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Life is a Mystery

Dragonfish by Vu Tran

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This is the second book I’ve read in the last three years on Vietnamese immigrants to the US and both have been good in different ways. Dragonfish isn’t in the same league as The Sympathizer, the latter being the best thing I’ve read this decade. But it’s still a good book and if these two books provide a baseline quality for Vietnamese-American writers, I need to be checking out more of their work. I almost returned Dragonfish to the library before even reading it because the GoodReads reviews were…well they […]

“The Departed” set in Giuliani’s New York

Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty

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This is what may be termed as a “bad sandwich” book: nothing wrong with the bread but what’s in the sandwich is awful. In other words: the first and third act are a lot of fun, the second act soured me to the point where it’s tough to appreciate the book in its totality. I’ll start with the positives. I liked the Michael Forsythe character. Immigrating from Ireland to get work, Michael is stuck with a violent gang tied to the Irish mob in early-90s […]

Great Expectations

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

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In Free Food for Millionaires, by Min Jin Lee, Casey Han, a Korean American immigrant in New York City, struggles with being an Americanized daughter in a traditional Korean household.  Unlike her younger sister, Tina, Casey fights against her parents’ expectations of her. For example, her parents, especially her mother, are devout Christians, but Casey enjoys casual sex and has even had an abortion.  And although Casey graduated from Princeton because it was what her parents wanted/expected, she still hasn’t decided what she wants to […]

“We are all migrants through time”

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

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I’ve been meaning to read Mohsin Hamid for years now so when I found it right after it was added to my library’s collection, I took it as a sign. Sidenote: Can we talk about how beautiful this cover is? I can’t stop staring at it. The cover designer for the US version should be given a raise. I knew Exit West had something to do with immigrants, but that was the extent of my knowledge going in. Turns out I was in for much, […]

And you’re stuck to this corner like a streetlight…

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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 Esperanza Cordero lives on Mango street in a house that is not her house. The real house is out there waiting for her and it has beautiful windows and white polished bannisters. But for now Esperanza lives in this house, on Mango Street. I’m not sure what to say about this book. It does not lend itself to direct proclamations. Oh this is a tale of coming of age! Oh this is how [insert riveting plotpoint where the main character battles dragons]! Rather the main […]



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