The Story of Sushi

An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice

By: Trevor Corson

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Everything you never knew about sushi: its surprising origins, the colorful lives of its chefs, and the bizarre behavior of the creatures that compose it. Trevor Corson takes us behind the scenes at America's first sushi-chef training academy, as eager novices strive to master the elusive art of cooking without cooking. He delves into the biology and natural history of the edible creatures of the sea, and tells the fascinating story of an Indo-Chinese meal reinvented in 19th-century Tokyo as a cheap fast food. He reveals the pioneers who brought sushi to the United States and explores how this unlikely meal is exploding into the American heartland just as the long-term future of sushi may be unraveling.

The Story of Sushi is at once a compelling tale of human determination and a delectable smorgasbord of surprising food science, intrepid reporting, and provocative cultural history.

©2007 Trevor Corson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The combination of culinary insights and personal drama makes for one of the more compelling food-themed books in recent years." ( Publishers Weekly)

More like the Story of Sushi in America

Follows a girl as she goes through an American sushi school. I expected to have more information about how sushi originated. You do get information here and there in between what the girl learns in class. Nevertheless, a fine story

I never thought a sushi book would be interesting!

What did you love best about The Story of Sushi?

the understanding and level of detail the Japanese have put into the understanding of taste and health.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The New Zealander. I like his driving ways.

Have you listened to any of Brian Nishii’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the intricate taste of sushi

Any additional comments?

You will enjoy the book. you learn about sushi and that what we generally have in america is not traditional Japanese sushi

How Americans changed Sushi

What made the experience of listening to The Story of Sushi the most enjoyable?

How Sushi started, how difficult it is to do it right and how Americans changed Sushi,

Who was your favorite character and why?

The young trainee

Which character – as performed by Brian Nishii – was your favorite?

The teacher

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It's not as easy as it looks

Fascinating

Who knew there was so much to know about sushi? While the trite story about the personal life of the main character is distracting, the overall information and history about sushi outweighs those negatives. You'll never look at raw fish the same!

Sushi is Interesting

I found this book highly entertaining. It covered a large range of topics related to sushi, from the evolution of fish to how sushi bar became popular in 1960s California. The story that creates the structure of the book, following students at a sushi academy, is useful when it is used to be informative - when the students run into problems, and these problems are used to explained things further. The educational passages are the best bits. Whenever the story tries to hit an emotional note, it fails. However, this is not much of the book. I am very glad I listened to this book.

Yum

I loved learning about the history of one of my favorite foods.The overall story was a bit lacking. Interesting read though. A lot of pride goes into a roll. You won't just gobble it down anymore. You will actually taste the art of a good piece of sushi and understand its journey to your chopsticks.

Engrossing storyline and intriguing history

This book was not what I expected. I thought I would hear nothing but the history of one of my favorite foods, but instead I was treated to the story of a girl named Kate as she learned to be a professional sushi chef by attending a sushi academy in California. The history of the food was presented as an aside to the story, which was entertaining and educational.

Kate's story has ups and downs, elation and insecurity, but most importantly, it centers around the lesson that was should never give up on ourselves or our dreams. I know that sounds very Disney-like for a book about the history of sushi, but Trevor Carson interweaves Kate's story with so much history and information that his work could be used as a textbook.

I learned a great deal, not only about the history of sushi, but about the art of it. I learned how a sushi chef looks at it, and how the chef hopes that his/her customers will approach it. Personally, I will never eat sushi the same way again. I learned about mistakes I was making that inhibited my full enjoyment of this unique cuisine, how to order properly at a sushi bar, and the differences between true sushi and Americanized sushi.

The narrator did an impressive job narrating the general story line and voicing the different characters. Brian Nishii made me feel as though I were there with Kate struggling through sushi school and wishing I were better at constructing the rolls. Every character had his or her own style and I feel as though I know the characters personally, which is as much a feat of Nishii's as the author's.

The only reason that this book did not receive a full five-star rating is because of the course language and unnecessarily vulgar descriptions that were included. This occurs in sparse patches, but it was a distraction to what could have been a perfect listen. For those with little ones at home, you shoudn't play this audiobook aloud around them, which is a shame, because otherwise, it might have been a book that children might have enjoyed listening to, and it could have been used as a way to interest them in food and cooking.I am of the firm opinion that the F-bomb and sexual descriptions of women and seafood are not appropriate in the first place, but they are all the more inappropriate in a book about the preparation of fine cuisine.

Overall, anyone interested in the topic of sushi or cooking would find this to be an engaging and informative read. Anyone interested in the challenges female chefs face in the male-dominated arena of sushi would also find this story intriguing. It's not a bad listen for the storyline or the information as long as you fast-forward through the vulgar bits.

A great pleasure to listen to

You learn a lot about fish and other seafood, and about Japanese cuisine and culture, and much of the information is fascinating and useful. There is a bit of light drama and comic relief whenever the story of sushi takes one of its many detours into the lives of the chefs, teachers and students of the California Sushi Academy. I bought the book after I listened to the audio just so I could refer to the many interesting facts and trivia it contained.

Performance makes for easy listen

This is not a history book but rather a story that deftly frames information on sushi making through the context of a narrative. The narrator really brings the story and characters alive, which makes it an easy listen. While the author tends to romanticize the art of sushi making he does convey his enthusiasm in the topic. My only gripe is that I felt they could have gone into sushi making further.

Love the Book and The Real People

Would you consider the audio edition of The Story of Sushi to be better than the print version?

I guess almost similar but I'd like to hear it more than read it. I only use the printed version as a better refference.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Toshi because he is my own Sushi Master who taught me a lot of stuff about Sushi.

Have you listened to any of Brian Nishii’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I make a decision to learn about Sushi after listening to this book and meet the real people mentioned in the book myself.