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My Korean Deli
- Risking It All for a Convenience Store
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
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Editorial reviews
Bronson Pinchot's narration of Ben Ryder Howe's snarky story of the pitfalls of small business ownership truly makes this offbeat memoir come alive. Not only does Pinchot do an incredible job with Howe's own sarcastic, funny voice, he also manages to provide ample spice to characters as diverse as Kay, Howe's sassy Korean mother-in-law; Dwayne, a quirky deli clerk with a penchant for strange weaponry; and George Plimpton, the famed eccentric literary personality.
When Howe's wife, Gab, sets out to buy a deli for her first-generation immigrant mother as a token of appreciation for her personal determination and sacrifice, things get a bit madcap. Because of this, My Korean Deli ends up being a light-hearted look at leading a peculiar kind of double life. After all, there's something delightful about a story that interweaves the purchase and operation of a family-run bodega in Brooklyn with a part-time editorship at The Paris Review, Howe's day job. After his boss, George Plimpton, warns him of the dangers of duel identity specifically that one side of his existence will always be threatening to swallow up the other, Howe begins to delve deeper into his own personal values. The book gets meta when he starts to examine different modes of achievement in American culture, pitting the puritanical over-thinking of the author's New England upbringing against the aggressive, DIY ethos of his wife's family. Ultimately, he mostly opts for the latter in life, dedicating himself to the immigrant-run deli and, in a more haute way, the slapdash but impressive Paris Review.
Howe finds a way to balance the big ideas with clever, laugh-out-loud anecdotes. Some of the more hilarious moments come as dispatches from the deli itself, as he is forced to get right with the rowdy regulars, navigate a massive corner-store supply outlet with his cheeky mother-in-law, or come to legal blows with various state regulatory agencies.
There are also more than a few poignant moments, including Plimpton's death, Kay's health issues, and the downward spiral of treasured employee and revered neighborhood character Dwayne. These serve to temper the mood and illustrate that, even in the deli, there are life lessons to be learned. Gina Pensiero
Publisher's summary
This sweet and funny tale of a preppy editor buying a Brooklyn deli with his Korean in-laws is about family, culture clash, and the quest for authentic experiences.
It starts with a gift. When Ben Ryder Howe’s wife, the daughter of Korean immigrants, decides to repay her parents’ self-sacrifice by buying them a store, Howe, an editor at the rarefied Paris Review, agrees to go along. Things soon become a lot more complicated.
After the business struggles, Howe finds himself living in the basement of his in-laws’ Staten Island home, commuting to the Paris Review offices in George Plimpton’s Upper East Side townhouse by day, and heading to Brooklyn to slice cold cuts and peddle lottery tickets by night.
My Korean Deli follows the store’s tumultuous life span, and along the way paints the portrait of an extremely unlikely partnership between characters with shoots across society, from the Brooklyn streets to Seoul to Puritan New England. Owning the deli becomes a transformative experience for everyone involved as they struggle to salvage the original gift—and the family—while sorting out issues of values, work, and identity.
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What listeners say about My Korean Deli
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- BaaBaa
- 06-06-13
Don't quit your day job to run a deli
If you could sum up My Korean Deli in three words, what would they be?
Multicultural literary entertainment
What other book might you compare My Korean Deli to and why?
No other book is like it.
Which character – as performed by Bronson Pinchot – was your favorite?
Dwayne
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Dwayne's death
Any additional comments?
Running a deli is harder than it looks. And I loved hearing about George Plimpton. Bronson Pinchot's rendering of the upper class New York accent was priceless.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Megan
- 07-31-11
Sometimes Hilarious, Other Times Boring
The book could use some good editing because the author rambles occasionally.
I think that he misses out on what could be some very insightful commentary on Asian culture.
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Overall
- Alex
- 04-07-11
Entertaining
Quite entertaining really, the multicultural clashes are quite interesting. If it's not his mother in-law it's Dwayne the store employee, or even George, his boss, at the Paris Review. The narration is truly excellent, it is hard to believe that Bronson does all those voices.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Kim
- 02-15-13
Good palate cleanser
I was looking for something light and entertaining to lift my spirits - I found it here. The pitfalls and foibles of the couple who go unwittingly into New York deli ownership made me laugh and kept me entertained. The characters are likeable, the anecdotes are believable, and the narrator is Bronson Pinchot (can't go wrong there). It didn't knock my socks off but I don't think that was the point. Overall an enjoyable listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Constance
- 05-07-13
Funny, Heart-warming, Unusual Memoir
Any additional comments?
A button-downed, dreamy New Englander marries a driven Korean woman, who feels duty-bound to buy a deli for her mother to manage and run. The husband is the narrator of this wonderful true account of culture clashes and heart meshings. It's also a fascinating inside glimpse of the microcosmic world of the ethnic-run deli---the place all of us New Yorkers depend upon in our various neighborhoods for newspapers, coffee, and snack cakes. There's a drama behind every single one of these convenience items. The narrator is phenomenal, capturing Korean, Black, Middle Eastern, and Boston Brahmin accents with seeming effortlessness. I absolutely loved this book.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Michele
- 11-22-11
A slice of life
This was a fun listen, I think if I had better knowledge of Brooklyn I would have appreciated the setting more. Having lived in NYC I could totally appreciate the intricasies of the bureaucracy the family had to deal with. Bronson Pinchot was a great reader too, his voices and characterizations were right on. This is definately worth a listen.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Emma
- 04-22-12
Great Writing / Even Better Narration
I loved this book. Ben Howe is a terrific writer who captures the culture clash of his family and adopted neighborhood with a wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humor. I'm surprised to see some readers comment that the narration is weak. I think Bronson Pinchot captures these characters perfectly. (As one reader commented, the George Plimpton impression alone is worth the price of admission.) This is a book I can imagine listening to again. Great fun! Highly recommended.
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Overall
- Lila
- 06-01-11
interesting story, excellent narration
For me, this was an interesting story and very good narration. I looked forward to each listening installment.
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1 person found this helpful
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- w Stulmaker
- 09-26-11
Good story, horrible narration.
Entertaining story but ruined by an annoying narrator who often "over acts".
Korean characters sound Pakistani.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-24-18
Super wonderful
Great story, funny, and very well narrated. Great choice for Audible. Loved it. Cheers. Thanks.
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