The Ramen King and I

April 6, 2009
This funny and idiosyncratic Japanese-fast-food memoir and quasi-spiritual autobiography from NPR commentator Raskin contains at its core, despite its oddball title, a deeply human story. The author grew up on Long Island and attended Wharton business school after college, which led to an internship in Japan and a life-long connection with the country. Over the years, Raskin also got involved with a number of women, without maintaining fidelity or forming a permanent attachment. Relocation to the West Coast and numerous Internet hookups eventually led to therapy and a fellowship, where he began to accept his sexual compulsivity and met the mentor who recommended finding some form of Higher Power. Raskin’s unorthodox choice of Momofuku Ando, the nonagenarian inventor of instant ramen and Nissin Food Products chairman, led to several futile attempts to contact and meet him. The result is a painfully humane and hilariously candid journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. At first, the book’s intentions aren’t explicit, the structure is near confusing, and the narrator’s crisis feels shallow. But the various strands eventually weave together into a satisfying whole that becomes a quirky, unique memoir.

April 15, 2009
NPR commentator Raskin's laugh-out-loud memoir yields surprising insights about belatedly growing up in his mid-30s.

The San Francisco-based author earned an MBA from Wharton, mastered the trombone, become fluent in Japanese and built a successful career in business, but he had never been faithful to a girlfriend. He cheated on women he thought he loved and developed an addiction to online dating and one-night stands. After realizing that this behavior was related to his feelings of depression, he joined a recovery group. His sponsor asked him to abstain from dating for 90 days and to write letters detailing his past sins to someone he saw as a godlike figure. He settled on a longtime object of his fascination: 94-year-old billionaire noodle-maker Momofuku Ando. Writing things down led Raskin to the understanding that his sexual impulses were sparked by conflicts with men, usually co-workers or his father, and that he compensated for feelings of failure by having trysts. Layering his memoir with vignettes about sushi chefs, young-adult graphic novels, Japanese reality-TV shows, embarrassing moments in his Long Island childhood and conversations with many of the women he dated, the author chronicles his life in a creative and comprehensive manner. Ando's story is an important element as well: Having read all of the noodle-maker's autobiographies, Raskin threads details from them throughout the book, along with some of his famous sayings ("Peace follows from a full stomach," etc.). After repeated unsuccessful attempts to set up an interview with Ando, the author embarked on a transatlantic pilgrimage to meet him with no appointment. Regardless of the outcome, he recognized that the point of such a choice—indeed, the point of any decision—was really the power of knowing exactly what he wanted.

Engaging portrait of a journey of self-discovery, leading to the liberating knowledge that joy and freedom often come from accepting limitations.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 11, 2009
Journalist and NPR commentator Raskin concocts a hilarious but instructive casserole. To cure his many problems, he embarks upon a bizarre, Zen-like quest to meet the late Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of ramen noodles. He worships Momofuku as a sage who can provide ultimate solutions to cosmic questions. In the end, Raskin benefits from his knowledge of Japanese language, culture, cuisine-and Momofuku-to achieve enlightenment. Readers with hankerings for the zany and life-affirming (not to mention Japanese) will salivate over this book. Serve with Julie Powell's Julie and Julia.-Lynne Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law Lib., PA

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.