Man
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: April 10, 2017 7:37 PM | Last Updated: April 10, 2017
Kim Thuy, translated by Sheila Fischman
Mãn is a young woman living in Vietnam. Her mother is a spy, and to protect her and give her a better life, her mother arranges a marriage between Mãn and a man who lives in Montreal and runs a restaurant. There, Mãn discovers her love of cooking, which opens up a whole new world of possibilities — and challenges.
Written with stunning poetic prose and filled with powerful imagery, Mãn is an unforgettable book about love, passion and sacrifice.
Written with stunning poetic prose and filled with powerful imagery, Mãn is an unforgettable book about love, passion and sacrifice.
From the book
"My first mother, the one who conceived me and gave birth to me, had a hole in her head. She was a young adult or maybe still a little girl, for no Vietnamese woman would have dared carry a child unless she had a ring on her finger.
My second mother, the one who plucked me out of a vegetable garden among the okra, had a hole in her faith. She no longer believed in people, especially when they talked. And so she retired to a straw hut, far from the powerful arms of the Mekong, to recite prayers in Sanskirt.
My third mother, the one who watched me attempt my first steps, became Maman, my Maman.
My second mother, the one who plucked me out of a vegetable garden among the okra, had a hole in her faith. She no longer believed in people, especially when they talked. And so she retired to a straw hut, far from the powerful arms of the Mekong, to recite prayers in Sanskirt.
My third mother, the one who watched me attempt my first steps, became Maman, my Maman.
From Mãn by Kim Thuy ©2013 English translation copyright Sheila Fischman ©2014. Published by Random House Canada.