The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life [Hardcover]

Andy Raskin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2009

For three days in January 2007, the most-emailed article in The New York Times was "Appreciations: Mr. Noodle," an editorial noting the passing, at age 96, of billionaire Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen. The very existence of the noodle inventor came as a shock to many, but not to Andy Raskin, who had spent nearly three years trying to meet Ando. Why?

To fix the problems that plagued his love life.

The Ramen King and I is Raskin's memoir about how despair-and a series of bizarre adventures at Japanese restaurants-led him to confront the truth of his romantic past, and how Ando became his unlikely spiritual guide. Through letters ostensibly penned to the culinary sage, Raskin reveals a relationship history plagued by infidelity, jealousy, and betrayal. After devouring Ando's essays (with titles such as "Peace Follows from a Full Stomach" and "Mankind is Noodlekind"), he sets out to meet the food pioneer-and to discover the secret to a committed relationship.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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. (June)
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From Booklist

Approaching 40 and still single, Raskin decides he needs help to figure out why he is incapable of being faithful in romantic relationships. He joins a self-help group and, guided by his mentor, begins to write a series of letters exploring his past failures. The man he chooses to address the letters to is Momofuku Ando, the creator of instant ramen noodles, who built an extremely successful empire after losing everything. Raskin’s personal journey takes him to Japan several times, as he tries to cut through endless red tape in order to meet his idol. Along the way, Raskin’s passion for Japanese food takes him to exclusive sushi restaurants with forbidding owners and a ramen restaurant that is known for the perilous nature of its cuisine. Raskin finds his answer in Ando’s philosophy and realizes that in order to quell his demons he is going to have to face them and reassess how he looks at his life. Mixing humor and raw honesty, Raskin’s introspective journey is inspiring and entertaining. --Kristine Huntley

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; First Edition edition (May 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592404448
• ISBN-13: 978-1592404445
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Literary Snack, May 21, 2009

By 

Kat "kttykat16" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

The Ramen King and I is a fun, engaging read, a highly personal memoir about love, sex, and one man's relationship to...Momofuku Ando. In The Ramen King and I, American journalist Andy Raskin recounts how he made instant-ramen inventor Momofuku Ando his spiritual guide - despite never actually having met the man -- while attempting to discover why he sabotages relationships with women. Thoughout the book, Raskin is unable to maintain healthy long-term relationships with the women in his life. He juggles girlfriends on multiple continents and falls in and out of love in the time it takes to boil water for a serving of Nissin Chikin ramen.

Raskin travels to Osaka to visit the Instant Ramen Museum and hopefully meet his hero/quasi-god. Part travelogue, part mystery as he begins to uncover the secrets of Ando's life, part Japanese food porn, and part self-help, The Ramen King and I is an engaging book that made me laugh and cry at the same time. I especially enjoyed Raskin's accounts of his travels in Japan, description of Japanese Culture, and his visits to many restaurants.

I would highly recommend this book as a "fun read" for anyone who loves a little soap opera-esque drama, Japanese Culture, and food porn.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Noodle Road to Enlightenment, May 30, 2009

By 

Randy Stafford (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Raskin, for me, wasn't a particularly likeable companion as he goes on a journey of self-discovery that weaves skillfully back and forth in time. What Raskin tries to discover is why he's so habitually unfaithful to his many girlfriends. The sayings and life of Momofuku Ando, the world renowned (ok, Asian renowned) inventor of instant ramen, become Raskin's higher power on his road to recovery.

But a funny thing happened in the final part of the book. Oh, I consistently enjoyed reading about Ando, and I found the asides on Japanese matters (business etiquette, food-themed manga, puns, sushi, museums devoted to ramen or gyoza, and samurai movies) fascinating and often funny. Surprisingly a revelation about Ando's life proves relevant to Raskin's plight. And Ando's Zen like sayings go from seemingly silly business platitudes or personal eccentricities to something profound and useful. They become another example of the transforming wisdom sometimes found in the unlikely places of popular culture or the lives of the eccentric.

Raskin has started an advice column using the sayings and life of Ando. That may be worth a look, and I definitely would like to see him do more Japanese related material.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like Ramen, This Book is Strangely Appealing, May 11, 2009

By 

M. T. Vancampen (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

A book about a man's past relationship woes--in particular, his inability to remain faithful to women--hardly seemed like the kind of book that would interest me. Similarly, before I tried them, blocks of instant noodles w/ foil packets of spices hardly seemed like delicious--or even edible--cuisine. To my surprise, my initial judgment of both was wrong and both are quite appealing.

Raskin turns out to be a charming and skilled narrator. He draws the reader into his story quite skillfully. Before we know much about him, we are reading strangely intimate letters written to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of Instant Ramen. At first, there is no explanation, other than an apparent fascination with Japanese culture, why these letters are being written or why in the world they are addressed to Ando. Discovering the answer to this question is part of the appeal of this book. So, I will not reveal it here.

Raskin goes beyond letter-writing and begins a quest to meet Ando that involves trips to Japan and visits to the Ramen Museum. He achieves just the right balance between his personal memoir, biography of Ando, and fascinating insights into Japanese culture. What the reader is left with is a mixture of ingredients that form an entertaining and appealing whole. As with Ramen, initial impressions may generate misgivings and doubts. But, don't let these misgivings stop you from enjoying this delightful and strangely appealing read.