I love fiction when it’s written by poets, and Souvankham Thammavongsa‘s debut short story collection is no different. I’ll keep this in mind when teaching any unit on poetry-to-prose, such as Lauren Groff or Ocean Vuong. I find the content of the stories less captivating than the prose, which I will return to; I look forward to reading Thammavongsa‘s future work.

My review at the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/in-how-to-pronounce-knife-stories-of-lao-immigrants-reveal-everyday-moments-of-racism-classism-power-and-privilege/2020/04/23/ec81e8be-8582-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html

Thank you
Little, Brown and Company and Bibliolifestyle for a chance to read this book.

This book is a collection of short stories that shows the true story of immigrants on a new land. Like any other stories, it shows many kinds of emotions; happiness, sadness, dissatisfaction, disappointment and strength. It is a good idea to make this book a variety of short stories because it was easy to follow and likable.

I can already tell that this is going to be a polarizing short story collection, not because any of the pieces themselves are particularly controversial, but because of the opposite: These stories and their prose are stripped away to their barest parts, and there's not much more to them.

I always love talking to people about their favorite short story and essay collections, because there's a lot you can learn about someone from how they take them on and what they end up liking. What I struggled with when it came to How to Pronounce Knife, as I often do with many similar books, is that everything felt unfinished and abrupt. I'm a person who loves to find takeaways I can chew on for a long time afterward, and these stories don't exactly lend themselves to that in the typical sense.

I'd say if you want to get the most out of this collection, the best thing to do is not necessarily think of them as stories with a traditional structure but as extended observations. Each tale is selling a pretty straightforward point with incredibly simple writing, and there's nothing wrong with that if you know what to expect. There are still a lot of important moments to absorb.

The image on the cover this collection of short stories requires a second glance. Long and pointed at one end, it is not the expected knife from the title, but a nail file, inspired by the story "Mani-Pedi" in which a former prize fighter finds a new life working at his sister's nail salon. It's a story of starting over from the beginning, learning a new language and culture, understanding that one is lucky to be alive, laboring to fulfill another's desire. It's an encapsulation of not just the immigrant experience, but the refugee experience.

Souvankham Thammavongsa delivers her 14 stories about the Lao experience in America with a no-nonsense attitude and blunt language, laying bare the practical, often briskly unsentimental viewpoint of protagonists who assimilate in a world that chooses only to see them as people whose backs are useful to step on to reach the next goal. For the reader, witnessing such treatment can be both aggravating and heartbreaking, but for the characters themselves, they face these indignities and move on because that means survival.

From the books' title, there's the young girl who mispronounces "knife" in class because that's how her father sounds it out. Another story takes one mother's love of Randy Travis to extremes, while another examines what happens when a teenage girl who picks worms out of the ground finds a boy at school who wants to do the same. In "Chick-a-Chee," two young boys discover a delightful way of scoring chips and sweets from the wealthy.

While most of the stories deal with a struggle to live while making ends meet, some merely use menial jobs as a backdrop to observe the human condition play out. But most of the characters are trying to navigate culture, idioms and relationships to find a place or connection in the world.

The stories aren't just unsentimental, but rather unromantic as well. Those who dare to brush against love and romance tend not to see clearly, and are often viewed with condescension. In fact, romantic abandonment is met with fierce independence and unexpected sangfroid. This is the practical price of fleeing a country with their lives; and to complain about love lost is to understand that one at least had the luxury of love.

Tinged with melancholy, anger, and a healthy dose of dark humor, all of these stories exhibit a fierce pride in what one can accomplish. After leaving everything behind and dealing with a country that does not cater to you, one can still celebrate the resilience of the human spirit by merely surviving.

A debut collection of stories so well written.A group of stories each story so involving immigrants adjusting to life in a new country.Some stories are sad some have humor each is so well written an author to follow.#netgalley#littlebrown

2.5 stars

I did not hate this book. Some of the stories promised so much goodness. There was one about Randy Travis that was probably my favorite. The problem was I just expected more. I'm always pretty hit or miss with short stories but this one was extremely readable I'm just still hungry for more.


Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

This collection of stories about life as an immigrant will take you on an emotional roller coaster. These stories have a little of bit of everything. If you enjoy short stories, I would definitely recommend this book!

