Reviews

How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

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fi_chince's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

janethevirgin46's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

millhousethecat's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I always struggle to review short story collections, but these stories so clearly have a through line that keeps them all connected, making a review easier. But be warned: these short stories are sparse and honest and unforgiving.

Each one is about a Laotian immigrant family trying to make a home here, in the United States. So far from home, there’s so much that’s indecipherable for them.

For example, in the title story, a young girl, the closest to proficient English speaker in her family, has little help with school work. When she finds the word “knife” in her assignment, she has no tools to figure out the pronunciation and asks her father for help. A simple exchange results in a messy end.

And they’re all like this; the desire to hold on to what you know and miss from home while trying to fit into a new world creates endless difficulties. There’s loneliness to contend with, social hierarchies to deconstruct, idioms to understand, cultural clashes to endure — and all of it described viscerally, wrenchingly. It’s devastating in its depth of feeling.

As a teacher in a school with many students whose families are refugees, it provided me with insight I’ve not had before. Highly recommend.

veganheathen's review against another edition

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5.0

For some reason, I thought this would be stories all told in one voice. Instead, the stories are all told from different refugees/immigrants from Laos. This book reminded me a bit of Scarborough in that these stories aren't usually the ones being told, from people who are often not seen by the more privileged in our country.