I know it’s cold outside, but never fear. Warmer weather is just around the corner. The holidays will be over before you know it. Soon, 2012 will be upon us. The Spring and Spring fiction are not far behind.
We’re lucky to have some great reads scheduled for release in March. Here are two I especially love.
In Forgotten Country, first-time novelist Catherine Chung skillfully weaves together memory, history, and Korean folk tales to tell us the beautiful story of a family who left Korea for the United States twenty years ago. The father is dying of cancer while the younger sister has cut off all ties to her family. Seeking cutting-edge cancer treatment, what is left of the family goes back to Korea. In the country they left behind all those years ago, the whole family finally reconnects and slowly learns to forgive each other for past misdeeds. Chung shows us that one person can be different people in different countries; one’s homeland, one’s birthplace, should never be a “forgotten country.”
Aimee Phan, author of the short story collection We Should Never Meet, brings us The Reeducation of Cherry Truong, her debut novel. Phan takes readers from Vietnam to Malaysia to France to Los Angeles in this sweeping, heart-wrenching tale. The Truong and Vo families leave their war-ravaged homeland for better lives but find themselves separated from each other, both physically and emotionally. Yet, they are all forever bound together, and Cherry journeys to Vietnam to reconnect with her brother, exiled over a family secret. Phan gives readers a story rich in history and shows us while families might be separated, familial ties remain strong.
Both books were Advanced Readers Copies.
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