Kim Thúy
Teoksen Ru tekijä
About the Author
Image credit: Kim Thúy en octobre 2020
Tekijän teokset
Em 1 kappale
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Kanoninen nimi
- Thúy, Kim
- Virallinen nimi
- Nguyễn An Tịnh Kim Thuy
- Syntymäaika
- 1968-09-18
- Sukupuoli
- female
- Kansalaisuus
- Canada
- Syntymäpaikka
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Asuinpaikat
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Koulutus
- Université de Montréal
- Ammatit
- writer
- Palkinnot ja kunnianosoitukset
- Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Québec (2015)
Jäseniä
Keskustelut
Canadian Author Challenge — January: Robertson Davies & Kim Thúy, 75 Books Challenge for 2016 (helmikuu 2016)
Kirja-arvosteluja
Kim Thúy's beautiful short story, Vi, is a must read for fiction lovers!
I won't lie, the fact that this book is so short was what drew me to it. I needed a quick read to keep me occupied while I was in a waiting room and this book was short enough to devour in one sitting. While this book might lack in quantity, it hits a real punch on the quality. I'm honestly surprised Kim is not a bigger author, because this book was mind-blowingly awesome. And yes, I am making mind-blowingly a word.
The cultural impact is probably the best part of this novel. Often, you can see silly cultural stereotypes in novels but this one did it right. You could tell Kim knew what she was talking about with the depth and nature of her words. It didn't feel cheap or obnoxious, it felt oddly satisfying to read about another culture that was not my own. Watching Vi's story take place over these pages was a fantastic adventure, since Kim wove her words so beautifully and made this story dance in my mind. I absolutely loved it!
I would have liked a better ending, I found it kind of "blah" compared to the rest of the novel. This book had me hooked and obsessed with Vi's journey and then the end just fell...well, flat. I would have liked something more. That was my only real issue with this novel. It is a translation (and my copy was an ARC) so there were some weird sentences with the translation but that wasn't a con for me. I moved passed those issues really easily when reading it.
Overall, this charming read is a great option if you want a story that will move you and impact your understanding of culture. I 100% recommend this book!
Four out of five stars.
I received an ARC of this book through Goodreads First Reads.… (lisätietoja)
I won't lie, the fact that this book is so short was what drew me to it. I needed a quick read to keep me occupied while I was in a waiting room and this book was short enough to devour in one sitting. While this book might lack in quantity, it hits a real punch on the quality. I'm honestly surprised Kim is not a bigger author, because this book was mind-blowingly awesome. And yes, I am making mind-blowingly a word.
The cultural impact is probably the best part of this novel. Often, you can see silly cultural stereotypes in novels but this one did it right. You could tell Kim knew what she was talking about with the depth and nature of her words. It didn't feel cheap or obnoxious, it felt oddly satisfying to read about another culture that was not my own. Watching Vi's story take place over these pages was a fantastic adventure, since Kim wove her words so beautifully and made this story dance in my mind. I absolutely loved it!
I would have liked a better ending, I found it kind of "blah" compared to the rest of the novel. This book had me hooked and obsessed with Vi's journey and then the end just fell...well, flat. I would have liked something more. That was my only real issue with this novel. It is a translation (and my copy was an ARC) so there were some weird sentences with the translation but that wasn't a con for me. I moved passed those issues really easily when reading it.
Overall, this charming read is a great option if you want a story that will move you and impact your understanding of culture. I 100% recommend this book!
Four out of five stars.
I received an ARC of this book through Goodreads First Reads.… (lisätietoja)
Kim Thúy was ten when she fled Vietnam with her family in the wave of "boat people" fleeing the Communist reprisals after the fall of Saigon. After four months in a Malaysian refugee camp, her family was chosen for emigration to Canada based on her parent's French proficiency. They settled in Granby, Quebec (by chance the town my grandfather is from) and were warmly welcomed. Thúy attended the University of Montreal and then worked as an interpreter and translator for a Canadian firm based in Vietnam advising the Vietnamese government on their move toward capitalism. She later opened a restaurant in Montreal called Ru de Nam. Ru is her debut novel and highly autobiographical, referring to all the events above, as well as being the parent of an autistic child. The book won the Governor General’s Literary Award and the translation was a finalist for the Giller Prize.
In addition to a mesmerizing story, what draws me to Thúy's books is her writing. It's like reading poetry. Almost every page is a new "chapter", usually only a paragraph or two, and ends with an impactful sentence. Although a complete thought in themselves, they string together flawlessly, creating a beautiful stream of thought moving back and forth in time. I get swept along and usually finish her book in a sitting or two. Highly recommended.… (lisätietoja)
In addition to a mesmerizing story, what draws me to Thúy's books is her writing. It's like reading poetry. Almost every page is a new "chapter", usually only a paragraph or two, and ends with an impactful sentence. Although a complete thought in themselves, they string together flawlessly, creating a beautiful stream of thought moving back and forth in time. I get swept along and usually finish her book in a sitting or two. Highly recommended.… (lisätietoja)
1 
labfs39 | 55 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Apr 29, 2023 |
labfs39 | 55 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Apr 29, 2023 | Listat
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Re-read for TIFF 2023
Review of the Random House Kindle eBook (2012) translated by Sheila Fischman from the French language original "Ru" (2009).
I first read Ru, which means "Lullaby" in Vietnamese, several years ago in my pre-reviewing days at Goodreads. It was 5 stars for me at the time, and it still felt like 5-stars on this re-read, which I did in advance of seeing the film adaptation next week at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
It does seem from the film trailer that the movie will concentrate on the family's arrival in Quebec, Canada after escaping as boat people from Communist Vietnam in the 1970s. The novel is far more sweeping and is disorienting as it is told in non-chronological vignettes that range from the lead character Tinh's childhood in Vietnam, thru the Communist victory in the war, the family's escape and eventual emigration to Canada and then further into the future when Tinh herself is grown with a family of 2 children and makes periodic visits back to Vietnam in the present day.
See poster at https://images.ctfassets.net/22n7d68fswlw/2Fztx8Y6qP5a5ajn8RW0OV/13be25fe8d589c5...
Promotional poster for the 2023 film adaptation of "Ru". Image sourced from TIFF.
I found Ru to be just as engaging on second reading with its beautiful evocations of childhood memories, the trauma of war and refugee escape and the 'fish out of water' settlement into a new country and culture while still hanging on to your roots.
Trivia and Links
Ru has been adapted as a Canadian French/Vietnamese language film with director Charles-Olivier Michaud and the author Kim Thúy as producer. The film will World Premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023 and will have a general Canadian release on November 24, 2023. Read the TIFF background to the film here and watch an English language subtitled trailer here.
I gave the 2023 film adaptation a 5-star rating in my review on Facebook. Photographs of author & film producer Kim Thúy, film director Charles-Olivier Michaud and the main cast can be seen at Journal de Montreal (Note: French language article, turn on web translator). The film will have a November 24, 2023 general release in Canada. Foreign and/or streaming distribution is unknown to me at the present time.… (lisätietoja)