A plainly told odyssey that manages to feel both sweeping and intimate.
Banh recounts his experiences as one of the Vietnamese “boat people” in this debut memoir.
The author grew up listening to his storytelling grandfather, who was a great source of wisdom. “There was always a sense of purpose with his stories,” recalls Banh, “that they must be kept preserved, leaves pressed between pages, to hold together the promise of the cycle of life.” Little did he know at the time that his own story would soon turn into an epic journey worthy of a folktale. His family made and sold clothes in Saigon, but life grew precarious after the city fell to the North Vietnamese, who promptly renamed the capital Hồ Chí Minh City. After four years of deteriorating conditions, his eight-member family managed to flee the country—their only transport option was a small, rotting, overcrowded boat. Their harrowing journey would take them to refugee camps in Indonesia and eventually on to Canada, where a group of residents in Uxbridge, Ontario, banded together to sponsor their resettlement. The second half of the book follows Banh’s life after moving to Canada, including the long shadow cast by his experiences on the boat. Banh’s memoir serves as both a piercing account of his family’s arduous yearslong plight and an ode to the kindly Canadians who helped them start a new life in a new land. The author’s effusive attitude and understated prose keep the story from ever getting too heavy. At one point, during an ayahuasca trip meant to cure him of a urinary problem, he views a vision of the Buddha: “I looked up at Buddha and Buddha spoke to me inside my head. They were not words in any language I knew, and not like a download might work on a computer, not how some people say ideas arrive through energy. But Buddha spoke: ‘You can get off the boat now, Boy. It is time.’” There may be no neat ending to exile, but Banh has managed to shape his experiences into a wise and affecting tale.
A plainly told odyssey that manages to feel both sweeping and intimate.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781990688263
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Ingenium Books
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
