The Zen of Fish

A fascinating and engaging look at one woman’s journey, through sushi academy and beyond. Interspersed between the paragraphs holding Kate Murray’s story are names, figures, facts. Trevor Corson covers most everything to do with sushi, and more besides: its history, techniques used, varieties of fish, etc.

Nothing is more interesting than reading about people — and Kate’s experiences and misadventures will hold your interest throughout. That one could find such a root-for character in the pages of a book that also talks about the sushi restaurant industry, its sexist leanings, the academy’s oftentimes brutal training methods and its casualties, is a delight. There are moments that disgust, and moments that make you want to clap with glee. An excerpt:

“Don’t leave your fish lying out, Katie.”
She hesitated.
“You’re not dying,” Zoran said. “I can see that. You haven’t cut a major artery, have you?”

At the end, Corson rounds it all out with “How to Eat Sushi” in the appendix, as well as a lengthy bibliography for anyone wanting to dig deeper into the world of sushi. You can read it for the story and the intrigue, you can read it to learn — or both. I have not found a more entertaining AND educational book on sushi, its far-reaching power and worldwide appeal, as The Zen of Fish, and would heartily recommend it to any sushi lover wanting to know more than just which part of sushi should be dipped in soy sauce.