How to Pronounce Knife How to Pronounce Knife

How to Pronounce Knife

Stories

    • 4.0 • 162 Ratings
    • $7.99

Publisher Description

WINNER OF THE 2020 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE 2021 TRILLIUM BOOK AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD, the PEN AMERICA OPEN BOOK AWARD, and the DANUTA GLEED AWARD
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Named one of Time's Must-Read Books of 2020, and featuring stories that have appeared in Harper's, Granta, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review, this revelatory book of fiction from O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa establishes her as an essential new voice in Canadian and world literature. Told with compassion and wry humour, these stories honour characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world."


A young man painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A father who packs furniture to move into homes he'll never afford. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. In her stunning Giller Prize-winning debut book of fiction, 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 make their own. 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.

A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother's growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. A former boxer finds a chance at redemption while working at his sister's nail salon. A school bus driver must grapple with how much he's willing to give up in order to belong. And in the title story, a young girl's unconditional love for her father transcends language.

Tender, uncompromising, and fiercely alive, How to Pronounce Knife establishes Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most important voices of her generation. 

GENRE
Fiction & Literature
RELEASED
2020
April 7
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
192
Pages
PUBLISHER
McClelland & Stewart
SELLER
Penguin Random House Canada
SIZE
4.5
MB

Customer Reviews

MarcLJohnson ,

Réaliste

Je viens de découvrir cette auteure, à l’écriture tendre et réaliste, donc triste comme la réalité qu’elle exprime, celle des réfugiés laotiens au Canada. On devine bien le monde dans lequel vivent ces personnages, bien que l’auteure se concentre surtout sur leur univers psychologique. Je ne peux que comparer cette oeuvre à celle de l’un des mes auteurs préférés, David Adams Richard.

Zabét ,

Hard to put down

I like how you didn’t have to know much about the story characters for you to fall into the short stories. They ended so eloquently and yet you kept wanting more but couldn’t wait to read the next one. Was a refreshing read!

TakTheYak ,

Interesting read

Not what I expected but it kept my attention!

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