How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
This collection of stories encompasses many voices from children to older adults, men and women, all Laotian immigrants finding their way in their world.
The author is a winner of the O. Henry Prize and her writing is stunning. I picked up to get a taste of her writing for a book discussion I was doing and couldn't put it down.
These are voices not heard often enough, voices of those who move through our community unseen, voices who are overlooked, dismissed, denigrated, and ignored.
The people in these stories come here because their home country is in chaos, and though they work hard, they don't find themselves accepted in the dominant culture of our country. From worm pickers to factory workers, children making friends to adults in relationships, they are set apart, mostly through the choices of others.
An amazing collection. Highly recommended.
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