If you’re into speculative fiction, this is absolutely a book you should pick up. I really loved it—honestly more than I expected. One of the most interesting aspects is the way it weaves two languages together within the same passages. It adds texture and depth in a way that feels natural instead of gimmicky.

The final story was especially delightful. It has a noticeably different feel than the others—partly because it's the longest—but that actually allowed it to breathe and unfold in a really satisfying way.

This is a solid five-star read for me. It’s clever, immersive, and just a joy overall. If speculative fiction is even remotely your thing, you’ve got to give this one a try.

The way this book played with format and translation with the inclusion of a lot of Vietlish is very intriguing. It is a truly experimental collection of short stories. Some were to my taste and some were difficult for me to follow. I really liked what Lily Hoang did with this collection.

This is a really weird short story collection. So I'm going to do my best to get it across, but it was the kind of book that left me trying to figure out what I'd been reading. The major feature of these stories is that they play with language, Vietnamese in particular. Each of the ten stories is written in Vietlish with side notes for the translations of the snippets of Vietnamese, just English, and just Vietnamese, those two side by side on the page. I can say, this is probably a really good choice for anyone attempting to learn Vietnamese. As for the stories, there's a few about a woman and her lover's transformation into a dog, a future philosopher killing clones to enter a serial killer convention to get revenge, and a cat, a chef, and a rabbit hanging out. The stories are weird as heck. Good, but super weird.