Yasuko Thanh

Nombre legal: Thanh, Yasuko Nguyen
Fecha de nacimiento: 1971-06-30
Género: female
Nacionalidad: Canada
País (para mapa): Canada
Lugar de nacimiento: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Lugares de residencia: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
Mexico
Germany
Educación: University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (BA) ,
University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (MFA)
Ocupaciones: writer, guitarist
Biografía breve: Yasuko Nguyen Thanh is a Canadian writer and guitarist born June 30, 1971 in Victoria, British Columbia. She has lived in Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Latin America and she was named one of ten CBC Books' writers to watch in 2013.[1] Thanh completed a Bachelor of Arts as well as a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria. She performs with the bands Jukebox Jezebel and 12 Gauge Facial, and lives with her two children in Victoria, BC.She was born in Victoria, BC, to a German mother and a Vietnamese father. At 15, Thanh dropped out of school and lived on the streets. Previous to winning the Journey Prize for her short story Floating Like the Dead in 2009, Thanh earned her living as a busker in Vancouver

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To the Bridge por Yasuko Thanh

This book is well-written, poignant, and has some beautiful prose and imagery. Although it was difficult to read in some sections because it was personal and raw, I would recommend this book. I did enjoy the emotional aspect of reading it and I could relate to the characters. Well done!

Denunciada

Bambean | May 20, 2024 |

Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains por Yasuko Thanh

This is a strange tale set in Vietnam when the French were still in power. I would call the tone of the book surrealistic with lots of ghosts, spirits, and fortune telling. There is an interesting story hidden among all this but I felt the magical realism overpowered the tale of rebellion against the power of colonialism.

Five friends plot to kill a detachment of French soldiers settled in Saigon. Before they can settle on how to do this they try to come up with a name. One of the proposed names is Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains but they never really decide on that name or any other. One of the group is a doctor, Georges-Minh, who is the son of rich parents, now deceased. He rattles around their huge house on the banks of the river and tries to hide from his homosexual leanings. With his medical training he is tasked with making a poison to kill the soldiers. Another main character is Khieu who has left his wife and children running an inn to live with his mistress and make straw hats with poetry inside the crown. He wants to kill all the soldiers but Georges-Minh thinks just killing the commander would send enough of a message. Week after week these men meet but seem incapable of carrying out their plot. In the meantime Georges-Minh has found a woman that he thinks he could marry. Dong came to his city clinic as a patient with a coughing sickness (probably TB). After an intimate encounter Dong becomes pregnant and they marry. This complicates matters for Georges-Minh and he takes refuge in drink and opium. Perhaps it is the intoxicants that cause him to see and hear spirits and ghosts or perhaps he is going crazy. It is hard to tell for sure. Just as it is hard to tell what is real and what isn't in the rest of the story.

I am tempted to compare this book to another that came out this year. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien is also set in the Far East (China) during a time of turmoil. Both authors are female and Canadian. Both books are based on events in their families' histories. There is even a theme of homosexuality in each book. However, Thien's book was masterfully written and this book falls short of the mark.… (más)

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