“Nezhukumatathil’s prowess as a poet infuses this unique memoir meditation on the foods that mean the most to her. . . Each chapter weaves facts, trivia, mythology, and personal stories together, linking Nezhukumatathil's food subjects through space and time. . . She ties it all up with vivid prose that recalls the excitement of a mother anticipating her child eating their first handpicked berry. This whimsical and soothing work will appeal to fans of food writing, memoirs, intercultural stories, and poetry.” - Booklist
“A lively and delicious read. . . [Nezhukumatathil’s] book is an invitation to ask what nourishes us.” - Seattle Times
“Nezhukumatathil’s background as a poet is obvious throughout. Her writing is lyrical (some essays include poems), and her brevity shows her skill in word choice and description. Bite by Bite will be an especially good option for anyone trying to get out of a reading slump.” - Eater
“A personal and poetic exploration of food and joy and the intersections we all have with our own history and the meals we’ve shared...Bite by Bite is certainly worth devouring.” - Los Angeles Book Review
“Nezhukumatathil has a poet’s sense of time and intertextuality.” - Food and Wine
“[Bite by Bite]’s sentences are so perfect you can’t help but smile.” - The Splendid Table podcast
“Bite by Bite is a beautiful, meditative book, one that allows us to examine family and legacy through an original lens as well as encouraging us to question what we know about the foods we love.” - Roxane Gay, The Audacious Book Club
“A collection of flavorful memories. . . . A graceful memoir. . . . not unlike halo-halo, a mixture of unexpected ingredients that make for a delectable dessert. . . . Savory food writing." - Kirkus
“Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Bite by Bite is an intimate invitation to come sit at her table; each essay is studded with richly rendered traditions and unexpected anecdotes that range from tender to hilarious to downright devastating. A feast of a collection.” - Elizabeth Acevedo, author of Family Lore and The Poet X
“Over the years, Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s writing has fed me in ways I didn’t even know were possible. So it is appropriate, then, that she has now turned her attention to the world of food, which she writes about with such remarkable dexterity. Bite by Bite is a book about memory, pleasure, regret, and celebration. It uses food to talk about what it means to be human—to love, to learn, to laugh, to lose. Nezhukumatathil’s writing has changed the way I look at food, and made me infinitely more grateful for those whom I share it with. I love this book.” - Clint Smith, author of How the Word Is Passed and Above Ground
“So often, the first and most powerful memories we have of our parents and families of origin center around food. The flavors of our childhood can contextualize who we are and where we came from, and who we want to become. In her new book, Bite by Bite...Nezhukumatathil interrogates the way food and drink intertwines with our human experiences and identities and explores the often murky boundaries between heritage and memory.” - People
“Essay collections are excellent vacation reads, able to be picked up and put down without interrupting a narrative. Each of these short essays is a perfect little bite, exploring the ways food sparks memory and meaning in our lives.” - USA Today

2024-02-10
A collection of flavorful memories.

Poet and essayist Nezhukumatathil, award-winning author of World of Wonders, creates a graceful memoir centered on 40 different kinds of food, some exotic, some familiar, all evoking recollections of childhood, family, travels, friendships, and much more. “This book is a bite of personal and natural history,” she writes, “a serving if you will—scooped up with a dollop of the bounty and largesse of the edible world.” With a father from India and a mother from the Philippines, some of the author’s memories center on traditional food such as kaong, the fruit of the sugar palm, prized in Filipino salads; jackfruit, her favorite fruit, which she first tasted during a visit to her grandparents in Kerala; bangus, the national fish of the Philippines, served fried as part of breakfast; and lumpia, a deep-fried Filipino finger food, with a crisp outer skin filled with chicken, ground beef or pork, carrots, and green beans. She takes sides in her parents’ debate over which mangoes are sweetest, those from India or those from the Philippines. For her, it’s Alphonso mangoes, from India, “hands down.” Eating lychees reminds her of her 20s, when she lived in Buffalo and would fly to New York City to meet friends. She’d buy a sackful of lychees, eating them happily on a bench while people-watching. Cherries, figs, and maple syrup are among other foods that elicit the author’s lyrical responses. The taste of apple banana, for example, “becomes a party in your mouth featuring a banana host and a sort of pineapple-strawberry DJ spinning tunes.” Her memoir is not unlike halo-halo, a mixture of unexpected ingredients that make for a delectable dessert. "With halo-halo," she writes, "you never know what you are going to discover and when."

Savory food writing.