Fresh Off the Boat cover art

Fresh Off the Boat

A Memoir

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Fresh Off the Boat

By: Eddie Huang
Narrated by: Eddie Huang
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.99

Buy Now for $22.99

About this listen

 NOW AN ORIGINAL SERIES ON ABC • “Just may be the best new comedy of [the year] . . . based on restaurateur Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same name . . . [a] classic fresh-out-of-water comedy.”—People

“Bawdy and frequently hilarious . . . a surprisingly sophisticated memoir about race and assimilation in America . . . as much James Baldwin and Jay-Z as Amy Tan . . . rowdy [and] vital . . . It’s a book about fitting in by not fitting in at all.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS

Assimilating ain’t easy. Eddie Huang was raised by a wild family of FOB (“fresh off the boat”) immigrants—his father a cocksure restaurateur with a dark past back in Taiwan, his mother a fierce protector and constant threat. Young Eddie tried his hand at everything mainstream America threw his way, from white Jesus to macaroni and cheese, but finally found his home as leader of a rainbow coalition of lost boys up to no good: skate punks, dealers, hip-hop junkies, and sneaker freaks. This is the story of a Chinese-American kid in a could-be-anywhere cul-de-sac blazing his way through America’s deviant subcultures, trying to find himself, ten thousand miles from his legacy and anchored only by his conflicted love for his family and his passion for food. Funny, moving, and stylistically inventive, Fresh Off the Boat is more than a radical reimagining of the immigrant memoir—it’s the exhilarating story of every American outsider who finds his destiny in the margins.

Praise for Fresh Off the Boat

“Brash and funny . . . outrageous, courageous, moving, ironic and true.”—New York Times Book Review

“Mercilessly funny and provocative, Fresh Off the Boat is also a serious piece of work. Eddie Huang is hunting nothing less than Big Game here. He does everything with style.”—Anthony Bourdain

“Uproariously funny . . . emotionally honest.”—Chicago Tribune

“Huang is a fearless raconteur. [His] writing is at once hilarious and provocative; his incisive wit pulls through like a perfect plate of dan dan noodles.”—Interview

“Although writing a memoir is an audacious act for a thirty-year-old, it is not nearly as audacious as some of the things Huang did and survived even earlier. . . . Whatever he ends up doing, you can be sure it won’t look or sound like anything that’s come before. A single, kinetic passage from Fresh Off the Boat . . . is all you need to get that straight.”—Bookforum Cooking Culinary Emigration & Immigration Entertainment & Celebrities Food & Wine Professionals & Academics Social Sciences Memoir Celebrity Funny China Biography Nonfiction

Critic Reviews

“Brash and funny . . . outrageous, courageous, moving, ironic and true.”—New York Times Book Review

“Mercilessly funny and provocative, Fresh Off the Boat is also a serious piece of work. Eddie Huang is hunting nothing less than Big Game here. He does everything with style.”—Anthony Bourdain

“Bawdy and frequently hilarious . . . a surprisingly sophisticated memoir about race and assimilation in America . . . as much James Baldwin and Jay-Z as Amy Tan . . . rowdy [and] vital . . . It’s a book about fitting in by not fitting in at all.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“Uproariously funny . . . emotionally honest.”—Chicago Tribune

“Huang is a fearless raconteur. [His] writing is at once hilarious and provocative; his incisive wit pulls through like a perfect plate of dan dan noodles.”—Interview

“Although writing a memoir is an audacious act for a thirty-year-old, it is not nearly as audacious as some of the things Huang did and survived even earlier. . . . Whatever he ends up doing, you can be sure it won’t look or sound like anything that’s come before. A single, kinetic passage from Fresh Off the Boat . . . is all you need to get that straight.”—Bookforum
All stars
Most relevant
This book in a way, connected to my upbringing in Australia. Where we are seeing more globalisation but not enough where there are still barriers for immigrants to be fully accepted into a new society. Eddie Huang stands up for himself however, and tells his setbacks in life and how he made it to where he is today. Truly inspiring.

This books story teller was Eddie himself, which made it even easier to visualize, not to mention his hilarious imitations of his family and the constant inappropriate sinning!

A strong and meaningful connection for FOB's

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the narration, I know the show wasn't true to life but it was interesting imaging some of the players like they were portrayed there.

Loved the final chapter. The whole journey actually.

Hip-hop happenin'

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So good I listened to it twice. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a good inspiration with a few laughs

Damn son

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good story but is difficult to finish at the end. Kind of rambles on about nothing and gets boring.

Good but rambles on

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.