writes about four-star restaurants, the other where a taste of humble \n\u003ci\u003ekolbasa\u003c\/i\u003e transports her back to her scarlet-blazed socialist past. To bring that past to life, Anya and her mother decide to eat and cook their way through every decade of the Soviet experience. Through these meals, and through the tales of three generations of her family, Anya tells the intimate yet epic story of life in the USSR. Wildly inventive and slyly witty, \n\u003ci\u003eMastering the Art of Soviet Cooking\u003c\/i\u003e is that rare book that stirs our souls and our senses. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor, Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 10\/24\/2014 pg. 69 (EAN 9780307886828, Paperback)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 08\/01\/2013 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 08\/26\/2013 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 09\/15\/2013 pg. 100 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 09\/13\/2013 pg. 78 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/span\u003e 09\/15\/2013 pg. 26 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 09\/15\/2013 pg. 12 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePeople Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 10\/07\/2013 pg. 55 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eNew Yorker (The)\u003c\/span\u003e 10\/14\/2013 pg. 113 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/span\u003e 11\/21\/2013 pg. 10 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly Best Books\u003c\/span\u003e 11\/04\/2013 pg. 33 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eWilson Nonfiction Catalog\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/11\/2019 (EAN 9780307886811, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Von Bremzen, Anya\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePub Date:\u003c\/b\u003e 2014-09-16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC:\u003c\/b\u003e Biography \u0026amp; Autobiography|Memoirs|Cooking|Essays \u0026amp; Narratives|History|Russia|General|Biography \u0026amp; Autobiography|Women|Cooking|Regional \u0026amp; Cultural|Russian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSubjects:\u003c\/b\u003e Von Bremzen, Anya|Food writers|United States|Women cooks|Soviet Union|Cooking, Russian|History|20th century|Food habits|Social life and customs|Russia (Federation)|Social conditions|1991-|Russian Americans\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780307886828\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eASIN:\u003c\/b\u003e -\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSKU:\u003c\/b\u003e SP-9780307886828\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52138873159961,"sku":"SP-9780307886828","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0913\/0380\/5209\/files\/2f15ab06-12a6-4a7e-94d3-64f2c8918a59.jpg?v=1784466534","url":"https:\/\/westbindery.com\/products\/mastering-the-art-of-soviet-cooking-a-memoir-of-food-and-longing","provider":"West Bindery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}