Unlike some other immigrant groups to North America, Vietnamese immigrants have often kept silent about their past lives in Vietnam. In Nguyen's portrayal of two sisters born in the U.S. by Vietnamese parents, it is easy to see how the silence between the two parents led to the stunted emotional lives of the daughters, Van and Linny. Their insular upbringing has left them feeling very apart from each other. Living separate lives in separate cities, it is only their father's widowhood and need for help that brings them together.
But, as each sister faces an emotional turning point in their lives, they find themselves reaching out to each other for the first time since childhood. Can they transcend the bounds of silence that pervaded their childhood years?
I found this book both well written and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Vietnamese-American community.
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