Phuc Tran

First sentence: I'm cranky. And this morning I'm also feeling cranky because...well, I'd rather not tell you. It's personal.

Premise/plot: Cranky is cranky. Cranky stays cranky. Cranky does not want to talk about it. Not with his friends. Not with readers. Will Cranky be a little less cranky by the end of the day [aka end of the book]? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Sometimes crankiness lingers and you have to sleep it off.

My thoughts: Not sure exactly what the point of this one was other than to show a cranky construction vehicle going through his busy day all the while being cranky. For readers who think crankiness in others is amusing, then this one might appeal. Or for readers who enjoy construction vehicles. It definitely falls into the "emotions and feelings" category--books that are opportunities for learning about emotions, feelings, and how to cope with all the above.… (más)

Moving, surprising, engrossing, and often delightful, Sigh Gone exposed me to wholly unfamiliar things and also sent me back to relive my own complicated coming-of-age. My growth was different, I had the option of faking it to fit in, and I did that for a few years until it became too exhausting, Tran did not have that option, especially as one of a very few Vietnamese people in Carlisle PA. I did not have to endure the weight of racism in addition to living a life that fit me like David Byrne's big suit some days and anything worn by Cardi B. on others. That is to say his experiences were infinitely more difficult than my own, but there was enough similarity that I could relate and walk alongside young Phuc. Like Tran, I was saved in part by punk rock (10 years earlier than Tran) and in part by literature. I was not nearly as smart and insightful about great books as Tran is/was, but they still did and do mean the world to me and are an important part of how I navigate the world. Unlike Tran I did not grow up the child of refugees trapped by cultural norms that do not really work in small-town America and beset by PTSD (though my mother was exactly that and I could see similarities.) Tran shapes his story around great books and music, and it works extraordinarily well. The device also gives him a chance to show the reader how important in his development wonderful compassionate teachers were, how they found and nurtured his unique mind and helped lead him to the things that helped him be his best self.… (más)

Phuc was only a toddler when his family was evacuated from Saigon in the final days before the city fell. Families in Carlisle, Pennsylvania sponsored his family, providing enough to get them started. Phuc's father had been a lawyer in Viet Nam, and both of his mother's parents had worked at the US Embassy. In America, however, his father is relegated to the tire factory, and his mother assembles electronics. Like many immigrant families they buy into the American dream, and eventually purchase a house and send their two children to college.

But small-town America in the 1970s is a tough place for Vietnamese. They are a constant reminder of the war that was lost and lurid images of napalm and naked babies. Phuc isn't sure what a "gook" is, but he knows it's nothing good. Eventually he finds acceptance and friends in the punk skateboarding crowd. It's better to be part of an outcast group than be outcast on your own. But Phuc also discovers the Great Books, a list of titles that "All Americans" should read. At first it's a way to impress his teachers and earn a place amongst the academic crowd, but he then falls in love with literature for it's own sake, and that was to provide his ticket out of Carlisle.

Sigh, Gone is irreverent, funny, and also heart-rending. As Phuc grows into himself, a chasm opens between him and his parents that is difficult to bridge. Language, customs, expectations, and culture comes between them in sometimes violent ways. I enjoyed Phuc's story and the literary tie-ins, as each chapter has a theme based on a classic in literature. Phuc now lives in Portland, Maine, and, after many years teaching Latin, currently runs a tattoo parlor.… (más)