About the Book:
In the title story of Souvankham Thammavongsa's debut collection, a young girl brings a book home from school and asks her father to help her pronounce a tricky word, a simple exchange with unforgettable consequences. Thammavongsa is a master at homing in on moments like this -- moments of exposure, dislocation, and messy feeling that push us right up against the limits of language.

The stories that make up How to Pronounce Knife focus on characters struggling to find their bearings in unfamiliar territory, or shuttling between idioms, cultures, and values. A failed boxer discovers what it truly means to be a champion when he starts painting nails at his sister's salon. A young woman tries to discern the invisible but immutable social hierarchies at a chicken processing plant. A mother coaches her daughter in the challenging art of worm harvesting.

In a taut, visceral prose style that establishes her as one of the most striking and assured voices of her generation, Thammavongsa interrogates what it means to make a living, to work, and to create meaning.

How to pronounce knife --
Paris --
Slingshot --
Randy Travis --
Mani pedi --
Chick-a-chee! --
The universe would be so cruel --
Edge of the world --
The school bus driver --
You are so embarassing --
Ewwrrkk --
The gas station --
A far distant thing --
Picking worms

Sending this on its way as a RABCK to help out with the
666 for 2022 - an around the world reading challenge although it might be a read for 2023 given how well this BCer is progressing with the challenge.

Oh, what a lovely surprise. Thank-you for the generous RABCK! You're right that I'm progressing well and have stacks that will fulfill some of the continents - but not all, and I'm sure these books will help.

This one looks particularly interesting. I've visited Thailand several times, and spent a year living next door in Laos.

I really enjoyed these poignant and insightful stories. They're each very short, focusing on specific small events and moments that encapsulate the feelings and experiences of refugees. Of course, with any collection of stories, there are some that resonate more than others. I particularly liked the first and last stories.

Because the author is of Laotian heritage and the stories represent the experiences of Laotian immigrants, I'm counting this for Asia / Laos in the 666 Around the World 2022 Reading Challenge.

I'm sending this book, which has an orange cover, as part of a box of orange books & assorted goodies in the Colorful Surprise Sweeps.

It's one I particularly enjoyed and I'm happy to send it on its way to another reader.

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Won from the Colorful Surprise Sweep Round 7: Orange.

Thank you!

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Released at the Snug Harbor Little Free Library

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