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A review by sweddy65
Pioneer Girl by Bich Minh Nguyen
4.0
As someone who read all the Little House books at least twice a year when I was growing up, this book spoke to me.
Nguyen, a recently minted PhD in literature (the academic stuff is both painful and sometimes hilarious), finds herself back home in Illinois with her immigrant mother and immigrant grandfather.
The family dynamics are painful. There is an underlying sense that Lee's mother loves her, but can't find a way to express it in any way other than disapproval. Lee's life does not follow the trajectory for traditional Vietnamese women.
Lee's love for the Little House books, and a pin that may or may not have been left in Vietnam by Rose Wilder Lane, who was there in 1965 as a reporter for a women's magazine, leads her on a research journey and a personal journey. She reconnects with old friends, she meets a new friend, she tries to connect with and figure out her brother, Sam, who is in a rage that colors the entire book.
This is a lovely tale of might be.
I think I liked this book even more because it was a random pick for me. The book I had gone to the library to get was not on the shelf. As I was standing in front of the N shelves, this one caught my eye. I knew nothing about it and nothing about Nguyen. This was definitely one of those glorious library miracles.
Nguyen, a recently minted PhD in literature (the academic stuff is both painful and sometimes hilarious), finds herself back home in Illinois with her immigrant mother and immigrant grandfather.
The family dynamics are painful. There is an underlying sense that Lee's mother loves her, but can't find a way to express it in any way other than disapproval. Lee's life does not follow the trajectory for traditional Vietnamese women.
Lee's love for the Little House books, and a pin that may or may not have been left in Vietnam by Rose Wilder Lane, who was there in 1965 as a reporter for a women's magazine, leads her on a research journey and a personal journey. She reconnects with old friends, she meets a new friend, she tries to connect with and figure out her brother, Sam, who is in a rage that colors the entire book.
This is a lovely tale of might be.
I think I liked this book even more because it was a random pick for me. The book I had gone to the library to get was not on the shelf. As I was standing in front of the N shelves, this one caught my eye. I knew nothing about it and nothing about Nguyen. This was definitely one of those glorious library miracles.