'They’d had to begin all over again, as if the life they had before didn’t count. '

In these stories Souvankham Thammavongsa allows the reader into the painful and sometimes humorous lives of immigrants. In some situations it is better to tell no one where you’re from, what language you speak so you are not judged. It is in rebirth that the future lies, and for children of immigrants there are often humiliations they don’t quite comprehend yet innately understand they must try to protect their parents from. My attention was grabbed from the first story where a little girl comes home with a note pinned to her chest (how well I remember the importance of such notes when I was a kid), notes that for this child have no meaning for the mother and lead to misunderstandings. Bigger humiliation visits this child when she brings home a book to read for practice and the parents attempt to help her understand a word. There is tender pride sometimes in misunderstandings. I couldn’t help but feel a connection with my father’s own youth when reading about the little girl in the first story. The memories he has of how it felt to be on the outside, trying to understand the American way of life, it is so much more than language but that is by far the hardest obstacle. She had my heart!

In Paris, Red is stuck in the chicken plant thinking about the shapes of women’s noses, and ‘the things that could make you happy’, but such happiness is available only to those who make enough money to attain it. Certainly a chicken plucker never could! In her town, there isn’t much a woman can do beyond chickens or shaking their own tail feathers, so to speak. This story is an exploration on what is beauty, dependent on where you are, naturally.

Age has its hungers in Slingshot, as a much older woman proves wrinkles aren’t in one’s heart, only the face. In another tale a mother has a runaway fantasy about a celebrity that causes her daughter and husband to lose their glimmer, she suffers from the disease of hopeless devotion in one form or another. A husband in The School Bus Driver finds his wife’s boss a little too helpful and present in their marriage. Disbelieving “people form this kind of friendship in this country,” he isn’t just a jealous man nor a fool! In Mani Pedi, former boxer Raymond used to knock people out in the ring but now works at a nail salon, realizing he ‘wasn’t the only person who’d ever lost the place he saw for himself in the world’. It isn’t only Raymond who is warned to keep his dreams small. In many stories there is an ache for more. There are young children driving through a neighborhood with their parents wishing to live in the bigger homes that come into view, unfamiliar with the strange customs, like trick- or-treating yet game to try to join in the door to door fun. In a heavy tale a mother impresses upon her daughter that she feels lucky earning money picking worms having been born in a peasant family who had no money for educating their children. It is through these slimy creatures and her ability to fill cups with many squirmers that she can hope for a better future for her daughter. Characters try to make their own place in the world, like Mr. Vong with his print shop, priding himself on the reputation of his deft skills with wedding invitations made in the Lao language. A keen eye, too, he has in the success or failure of relationships, but how will that play out in his own family?

Every story made the characters vulnerable, it is a visit in the lives immigrants make for themselves and often with next to nothing. There is beauty and heartbreak, shame, struggle, humor, love and resentment too. Beautifully written. Yes, read it!

Publication Date: April 21, 2020

Little, Brown and Company

I really enjoyed this! Didn't love love it, but it was good. This short story collection was really wonderful. Thoughtful and insightful. Easy to read as far as flow. It had deep characters and beautiful pros. I was really impressed. I would love to get my hands on this when it comes out and share it on my channel.

I couldn't find my bliss with this collection of short stories.  They may have been a trifle nuanced for me.  Neither quirky nor twisted, no jaw dropping endings.  I was expecting something more O. Henry-ish.  The writing is fine, and the one entitled "Randy Travis" made me feel rather sad.  Do not let this lukewarm review dissuade you from reading this, it's based on nothing more than personal preference.  It's no one's fault but my own that I like short stories to box me in the ears.

What an impressive debut! The writing is razor sharp, the stories ranging from poignant to delightful. I especially loved “Randy Travis” and “You Are So Embarrassing,” but there wasn’t a story I didn’t enjoy. A book to watch for in 2020 for sure.

This is a seriously Brillant book. I LOVED it. I was zoned out and felt ...real life. It had magic, pain, smiles. I had high hopes for this book, and it delivered. I will buy the book for my home to share. One of my top 10 for 2019.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advance copy to review.