the ramen king and i
Andy Raskin is a writer. That I knew. He is occasionally on NPR. I knew that too. He also has a quirky web site Ramen Advice that “offers spiritual guidance based on the life and wisdom of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen.” Got it. But why would he spend years of his life seeking answers to love and relationships from the inventor of Cup Noodles?

The Ramen King and I is the story of one person’s struggles through life and how ramen changed his life. No, really. Well…actually, not really. Sure you’ll learn a little bit about ramen. You’ll learn a lot more about sushi, though. You’ll see glimpses into a foreigner’s life in Japan, but you’ll also get an insider perspective. And interspersed throughout the book are vignettes and excerpts from the life of Momofuku Ando, which were surprisingly engrossing.

The book promises to reveal “how the inventor of instant noodles fixed my love life,” and it does, but Momofuku is only a bit player. The main character is Raskin himself. There’s a depth of humanity and humility in Raskin’s candidness, and there are plenty of life lessons to be learned. The memoir is not quite the breezy read that the blurbs would have you believe though. Pointing out that one of the symptoms of the Fundamental Misunderstanding of Humanity is that “you betray the people you love” puts a real damper on things, but there’s also a lot of lighthearted fun and sex (yes, really).

Raskin’s book is captivating, a bit silly, funny, touching, and highly recommended. It’s a story about the road to redemption: sometimes, you have give up your desires and embrace your limitations before you can start the climb up towards the light. The fact that it’s related to ramen life is just the icing on the cake…or is it the chashu on the ramen?

4 thoughts on “the ramen king and i”

  1. Thanx for the review, short & to-the-point, not putting readers in sleep with long & detailed info…..This books sounds interesting & different…….I love the cover design a lot…..I think I gonna go to a local bookstore this weekend to check out this book for fun πŸ˜€

  2. Hi edjusted,

    Thanks for the info on this book. Wow, it sounds… interesting and compelling. πŸ™‚

    (BTW did you get a chance to hit up Chin-Ma-Ya of Tokyo? I finally posted about it. Hope all is well! πŸ™‚

  3. Just finished the book. had my doubts but turned into a very entertaining and captivating read. his transformation into a “human being” by conjuring up visions and sayings of Momofuku Ando was well done.

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