In Vi, Kim Thuy continues the themes from her earlier books - the lives of Vietnamese refugees as they struggle and thrive in their new lands. Thuy's prose is beautiful and concise, and her writing is inspirational.

Thank you for granting me access to an e galley of Vi by Kim Thuy. Below is the review link to my review that is live on my blog:

https://wordsofmysteryblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/26/midweek-mini-reviews-17/.

I’ve never read a Kim Thuy book before, but she’s won many awards. Her books are translated from French into English and Vietnamese. This makes it a unique experience since it is not in the original language. The language was still poetic and beautiful, so I don’t think anything was lost in the translation.

The story moved quickly. Everything in it was so new to me because I don’t know much about Vietnamese culture. There were small stories that weren’t about Vi’s family, but that framed the atmosphere in Vietnam at the time. One example was a story about a young couple who had a Romeo and Juliet style romance. At times the story was confusing because it jumped from one time and place to another, but the overall story was enjoyable.

The format of the story was confusing to me. I was reading an e-ARC, so it may have been a problem with my file, so I didn’t include this in my rating. I’m curious to see a hard copy of the book to see how it looks on paper.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it!

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed Ru. You can easily picture the environment being described and connect with the characters and their struggles. Beautifully written.

3.5 stars
Thank you ti netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review this book.

I went into this book wxpecting that I would love it, as I loved Kim Thuy’s previous novels Ru and Man , however, i didn’t enjoy it as much. The story although quite interesting felt a little disjointed at times and didn’t flow as well for me. I am also not sure if it was partially because of the digital format of the book which I don’t think captures the Poetic style of Ms Thuy’s writing as well as a physical book does.
The ending also left me wanting more -seemed incomplete somehow.

I have always enjoyed Kim Thúy’s work, and Vi is no exception. She manages to put so much into short chapters and short sentences, and I’m always astounded by her beautiful writing. This book is about culture, family, being a refugee and finding your place in the world. It is at once delicate and strong, heartbreaking and comforting. I would have liked a more conclusive ending, but overall, I really enjoyed this!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In 2015, Kim Thuy won Canada Reads with her short but exquisite novel, Ru, about a Vietnamese woman’s struggles to make a new life in Quebec after escaping war-torn Saigon. Her newest novel, Vi, is just as short and just as exquisite but more global in scope. Here, again, Thuy gives a fascinating and delicately drawn exploration of the lives of Vietnamese refugees, the lives they must leave behind and the lives they create for themselves in a new and strange land, the struggles, the accommodations and compromises, the desire and effort to maintain their culture while learning to thrive in a new one. In some ways, this feels more like short vignettes as we accompany Vi, which means ‘precious tiny one’ and her family on their journey from Vietnam when she was a small child, through her coming-of-age in Canada, and eventually, her return to Vietnam as an adult with her lover. Yet Thuy manages to bring together these seemingly separate parts, joining them together with fully-realized characters, fascinating cultural references and, always, beautiful prose. The copy I read was a English translation by Sheila Fischman.

4.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I had heard of Kim Thuy's writing a few years back when her book Ru won Canada Reads. I bought a copy of that book late last year and still hadn't gotten to it, but couldn't pass up requesting her latest when I saw it on NetGalley. I'm not sure if this is a companion book to her other books, but it wasn't as great as I wanted it to be. Don't get me wrong - it was a good book to read, and I read it in one day, but I feel like there wasn't a connection for me as I was reading. 

This is a story about Vi - we learn about her grandparents and then her parents and then we get her story, her journey through love and life, learning not only of her own traditions and culture, but trying to find a balance between the traditions her family has done for generations and the ones she wants to form living in a new country. It's a refugee story of a family coming as boat people to Canada, as well as the trials and tribulations of a young woman trying to find her way. 

I really loved Thuy's writing and thought there were some beautiful passages. While I enjoyed Vi's ups and downs with love, I think what I enjoyed most was the traveling through Canada to Vietnam. It was really interesting to get those cultural perspectives, and also explore a part of Canada that I've never traveled to. This is a very short book and only took me about 2.5 hours to read, so this is really easily accessible and would be the perfect companion for a rainy day. 

My copy of Ru is gorgeous, so I think this one would probably look equally as nice on the bookshelf. Getting an eARC of the book had a few issues - the formatting was a little wonky, for example. There were chapter headings that cut in and out of the first paragraph of each chapter and it took a while to get used to. I'd really like to see the layout of this book in physical format and maybe even give it a reread to take it in better. I really can't wait to read Ru now and experience more of Thuy's writing.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thúy, Canada Reads winner, returns with Vi, a stunning work that explores the lives and struggles of Vietnamese refugees.

Vi, a name that means "precious, tiny one" lives up to her name as the youngest of four children and the only daughter. She is a joy to her family.

Torn apart by the Vietnam war, her family starts anew in Canada without their father who stayed behind in Vietnam. Vi's mother and brothers establish roots in their new homeland, where Vi feels a sense of awakening, and that the world has opened itself up to her. She is taken under the wing by Ha, a worldly family friend/lover. As she crosses international boundaries, she tests her own personal ones—she is learning about the complexities of life, love, relationships, humanity, and where her place is in all of this.

Thúy's prose is gorgeous, haunting, and mesmerizing. Her writing is captivating and elegant. She captures the spirit and innocence of a young girl while paying homage to Vietnamese culture on the backs of rich characters that are redefining tradition in a new country.

When I read Kim Thuy's previous novel, Ru, I thought it was best described as a "meditation" and Vi is no different. Thuy's writing is elegant, haunting, and beautiful. She makes the character leap off the page and settle into your heart and mind. I absorbed this book, not wanting to put it down. It's hard to distinguish if you're reading a work of fiction or non-fiction, everything is so real. At a time when immigration is such a divisive topic this book brings you the humanity and emotion of the people who are spoken of in the abstract and opens your eyes to a struggle and hardship that most of us know nothing about, just how hard it is to make a life in a strange and new land.

With this novel, Kim Thuy epitomises literary fiction at its finest, as her work meditates on the complexities refugees face, in struggling to move on from the very trauma that displaces them.