Slow Noodles

"A heart-lifting story of radiant compassion, Slow Noodles reminds us of a life-affirming truth: Even when all seems lost, who we most essentially are, like what we most unerringly love, somehow remains. We have never needed this beautiful book more.”

“With hauntingly vivid and often surprisingly beautiful language and imagery, Slow Noodles tells an astonishing story of life—persistent, miraculous life—in a harrowing era. I’ll never forget it.”
 

“A testament to the strength of women in times of war, a recipe book of memories, and a lesson in rebuilding after destruction, this memoir is a reminder that the world has ended many times over in different places, and that our teachers in survival walk among us every day.”
 

“Chantha Nguon connects to the joy of the sight, scent, taste, texture, and even sound of food, and when there is no food to eat she connects to the memory of food. In this potent narrative of unbreakable, inviolable, female power, each recipe is an act of grace, transformation, resistance, and reclamation.”
 

"Not only the remarkable story of Chantha Nguon’s life, Slow Noodles is a beautiful glimpse into the hearts of women as they find each other over food.”

“It is rare that a memoir and the meals it recounts truly depend on each other, each intrinsic to the other. Yet that is the case in Slow Noodles, where recipes reinforce the incredible, poignant, difficult, and often joyous tale of Chantha Nguon's survival. This book tells a story that must be heard, and offers the tastes of an extraordinary life.”
 

"Lyrical and visceral, perfumed by charcoal fires and fish paste, this call and response between narrative and cookbook shows us all how time in the kitchen can restore. Slow Noodles is food and life writing at its most profound."

“Achingly beautiful. Nguon explores how food fuels love, preserves history, restores losses, heals trauma, and binds people and cultures together. This is a work of synesthesia. The flavors described in these pages become so potent that they transform into colors that can be seen, textures that can be felt, and music that can be heard. I have read many food memoirs but none have moved me, sated me, inspired and informed me like Slow Noodles.”
 

Named a Most Anticipated Book of Winter/2024 by San Francisco Chronicle, Reader's Digest, Parade, Publishers Weekly, and Zibby Mag

The Best (and Most Anticipated) Nonfiction Books of 2024, So Far - Elle

“Best Books to Read in 2024” - PEOPLE.com

“[B]y turns, heart-wrenching, inspiring, harrowing, and mouthwatering… Slow Noodles is a rare gem of a story, gorgeously written, humble and stirring, and packed with tempting recipes. Shelf Talker: This memoir of food, family, feminism, and Cambodian history, which includes enticing cookbook-quality recipes, is breathtaking in its emotional resonance and lovely writing.”

“Slow Noodles is a poignant memoir meets cookbook… This book is an act of resistance and reclamation filled with lyrical prose.”

 “Chantha Nguon reclaims the love and culture she lost with a beautiful collection of recipes knitted together with her personal story.”

“[A]n evocative, haunting memoir… those who dive in will find it a remarkable and important piece of work. A moving book that mixes horror and hope, disaster and good food, creating a poignant, fascinating read.”

"An engrossing and evocative debut memoir... Nguon interweaves the hardships she endured with her favorite recipes and the memories attached to them, offering readers evocative glimpses of the bursts of light that sustained her through long stretches of harrowing darkness. This haunting yet hopeful account will appeal to foodies and history buffs alike.”

“Heartbreaking, exquisitely told.”

“Demonstrating an exceptional sensitivity to the cultural, social, and political significance of food… this memoir is also a redemptive homecoming to parts of Cambodian history still fresh in many minds and a meditation on the beginnings of a new Cambodia.”

“Nguon’s memoir about being a Cambodian refugee surviving a genocide to discovering hope and faith through her mother’s recipes will move you to tears. It’s not all down notes though and the story beams with hope, pride, and determination.”

“[A] gorgeous… deeply personal memoir... Interwoven with recipes and lists of ingredients, Nguon’s heart-rending writing reinforces the joy and agony of her core thesis: ‘The past never goes away.’”

“Nguon’s story is heart-wrenching, but her strength and ferocity shine through every page of Slow Noodles.”

“The book is not only an impactful memoir of an extraordinary woman but a human-centered take on an era that has largely been defined by a lack of humanity.”

“Food is at the heart of this poignant memoir of war and displacement—food prepared, food shared, food longed for... a heart-shattering read, illuminating the atrocities and cruelty of war but also the strength of those who live through it.”

“Lyrical, harrowing, and fiercely feminist, Chantha Nguon’s Slow Noodles is the gripping story of family, survival and food that blends poetic remembrances with 22 unique recipes.”

“With such descriptions and a strong sense of place, Nguon expertly captures the bittersweet feeling of her memories and makes Slow Noodles a moving reflection.”

"You will never read another food-inspired memoir like Slow Noodles."

"Her story is one of perseverance and resilience... reminding me (and readers) that the Cambodian diaspora is not a monolith and that we all have stories to tell."