How to Pronounce Knife
Read by
Kulap Vilaysack,
James Tang
Release:
04/21/2020
Runtime:
2h 60m
Unabridged
Quantity:
An impressive debut...Thammavongsa's spare,
rigorous stories are preoccupied with themes of alienation and
dislocation, her characters burdened by the sense of existing unseen... Her gift for the gently absurd means the
stories never feel dour or predictable, even when their outcomes are by some
measure bleak...It is when the characters' sense of alienation follows them home,
into the private space of the family, that Thammavongsa's stories most wrench the heart.
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
A #1 Amazon bestseller
Winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize
Finalist for the PEN Open Book Award
Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award
This revelatory story collection honors characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world."
A failed boxer painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. A mother teaching her daughter the art of worm harvesting. In her stunning debut story collection, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says,
"All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do—brightly, ferociously, unforgettably.
Unsentimental yet tender, taut and visceral, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation.
A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN Open Book Award, and winner of the 2020 Giller Prize
“As the daughter of refugees, I’m able to finally see myself in stories.” —Angela So, Electric Literature
A failed boxer painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. A mother teaching her daughter the art of worm harvesting. In her stunning debut story collection, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says,
"All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do—brightly, ferociously, unforgettably.
Unsentimental yet tender, taut and visceral, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation.
A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN Open Book Award, and winner of the 2020 Giller Prize
“As the daughter of refugees, I’m able to finally see myself in stories.” —Angela So, Electric Literature
Release:
2020-04-21
Runtime:
2h 60m
Format:
audio
Weight:
0.0 lb
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781549119538
Publisher:
Hachette Book Group
Praise