The Refugees | 
so-soI really wanted to like this book more than I did.
It‘s a compilation of short stories, each containing characters that are Vietnamese refugees. The stories are fairly interesting, the writing is good, but the characters just fall flat, they were extremely forgettable—at least to me.
This was ok.
Becoming a writer was partly a matter of acquiring technique, but it was just as importantly a matter of the spirit and a habit of the mind. It was the willingness to sit in that chair for thousands of hours, receiving only occasional and minor recognition, enduring the grief of writing in the belief that somehow, despite my ignorance, something transformative was taking place.
pickI‘m not one for short stories, but this collection is the exception. It is really really good- each story is engaging and plumbs depths of universal themes that question identity. A beautiful must.
pickThis book is lovely. I should have read it a long time ago. It's short stories about people who were displaced from their original countries and/or families. Mostly. I definitely recommend it.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
I've been wanting to read this for some time.
I didn't realise it's individual stories so am dipping in and out.
From "The Other Man." Thank goodness for the cadres and their reeducation camps! ?
#foodandlit
#foodandlit @Texreader @Butterfinger
Vietnamese salad rolls with peanut sauce were lunch today. I am not the best spring roll wrapper, and I forgot to put the noodles in the wraps so served them on the side tossed with peanut sauce, but they were still tasty!
The first story in the tagged book was good, about a woman whose long dead brother shows up at her door. Her mother has always talked about ghosts but she never believed her until now.
Found a book! Looking forward to reading this collection of short stories from a Vietnam born author. #foodandlit @Butterfinger
pickShort stories, all loosely related to Vietnam - whether it‘s refugees and immigrants in America trying to retain a connection to their home or Americans in Vietnam, oblivious of the history between the two countries. I loved The Sympathizer and Nguyen is a beautiful writer.
pickGreat collection of short stories featuring refugees.
Writing short stories is challenging: you have to catch the reader's interest in just a few pages. Make the reader feel something for the different characters.
Viet Thanh Nguyen excels at this exercise. He delivers a very easy to read collection of short stories that are beautifully crafted and thought-provoking.
Reading this essay led me to the film “After Life” by Hirokazu Kore-eda , which was awesome. I love it when that happens! Anyone else ever see it? http://nyer.cm/H9Q5bJb
pickThis collection explores immigration, family, love and identity while straddling 2 worlds-the homeland and the adopted homeland. The stories explore the hardships of immigration, the aspirations and dreams of those that immigrate and the relationships and desires that define us all. Filled with figurative and literal ghosts of the past, each story stands alone yet is tied to the others thematically and through the strength of the writing.
pickEvery short story in this collection is a hit! Heartbreakingly human, my favorite 2018 read so far! #70Kgiveaway
Happy today lunch with a book. Heard about it in lit up podcast #lituppodcast #therefugees
#FFFS
Thank you so so much for the books, Autumn Coffees, nuts, etc. I brought the coffee with me to Cape Cod & all are enjoying the wonderful autumn aroma! Posting late as I left right after work Friday night for a weekend of getting house in Harwich ready for market with sibs.
Thank you thank you!!!!
On the longest sweatiest tube journey, ugh.
But...
My book matches my skirt!
Yay!!
pickA wonderful collection of short stories, and an added bonus of 2 fabulous essays at the end. I haven't read a refugee-centered story in a long time, and I'm very thankful to #Booked2018 for pointing me in this direction! And yes, I finished this on the plane. ✈️
My final category this season! ❤️
pickShort stories featuring several refugee main characters and families. Each story highlights various facets of refugee experience. Well- written and interesting.
And with that I completed all #booked2018 prompts for this season! #refugeemc
I have enjoyed this book but my favorite part is the essay at the end written by the author who was a refugee.
pickA wonderful collection of short stories about Vietnamese refugees. Whether they live in the US or are returning to Vietnam, all stories teach us about how it is to leave your country and start all over again somewhere else. How you want to forget where you came from or want to cherish its culture and traditions. The stories seem so light, but they are full of meaning and left me gasping again and again.
#booked2018 #refugeemc
pickI don't always enjoy short story collections, but this was so incredibly written. The style of writing carries you through and it's easy to get lost in the histories that are told. The characters are engaging and you can't help but connect with them.
I've been getting into some more of The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen while waiting for my hair dye to do its job tonight. I don't always enjoy short story collections but I love how every story is completely different and unique.
Shelfie Sunday reminds me I need to get a wriggle on and do some more reading. I've only read 3 on this shelf!
"When he raised his hand, his reflection raised its hand, and when he touched his face, the reflection did the same, and when he traced the curve of his cheek and the line of his jaw, so, too, did the mirror image. Why, then, did he not recognise himself? And why did he see right through himself to the dark street outside?"
I'll be squeezing in the end of the second story in Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Refugees around sketching group this morning. I'm getting started on my sketching already by creating a book journal entry for the first time in a week! 😸
I've rescued The Refugees out from under Idgie, and now Dodger is monitoring my reading. I'm getting in another story before bed. I really enjoyed the first one, which was so well written and really haunting.
I've just finished the first of the short stories contained in this collection, and so far so good. I am really loving the writing style 💜
A collection of stories about Vietnam refugees' experiences in America after the fall of Saigon. The author won a Pulitzer for a previous novel The Sympathizer.
pickI must admit I have always had a deep love for short stories. So I can give this one a so-so even though maybe not every story was out of this world. There was a particular story that has still stuck with me. Have you read this? And if so is there a specific story that sticks out to you? Cheers to another #bookandbeer post!
I was looking up books for #booked2018 prompt #refugeeMC (main character) and found quite a few new-to-me ones. One book I have read and would highly recommend is The Song Poet by Kao Kalia Yang, which is a memoir about a Hmong family
My thoughts: https://reallifereading.com/2016/06/23/the-song-poet-kao-kalia-yang/
pickI found these short stories to be really compelling. They are well done and leave you wanting to know more. The narration was really good.
so-soI‘m not quite sure how I felt about this book. It‘s comprised of short stories in which immigration and identity is a key theme. Now I don‘t typically read short stories because I like to get to know characters before I feel a connection to them and their story. I couldn‘t do that with this book. I think Nguyen highlights the complexities of life as a refugee incredibly well and does it with through POVs. It might do better with a re-read.
Lovely quotes to start off this story 🧡
#riotgrams Day 6: #shortstories
I normally don‘t like short stories, but I really loved this collection.
Today I am in Oxford, England. 📖
Had a great story time for adults this month, where we all listened to “The Americans”. This is a great collection.
pickOverall the collection was a little mixed for me, but the two essays at the end of the collection, especially the above title, tip this into a pick for me. The author's discussion of refugees & immigrants is a must-read.
Fifth book completed in #24in48
At a little over halfway through the #readathon, I'm a little behind, but not TOO bad!
