Ru : A Novel

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Synopsis
At ten years old, Kim Thúy fled Vietnam on a boat with her family, leaving behind a grand house and the many less tangible riches of their home country: the ponds of lotus blossoms, the songs of soup-vendors. The family arrived in Quebec, where they found clothes at the flea market, and mattresses with actual fleas. Kim learned French and English, and as she grew older, seized what opportunities an immigrant could; she put herself through school picking vegetables and sewing clothes, worked as a lawyer and interpreter, and later as a restaurateur. She was married and a mother when the urge to write struck her, and she found herself scribbling words at every opportunity - pulling out her notebook at stoplights and missing the change to green. The story emerging was one of a Vietnamese émigré on a boat to an unknown future: her own story fictionalized and crafted into a stunning novel.

The novel's title, Ru, has meaning in both Kim's native and adoptive languages: in Vietnamese, ru is a lullaby; in French, a stream. And it provides the perfect name for this slim yet potent novel. With prose that soothes and sings, Ru weaves through time, flows and transports: a river of sensuous memories gathering power. It's a classic immigrant story told in a breathtaking new way.

Copyright:
2012

Book Details

Book Quality:
Excellent
ISBN-13:
9781608198986
Publisher:
Bloomsbury USA
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Sheila Fischman
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Biographies and Memoirs, Literature and Fiction
Submitted By:
Worth Trust
Proofread By:
Worth Trust
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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