How to pronounce knife : stories / Souvankham Thammavongsa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thammavongsa, Souvankham, 1978- author.

Standardized Title:

Short stories. Selections

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Immigrants--Fiction.

Immigrants.

Refugees--Fiction.

Refugees.

Short stories, Canadian.

Short stories--Women authors.

Genre:

Fiction.

Short stories.

Physical Description:

181 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Little, Brown and Company, [2020]

Summary:

"In her stunning debut, Souvankham Thammavongsa captures the day-to-day lives of immigrants and refugees in a nameless city, illuminating hopes, disappointments, love affairs, and above all, the pursuit of a place to belong. An ex-boxer turned nail salon worker falls for a pair of immaculate hands; a mother and daughter harvest earthworms in the middle of the night; a country music-obsessed housewife abandons her family for fantasy; and a young girl's love for her father transcends language. Uncannily and intimately observed, written with prose of exceptional precision, the stories in How to Pronounce Knife speak of modern location and dislocation, revealing lives lived in the embrace of isolation and severed history - but not without joy, humour, resilience, and constant wonder at the workings of the world."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

How to pronounce knife

Paris

Slingshot

Randy Travis

Mani pedi

Chick-a-chee!

The universe would be so cruel

Edge of the world

The school bus driver

You are so embarassing

Ewwrrkk

The gas station

A far distant thing

Picking worms.

Notes:

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - Adult Fiction, Honor, 2020-2021

ISBN:

9780316422130

0316422134

OCLC:

1106173337

Publisher Number:

99984203455