A Taste of Adventure
Book
If you're an adventurer with an appetite, then this cookbook is for you! This lovely cookbook is a...
Us Marine vs Nva Soldier - Vietnam 1967-68
Johnny Shumate and David R. Higgins
Book
In 1967-68, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) was on the front line of the defence of South...
The Sympathizer
Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016 It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his...
RFI Pure radio
News and Entertainment
App
Tune in to all RFI programmes in 14 languages live and in podcast form. Pure radio is an...
ClareR (5577 KP) rated Build Your Home Around My Body in Books
Jul 28, 2021
Winnie is a lost soul - she has gone to Vietnam to stay with family while she teaches English to Vietnamese students, hoping to find herself, but she seems to become more and more lost as the story progresses. She struggles with her dual identity as her mother is American, and her father is Vietnamese. The fact that she seems to deliberately sabotage her own life is the most tragic thing about her.
The time does jump around a bit, but this didn’t confuse me at all - the chapter headings made sure of that - in fact they gave some interesting history lessons (e.g. French colonialism, Japanese occupation).
It’s a weird and wonderful one (my favourite kind!), sometimes bordering on the grotesque (ditto). Bodily functions and food that I wasn’t sure about, galore! (I’d still try the food though, although I draw the line at dog…).
The supernatural elements showed that these things are still very much a part of Vietnamese culture (spirits and demons both feature).
Some parts are achingly sad, some made me feel a bit ill, and others were actually quite amusing. I couldn’t put this book down. The joy of it was that I didn’t know, couldn’t predict, what was going to happen next!
I’m really interested to see what Kupersmith writes next if this is her debut - what an imagination!
Many thanks to Jellybooks for giving me the chance to read this wonderful book.
Radio Free Asia (RFA)
News and Social Networking
App
The free, *official* Radio Free Asia (RFA) mobile and tablet application serves news to your iPad,...
Simple Translator (Voice and Transliteration)
Travel and Reference
App
Simple Translator is an universal full text translation tool. =FEATURES= - Voice, or Text To...
Heaven & Earth (1994)
Movie Watch
Oliver Stone's powerful Vietnam saga of a man who fought, a woman who endured...and a love enmeshed...
Christiane Amanpour recommended The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam in Books (curated)
Genevieve's Playhouse - Toy Learning for Kids
YouTube Channel
Welcome to Genevieve’s Playhouse where we create all kinds of educational videos for kids and...