Read The Gangster We Are All Looking For Thi Diem Thuy Le Books
Download As PDF : The Gangster We Are All Looking For Thi Diem Thuy Le Books
This acclaimed novel reveals the life of a Vietnamese family in America through the knowing eyes of a child finding her place and voice in a new country.
In 1978 six refugees—a girl, her father, and four “uncles”—are pulled from the sea to begin a new life in San Diego. In the child’s imagination, the world is transmuted into an unearthly realm she sees everything intensely, hears the distress calls of inanimate objects, and waits for her mother to join her. But life loses none of its strangeness when the family is reunited. As the girl grows, her matter-of-fact innocence eddies increasingly around opaque and ghostly traumas the cataclysm that engulfed her homeland, the memory of a brother who drowned and, most inescapable, her father’s hopeless rage.
Read The Gangster We Are All Looking For Thi Diem Thuy Le Books
"i am currently reading all of the books about Vietnamese writers who are on a list of the best books written in English and she was on the list. good writer and good book."
Product details
|
Tags : The Gangster We Are All Looking For (0884681676668) Thi Diem Thuy Le Books,Thi Diem Thuy Le,The Gangster We Are All Looking For,Anchor,0375700021,FIC019000,Literary,Bildungsromans,Domestic fiction,Girls,Refugees,San Diego (Calif.),Vietnamese American children,Vietnamese American children;Fiction.,Vietnamese American families,Vietnamese American families;Fiction.,Vietnamese Americans,Vietnamese Americans;Fiction.,FICTION / Coming of Age,FICTION / Cultural Heritage,FICTION / Literary,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Literary,Fiction/Coming of Age,Fiction/Cultural Heritage,GENERAL,General Adult,vietnam;immigrants;refugees;san diego;refugee;california;Memoir;coming of age;contemporary;sea;vietnamese;narrative;poetic;gangster;literary fiction;drama;fiction;novels;fiction books;literature;books fiction;realistic fiction books;war;immigration;family;survival;fathers and sons;death;revolution;human rights;historical;african;korean war;genocide;realistic fiction;friendship;homeland security;vietnam war;haiti;military;culture;asian;journalism;book club recommendations;family saga;army;love,vietnam; immigrants; refugees; san diego; refugee; california; Asian American; Memoir; coming of age; contemporary; sea; vietnamese; narrative; poetic; immigration; family; literary fiction; literary; contemporary fiction; war; asian; culture; friendship; brothers; haiti; death; gangster; fiction; fiction books; literature; african literature; survival; fathers and sons; missionaries; historical; african; revolution; human rights; homeland security; genocide; korean war; vietnam war; apartheid; sacrifice; 20th century; military; family saga
The Gangster We Are All Looking For Thi Diem Thuy Le Books Reviews :
The Gangster We Are All Looking For Thi Diem Thuy Le Books Reviews
- At times seemingly simplistic and yet packed full of nuances on how terrible the refugee experience was for the Vietnamese was, this book is deeply disturbing and moving. I felt like there were parallels to the Syrian refugee experience, human life being lost at sea, and the stereotyping and racism that they experienced mirrors what the Syrians are going through now. This story is told through a child's lens, making for an even more heartbreaking read because it's the author's own childhood experience. The things war does to one's psyche is devastating as evidenced by the father's PTSD and how it affects the family. Do note that there is a great deal of death in this story, inevitably so because it's about the Vietnam war and what comes after war; the war might've ended but it continues within this family from one generation to the next.
Minor spoiler alert here, look away if you don't want to read what the tone of the ending is or continue to read if you're curious if it's worth reading til the end. The ending is somewhat happy, even without reading the entire book once it registers that this is the author's personal story, the mere fact that this book is written and published should tell you that everything eventually ends well for the author. It's one of those endings that are slightly open ended with a happier tone to it.
