January 13, 2003
Strom's debut novel traces a Vietnamese family's bumpy path to immigration and assimilation in California. Trinh Ahn Tran is a freethinking Saigon journalist in the 1970s—one of few such women—known for witty columns that critique all sides of Vietnamese politics. Interrogated and increasingly harassed by the government, Tran flees Saigon with her two children in a 1975 airlift. In California, she marries a condescending, authoritarian Danish immigrant, Hus Madsen, who frightens and alienates her children as well as his and Tran's own daughter. Strom tells the story from the alternating perspectives of mother, son and two daughters. Her description of the Saigon newspaper office and the flight from Vietnam is gripping, and she offers some affecting scenes of the family's tenuous suburban existence as well: a redneck accuses Hus ("Hoss") of shooting his dog in a tense confrontation. Tran's withdrawn teenage son, Thien, gets stuck in a paralyzing relationship with his girlfriend, Valerie, whose recitation of AA mantras drives him nuts. Strom's characterizations are uneven, however; she could have used a lighter touch in depicting Hus's cruelty, and the sections about idealistic middle daughter April and the trip she takes to Saigon in 1996 are less effective. The narrative loses steam as it turns to the children's coming-of-age struggles, which tend to be familiar fare about first sexual encounters and racial identity questions. With her spare, matter-of-fact prose, Strom shows promise, but she doesn't manage to sustain the narrative tension and acuity that distinguish the first half of this novel. 5-city author tour.
November 1, 2002
Addressing the immigrant experience, this debut novel presents the story of a Vietnamese woman named Tran Ahn Trihn, who comes to the United States with her two young children during the Vietnam conflict. Settling around Sacramento, CA, Tran eventually marries Danish immigrant Hus Madsen, and with their child, April, they live together as a blended family. Strom's characters are all strong in their own way, and the story is told in a series of vignettes incorporating their varied voices. These perspectives offer interesting commentaries on the human spirit, but, unfortunately, the character development stalls with the rapid shifting of characters and story lines, which eventually leads to some confusion about whose story is being presented. Despite its fine writing and admirable scope, this novel is not pieced together strongly enough to maintain the interest of general readers. Recommended, with reservations, for large, well-funded public and academic libraries serving Vietnamese American populations; all others should probably pass.-Shirley N. Quan, Orange Cty. P.L., Santa Ana, CA
Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.