Instant Enlightenment

It all started with the first page of a book Andy Raskin had yet to write. At the Nieman Conference at Harvard University in 2006, an agent challenged the attendees to submit the first page of their book to him, promising a consultation for whoever “won” the unofficial contest. At that point, Raskin, who had written for NPR’s This American Life and worked as an editor at Business 2.0, had only pondered writing a book. But in two days, he pulled together what’s now the prologue for The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life (Penguin/Gotham Books).

The result is a quirky, tender and insightful Sedaris-like memoir about Raskin’s quest to find romantic intimacy while facing his penchant for infidelity. Light does come, but only with the help of a support group that meets in the Mission District and encourages Raskin to write unmailed letters about his relationship disasters to the 90-something billionaire and founder of instant ramen, Momofuku Ando—a man whom Raskin makes it his mission to meet. To this, add hilarious musings on Japanese culture, relationships, father issues and quality time spent with the cranky sushi chef at Hama-ko in Cole Valley.

If you’re scratching your head, take solace in the fact that even Raskin had to reach out to his Facebook friends to help come up with the book jacket copy. Still, in the process of writing, one thing became clear: “My issues with women turned out to really be about men—my failures with men,” he says over a cup of jasmine tea at one of the four Cole Valley cafes where he works when he’s not at the Writer’s Grotto.

Currently, Raskin is spending his time working on a second book about an old, eccentric golfer. He admits there’s a pattern here. “I think I never mourned the death of my grandfather. One theory is that I’m still searching for him.”