Due to coronavirus covid19 conditions, all locations of south shore public libraries will be closed until further notice. Recipient of several literary prizes, including the governor generals award for literature, ru is the autobiography of kim thuy. Library and archives canada cataloguing in publication thuy, kim ru. She has degrees from the university of montreal in linguistics and translation and in law and has worked as a translator, interpreter, lawyer, food commentator and restaurateur. It is not merely historical truth kim thuy is seeking, but poetic truth. The narrative is a series of vignettes, usually no longer than a page, taking the reader back and forth in time and space. Kim learned french and english, and as she grew older, seized what. With prose that soothes and sings, ru weaves through time, flows and transports. I read the book in english and loved the connections between the world of kim s homeland and the world she found in quebec. Kim thuys beautiful short story, vi, is a must read for fiction lovers. The author, kim thuy, is a vietnamese canadian who lives in quebec.
A runaway bestseller in quebec, with foreign rights sold to 15 countries around the world, kim thuys governor generals literary awardwinning ru is a lullaby for vietnam and a love letter to a new homeland. Jul 31, 2012 originally published in french and winner of the governor generals award, ru is a poetic read that will stir the hearts of readers, especially those of us who remember the arrival of the boat people in our communities almost forty years ago. I had never really considered the horrible struggles vietnamese immigrants have had to endure, nor the wonderful victories many of them have achieved. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Kim thuy, author of ru kim thuy based her awardwinning novel ru on her own experiences as a refugee from wartorn vietnam. Never is there a sense of false drama or manipulation of pain for easy emotional gain. After finishing intolerable, i decided to tackle ru next as it seemed like the logical next book to read. Readers may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. Kim thuys ru is literature at its most crystalline. Kim thuy was born in saigon and fled with her family in 1978 to quebec. A triumph of poetic beauty and a moving meditation on how love and food are inextricably entwined, man is a seductive and luminous work of literature from kim thuy, whose first book, ru, was shortlisted for the scotiabank giller prize, received a governor generals literary award and won the nationwide book competition canada reads. The novels title, ru, has meaning in both kims native and adoptive languages.
Nov 27, 2012 the novels title, ru, has meaning in both kim s native and adoptive languages. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in saigon. Ru by kim thuy translated by sheila fischman random house canada 141 pp. Originally published in french and winner of the governor generals award, ru is a poetic read that will stir the hearts of readers, especially those of us who remember the arrival of the boat people in our communities almost forty years ago. I wont lie, the fact that this book is so short was what drew me to it. The daughter of an enterprising mother and a wealthy, spoiled father who never had to grow up, vi was the youngest of. She has worked as a seamstress, an interpreter, a lawyer, a restaurant chefowner, and a guest chef on various radio and television channels. 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. Ru was her first novel, published in french by libre expression in october 2009. War, migration, and resettlement are themes that reoccur throughout the novel.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The decision to reopen will be made in consultation with nova scotia public health authorities. It all made me want to read the book in french and i wasnt disappointed. In her slim, partly autobiographical first novel, thuy, a vietnamesecanadian writing in french, seeks to make sense through memories of a life straddling east and west. Ru is beautifully written in a very unique style which captures your heart and mind. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an. Seeing the world through books blog archive kim thuyru. Under the name of nguyen an tinh, the author recounts her story. At ten years old, kim thuy fled vietnam on a boat with her family, leaving behind a grand house and the many less tangible riches of their home country. Some chapters are no longer than a paragraph but often, i had to put the book down and shake myself out of a trance and a realisation that kim thuy is telling my story or that of my mother, my father my people. Kim thuy s ru was originally published in french in canada in 2010, where it won the governors general award for fiction among others, and secured publication rights in 15 additional countries. Ru, by kim thuy, was fist published in french in 2009 and received.
Une femme voyage a travers le desordre des souvenirs. I have not read it, although it has been in my radar for a time, then i came. Although almost entirely based on autobiographical events, ru. Kim thuy wrote the book in honor of the people who welcomed her and her family into their life when they first arrived.
Book awards book club selections books by author books by series coming soon. Ru by kim thuy share book recommendations with your. Thuys impressionistic approach means the book can feel rudderless, but the stories are poetic and powerful. She was born into a prosperous family in saigon in 1968. Kim thuy ly thanh, cq born 1968 in saigon, south vietnam is a vietnameseborn canadian writer, whose debut novel ru won the governor generals award for frenchlanguage fiction at the 2010 governor generals awards.
While this book might lack in quantity, it hits a real punch on the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This journal is covered under the cc byncnd license. And it provides the perfect name for this slim yet potent novel. I recognized this title from the 2012 giller prize shortlist and the 2010 ggs, but i wasnt overly familiar with. Kim thuy s ru is literature at its most crystalline. The english translation by sheila fischman a specialist in translating frenchcanadian literature was published in 2012, and was shortlisted for. Ru is read like an autobiography but is written as the fictional tale of migrant experiences. The novels title, ru, has meaning in both kim s native and adoptive languages.
I read the book in english and loved the connections between the world of kims homeland and the world she found in quebec. The book is a series of observations and incidents, often highly engaging in themselves but finally, for me, too. I taught many children here in victoria who were boat kids and i loved their resiliency and their hard work. Ru is a lullaby of vietnam and a love letter to a new homeland. The book is brief yet powerful in its very selective sense of wording. A novel by thuy, kim and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Timeless in its themes and completely of the moment in its narrative voice, kim thuys ru brings to life the innermost thoughts of one of vietnams boat people. Kim thuys ru was originally published in french in canada in 2010, where it won the governors general award for fiction among others, and secured publication rights in 15 additional countries. To search other nova scotia public libraries, except halifax public libraries, start by performing a search in this catalogue. The perfect complement to the exquisitely wrought novels ru and man, canada reads winner kim thuy returns with vi, exploring the lives, loves and struggles of vietnamese refugees as they reinvent themselves in new lands. The author, whose family emigrated from vietnam to canada when she was ten, has created a vibrant novel that feels much more like a memoir than fiction, with a main character.
Ru is billed as a novel, but consists of short pieces only a few are more than a page in length describing, in what appears to be no particular order, scenes and impressions from the life of the narrator, nguy. Kim thuy left vietnam as a boat person when she was ten years old. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ru. Kim thuy has been in the best sellers list here in canada with her previous book ru. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and. Kim thuy surmounted every obstacle on her path with love, strength and. Jun, 2012 the book is brief yet powerful in its very selective sense of wording. The family arrived in quebec, where they found clothes at the flea market, and mattresses with actual fleas.
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