BEN RYDER HOWE's Books

My Korean Deli

Risking It All for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

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My Korean Deli

Risking It All for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

This warm and funny tale of an earnest preppy editor finding himself trapped behind the counter of a Brooklyn convenience store is about family, culture and identity in an age of discombobulation. 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 at night to slice cold cuts and peddle lottery tickets. 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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Page Count

316

Publisher

Henry Holt and Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429991372

ISBN 13

9781429991377

My Korean Deli

Risking It All for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

My Korean Deli

Risking It All for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

Average ratings

N/A

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Age

Page Count

316

Publisher

Henry Holt and Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

1429991372

ISBN 13

9781429991377

My Korean Deli

How I Mortgaged My Future for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

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My Korean Deli

How I Mortgaged My Future for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

The author recounts his participation in a family effort to buy and run a Korean convenience store for his in-laws, a pursuit that raised issues about work and family while he shuttled between two divergent cultural arenas.

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Page Count

304

Publisher

Harper

Published Date

ISBN 10

0061710334

ISBN 13

9780061710339

My Korean Deli

How I Mortgaged My Future for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

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My Korean Deli

How I Mortgaged My Future for a Convenience Store

By: Ben Ryder Howe

It all starts when Ben Ryder Howe's wife, whose parents emigrated from Korea, decides to repay her debt to them by buying them a deli to run. Howe, an editor at "The Paris Review," reluctantly agrees to help in the venture. By day, Howe commutes to "The Paris Review" offices in George Plimpton's apartment overlooking the East River, and at night heads to Brooklyn to slice cold cuts, peddle lottery tickets and Colt 45, and sell coffee in 8-ounce blue and gold cups bearing the logo "We are happy to serve you!" The book follows the store's lifespan, starting a few months before the purchase and ending with the family's agonized decision to get out. Along the way, Howe allows digressions into the past, painting a cacophonous group portrait of two families -- from the Brooklyn ghetto to Seoul to Brahmin New England. The deli is where these cultures meet as Howe juxtaposes the two groups, outsiders versus insiders, new talent versus old money, the deli with "The Paris Review." Owning the deli becomes a transformative experience for everyone involved as they struggle to keep the deli -- and themselves -- from bankruptcy while sorting out issues of class, intermarriage values, work and personal identity.

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Age

Page Count

304

Publisher

Harper Paperbacks

Published Date

ISBN 10

006171027X

ISBN 13

9780061710278

Book's by BEN RYDER HOWE

My Korean Deli

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