Vi, Kim Thuy
Vi, Kim Thuy
List: $23.00 | Sale: $16.10
Club: $11.50

Vi

Author: Kim Thúy, Sheila Fischman

Narrator: Kim Thúy

Unabridged: 3 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/10/2018


Synopsis

The perfect complement to the exquisitely wrought novels Ru and Mãn, Canada Reads winner Kim Thúy returns with Vi, exploring the lives, loves and struggles of Vietnamese refugees as they reinvent themselves in new lands.

The daughter of an enterprising mother and a wealthy, spoiled father who never had to grow up, Vi was the youngest of their four children and the only girl. They gave her a name that meant "precious, tiny one," destined to be cosseted and protected, the family's little treasure.
     But the Vietnam War destroys life as they've known it. Vi, along with her mother and brothers, manages to escape--but her father stays behind, leaving a painful void as the rest of the family must make a new life for themselves in Canada.
     While her family puts down roots, life has different plans for Vi. Taken under the wing of Hà, a worldly family friend, and her diplomat lover, Vi tests personal boundaries and crosses international ones, letting the winds of life buffet her. From Saigon to Montreal, from Suzhou to Boston to the fall of the Berlin Wall, she is witness to the immensity of geography, the intricate fabric of humanity, the complexity of love, the infinite possibilities before her. Ever the quiet observer, somehow Vi must find a way to finally take her place in the world.

About The Author

Born in Saigon in 1968, KIM THÚY left Vietnam with the boat people at the age of ten and settled with her family in Quebec. A graduate in translation and law, she has worked as a seamstress, interpreter, lawyer, restaurant owner, and commentator on radio and television. She lives in Montreal and devotes herself to writing. Kim Thúy has received many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2010, and was one of the top 4 finalists of the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2018. Her books have sold more than 850,000 copies around the world and have been translated into 29 languages and distributed across 40 countries and territories. SHEILA FISCHMAN is the award-winning translator of some 200 contemporary novels from Quebec. In 2008 she was awarded the Molson Prize in the Arts. She is a Member of the Order of Canada and a chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec. She lives in Montreal.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Briar's Reviews on April 19, 2018

Kim Thúy's beautiful short story, Vi, is a must read for fiction lovers! I won't lie, the fact that this book is so short was what drew me to it. I needed a quick read to keep me occupied while I was in a waiting room and this book was short enough to devour in one sitting. While this book might lack......more

Goodreads review by Trang on May 11, 2016

This is such a great book, Kim Thuy strikes again with her beautiful short but oh so meaningful sentences <3 Fell in love with the French language all over again ! As a girl born and raised in Vietnam myself, I can relate so much and I also discovered so much on my parents generations lives during w......more

Goodreads review by Jenni on November 10, 2019

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. Maybe somewhat disappointed? I remember being rather blown away by "Ru", it was such a powerful story with so few words. I was expecting something similar and in a way this meets those expectations, but then again doesn't. In terms of story, this fel......more

Goodreads review by pizca on March 04, 2019

"mi cuerpo había adoptado la forma de mis hermano y mi madre. Dormía entre sus brazos, sus costillas y los baches del suelo. ¿Cómo encontrarse de un día para otro en la blandura del colchón sin que me envolviese el sudor de mi familia, sin que me acunase su aliento?". ° Vi y su familia se ven obligado......more

Goodreads review by Noémie on January 03, 2022

Le charme de l’écriture poétique de Kim Thuy a encore une fois opéré sur moi. ✨......more


Quotes

FINALIST FOR THE 2019 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD IN TRANSLATION

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE

“Thúy is known for her short and elegant stories about being a refugee and immigrant, and the challenges of adapting to a new culture. In her novels, we experience Vietnam’s colours and tastes, the difficulties of exile but also riches, and a search for identity that we can all recognize ourselves in.” —The New Academy jury citation

“Kim Thúy’s novels are as compact as her tiny titles might suggest . . . but their poetic contents punch well above their weight in terms of story and raw emotional heft.” —Becky Toyne, The Globe and Mail

“At once highly stylized and emotionally raw, Vi is as elegant, refined. Exquisite from start to finish.” —Toronto Star

“Thúy’s fiction is wholly original. Not only does she pursue her very personal theme of the Vietnamese refugee experience, she does it in gem-like poetic prose so beautiful you want to read whole paragraphs twice.” —Susan G. Cole, NOW

“Kim Thuy’s Vi is the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read. This is the perfect book to curl up with at the end of a busy day.” —Lesley Wilkins of Blue Heron Books (Uxbridge, ON), 49th Shelf

“Thúy . . . bravely exposes the sordid reality of racism in Vietnam. . . . Vi, a fragment of the name Vincent, is another example of Thúy’s playfulness with words. In particular, Thúy studies distinctions between languages as if this scrutiny might divulge the reasons for distinctions between peoples. . . . [The] story feels freighted with history.” —Donna Bailey Nurse, Literary Review of Canada


Awards

  • Governor General's Literary Award - Translation
  • OLA Evergreen Award
  • Scotiabank Giller Prize