Welcome to Litsy!

This collection of short stories got me out of my reading slump! I loved all but one. The writing is amazing, the stories will stick with you. I don‘t know how this book didn‘t show up on my radar sooner - other than it was published in 2020 so maybe it had to compete too much with the pandemic? But even then, I stumbled upon it by chance. What luck. ✨

I loved these stories about refugees from Laos and their children struggling with poverty, language, adapting to, fitting into, finding a place in Canadian society. The writing is outstanding. The author conveys with seemingly simple language and metaphors complex feelings and issues. To me this is some of the best writing and storytelling I‘ve come across in years. Highly, highly recommend!

I enjoyed the stories as I read them, so I‘m giving this a “good” rating, but like with the majority of short stories I read, I forget them. Even by the end of the (short) book, I have forgotten most of the stories. I give plenty of short story collections an “ok” rating, since I usually find they vary – I like some, but not others – but these (even listening on audio) were almost all ones I liked.

Due to space constraints, I‘m trying to get used to reading everything as #audiobooks, even short stories. Though I would‘ve enjoyed this collection about the Laotian immigrant community more in print, it still packed a strong punch. In particular I‘ve been thinking about a story where a volunteer white teen was promoted over a very skilled Lao woman. I love books that give me a window into a new world. Enthusiastic pick!

A collection of short stories focusing on Laotian immigrants and their children living in Canada.

⭐⭐⭐
This collection of short stories was alright. I do enjoy hearing from the POV of a minority culture I have no experience with, but the stories really lacked a quality of universal humanity that I could make personal connections to.

I‘ve finished my week two book for #14books14weeks2021 How to Pronounce Knife is a short story collection and the stories revolve around the lives of people from Laos in Canada. My favorites were How to pronounce knife and Chick-a-Chee! because both of them are about language, and how challenging it can be to use a new one at school or in the community. But this book is about much more than that! The characters and emotions really come through 🧡

We've wrapped up our #LiteReads selection, Mani Pedi by Souvankham Thammavongsa. I personally enjoyed the story and I'm eager to read more from the author. The full review is available now (link below). Be sure to let me know I the comments what you thought of this one.

Our new selection will be available tomorrow, chosen with the end of AHM/AAPIHM in mind, as well as with the beginning of Pride Month in mind.

https://wp.me/p9KSXu-Qh

Our new #LiteReads selection is Mani Pedi by Souvankham Thammavongsa! This 2015 short story was featured as part of Thammavongsa's award winning 2020 collection How to Pronounce Knife. Mani Pedi is about a former boxer who takes up work at his sister's nail salon. You can find the link to read the story in the full blog post (link below). Be sure to let me know what you think of this new AHM Lite Reads pick!

https://wp.me/p9KSXu-Qf

I first read this anthology in the fall of 2020. I fell so much in love with it. Then later it won the Giller Prize which validated my love for it. I‘d been talking about it nonstop by then 😂. When my bookstore was lining up books for a 6 Month Read Along of course I had this one included. We‘re reading it now. I still can‘t get over it! The prose! You just get lost in it and the characters 🧡. Now I also want to try Laotian cuisine.

Thammavongsa‘s thoughtful stories hone in on the varied experiences of Lao immigrants in North America.

Read March 21-23
Rated 4/5 ⭐️
Book 18/60

Short stories from Lao immigrant life, families break as children of refugees observe their parents in new surroundings. Good observations in direct & even tone, but stories largely feel too safe & underdeveloped. Edge of the World: “My father did not grieve. He has done all of this life‘s grieving when he became a refugee. To lose your love, to be abandoned by your wife was a thing of luxury even—it meant you were alive.” 2020

These stories truly are short, but they really get the job done, expressing in brief the realities of life for Lao immigrants in Canada. I‘m hit or miss with stories, but this collection worked for me.

#ReadingAsia2021 #Laos

This was such a delightful collection of short stories. I feel like poets often have such rich, tight purpose and this book certainly supports that theory. Centering the experiences of Laotian people in Canada, Thammavongsa writes a series of complex and endearing characters. Very enjoyable.

Next up!

This was an early Christmas present and a perfect read during the crazy lead up to Christmas. A short story collection that packs a powerful punch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My bedtime reading

I am a sucker for short stories and fables so this collection of quick somewhat surreal somewhat grounded slice of life stories hit a good spot in me. It was a super quick read too!

Thammavongsa wins the Giller! #gillerprize

Toronto festival event on now with Souvankham Thammavongsa and Kaie Kellough. Host is Fiona Raye Clarke. I‘m comfy on my couch

If you‘re wondering how I did in predicting the Giller longlist, have a look at my reaction post: https://lindypratch.blogspot.com/2020/09/giller-2020-longlist-reaction.html?m=1
#shadowgiller #canlit #gillerprize

What an excellent collection of short stories!! So many fantastic ones inside.

#CanLit #ShadowGiller

@Lindy

Every story in this collection is deeply affecting; one in particular, The Universe Would Be So Cruel, moved me to tears. The fear and sadness is offset by moments of absurdity and insight. I gobbled these stories down, but in retrospect I wish I hadn‘t: How To Pronounce Knife would benefit from slow and careful consideration (so I‘ll definitely read it again, and soon). Extended review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/new-releases/

Next up on my #CanLit #ShadowGiller journey.

I may need a day to recover from Five Little Indians though.

I don‘t like short stories. But I keep getting suckered in by a really good review by someone who loved them. Here I am again, reading some short stories that are *fine* but I would rather be reading something else. Help me!

I didn‘t like how the worms felt in my hands, so cold and slimy and raw. There was no mistaking they were alive. … I wanted to scream, to yell out about how gross it all was, and to throw them back to the ground, but I didn‘t want to shame my mother in front of everyone. So I held on. This was a job wanted by many and I was lucky my mom got me in.
-Picking Worms

I highly recommend this collection of quiet stories, told with compassion and humour, about Laotian refugees. They are bus drivers, beauticians, farm labourers & factory workers—people with self confidence & integrity. People who carry a sense of home within themselves. People who know the power of laughter. There‘s a porous quality to the writing: the sense of possibility that lies in all that is unsaid & unnamed. #CanadianAuthor #ownvoices

At the farm, where processing took place, carrots arrived from warmer climates and sometimes came in unusual shapes. She had to discard those. No grocery store was going to buy something that looked like a balled up fist and call it a carrot.

“What, you think you got a chance with that Miss Emily there? She‘s rich and educated. None of the things we are or are ever gonna be. Don‘t you be dreaming big now, little brother. Keep your dreams small. The size of a grain of rice. And cook that shit up and swallow it every night, then shit that fucking thing out in the morning. It ain‘t never gonna happen. That woman ain‘t for you.”

The note had been typed out, folded over two times, and pinned to the child‘s chest. It could not be missed. And as she did with all the other notes that went home with the child, her mother removed the pin and threw it away. If the contents were important, a phone call would be made to the house.

Raymond didn‘t know what happened out there in the ring—a flurry of jabs and punches, and then he was out. At the time, none of that hurt. The pain came afterwards, and matched the sadness he felt in his body like an extra set of bones.

(Internet photo)

Sunshine, tea, bread, butter, dandelion jelly and a book. Perfect.

How to Pronounce Knife is a collection of 14 short stories featuring Laos immigrants. The stories are sparse, but well-written and impactful. I enjoyed each of them, with my favourites being “How to Pronounce Knife,” “Chick-A-Chee,” “A Far Distant Thing” and “Picking Worms.” The audio narration was also very well done. #NetGalley