The Frangipani Hotel

Finished March 1
The Frangipani Hotel: stories by Violet Kupersmith

This collection of short stories is set either in Vietnam, or in Houston among Vietnamese immigrants. Many of the stories have a paranormal element to them. Whether they are found in the hotel of the book's title, in a small mountain city, out on the water, in a convent, or along a Vietnamese highway, the ghosts are unique and compelling. Other paranormal characters appear behind a Houston grocery store, or at the window of an apartment building. The element of unreality that pervades this book gives the stories a mesmerizing effect as you get drawn into their reality. These stories are unlike any I've read before and promise more from this author.