Family Style is not a traditional memoir. It does not follow a true narrative arc. Instead, it is a series of vignettes, moments from Pham's life that can be represented by a particular food. The moments themselves are of different sorts. Some are momentous - the first days of a family in a refugee camp or their arrival in the United states. Others are small and common place - going to the bowling alley with friends and a crush. But in all of them a particular food plays an important role not just in the facts of the memory but in their emotional thrust. Food represents fear, comfort, acceptance, shame, desire. And the foods themselves are explored - tastes, textures, cultural importance and influence. The panel design is deliberate, the choice of moment spot on.
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