All in all, this book might not be for everyone especially those who prefer a more direct and literal way of writing - this book has elements of magical realism - but I really enjoyed it and would recommend it for a light read (in terms of pages, not content). - I bought this book a few years ago and couldn't put it down. I was a baby when my family fled Vietnam, so I have no memories of it, but I do have vague memories of my early childhood in an apartment complex and then later a townhouse during the mid to late 70s, in the northern California suburb where I grew up, and like Le's description, they are often just images, flashes in time, dreamlike. I was often in tears while reading this book - it's like someone crawled into my head and captured all those memories and expressed them in words that I could never find. One of the prevailing themes of The Gangster We Are All Looking For is the elusiveness of our parents' losses and sorrows, how they are somehow ingrained in us and haunt us. If you like books with a "plot," this book is not for you. To everyone else, and ESPECIALLY to Vietnamese Americans, I highly recommend this lyrical, heartbreaking book.
- This is my absolute favorite book. It's a masterpiece, a text that winds through complex relationships between a family of Vietnamese immigrants and their world viewed through a watery lens. I was so excited to read a book by another Vietnamese author and it does not disappoint. The diction is simple, yet developed. It's not too self-aware but is by all means a thoughtful, insightful read. Some of the images from this book will live with me forever.
- An Asian girl abandoned her two heavy baggage, her parents, and chose to run away; it was surprising but real. Through The Gangster We Are All Looking For, Le Thi Diem Thu ignited my passionate flame for Asian American's novel. With Western literature, it was the unnecessary limitations and cultural differences that caged me from pouring my entire emotion in the book. Because of the requirements that I needed to follow and look for in reading European literature, my reading habit slowly faded away. When I was reading Gangster, I began to learn again what it means to truly enjoy a novel. I enjoy a novel not because of its short pages and large fonts or its vibrant colored cover, but because of my ability to develop a personal relationship with the characters and the plots in the book. This novel is different because it wasn't just empty words but each passage is significant to me because I always remember a similar scene that happened in my life. Some scenes brought down teardrops from my eyes.
Gangster is a true and touching story about a family of Vietnamese refugees. After they went through a very challenging passage, the little girl was trying to find her place in this new and foreign country. It was familiar to me when Ma was crying and screaming in the truck when her whole family had to move out, abandoning all their stuffs in their apartments because of a sudden evacuation notice. She was screaming "Why...why does someone on the outside always wanting someone from the inside...why there's always a fence...why are we always leaving". Often, I ask the same questions myself when I feel oppressed in any ways because of my ethnicity. Living in this so-called free country, why do I still get discriminated based on my race or gender? Ma's unrestricted yelling in the truck is moving and for the first time, I agree with the words on the page. Those words gave me the courage to yell out the same questions. Those questions gave me strength in fighting for what privilege I righteously deserve. The words on the page are heartfelt.
Knowing how the family was going through stressful time, it was a very memorable part in the novel when the girl decided to run away to East Coast to pursue her interest in writing. Instead of being bounded by familial obligation often enforced in many Asian cultures, she chose to pursue her dream and takes off. She has decided on her own identity in this gigantic land of America. Many feelings rushed through my mind when I was reading this passage because abandoning one's family is absolutely prohibited by many elders in Asia. I can never imagine myself abandoning my own parents and running away. However, her action actually widened my traditional view and brought forth a new idea to me. Her action may seem disrespectful at first but it is actually her own attempt to bridge the large gap between the East and the West. The young girl was once a Vietnamese but now she is a Vietnamese-American. This is an eye-opening concept to me because I was often hindered by the traditional Asian morals and was never able to cross into the opposite side of the spectrum.
The Gangster We Are All Looking For is an honest and exciting novel. I wanted to follow the girl's footstep as she was trying to find her place in the States. I looked forward to the next page and the page after that. It was emotional when her family was having terrifying challenges through the loss of their homes. It was shocking and new when the narrator decided to relieve herself from traditional bounds and pursue her dream. This novel provides something new for everyone. For me, its truthfulness reopened the door of reading for me. This is a great book to start on the road to truly experience the intriguing Asian American's culture. - i am currently reading all of the books about Vietnamese writers who are on a list of the best books written in English and she was on the list. good writer and good book.
- Truly an excellent read. Would recommend to anyone interested in the struggle of a people that had no choice but to escape death.
- Le’s memoir is moving. This book will make you feel every emotion as you read through this little girl’s life and her experiences.
