Booklist calls author Monique Truong a "gifted storyteller." Here Truong pens a mesmerizing tale starring Linda Hammerick, a woman with a truly unique gift-the ability to experience words through taste. The word "disappoint" always leaves a bad taste in Linda's mouth, like burnt toast. And this taste is particularly powerful around her family. Yet when a tragedy occurs, Linda has no choice but to return home to North Carolina. "[A] powerful novel-Booklist, starred review
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"Very compelling tale of a childhood that, while occuring in the same time frame as mine, couldn't be more different from my own. I felt drawn to Linda and wish I could have been her friend, I would have been a better one than the one she had! "
— Angie (4 out of 5 stars)
“Truong explores—and explodes—[her characters’] secrets at a captivating pace…Reminiscent of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.”
— New York Times Book Review“A beautifully written, complex story of self-discovery.”
— Boston Globe" Not AS amazing as her Book of Salt, but very very good story of family and identity "
— Rachel, 5/18/2011" Ohh, I loved this book! I was sorry to see it end and spent every moment of free time reading once I started The author is a fantastic writer and I am eager to read her first book. "
— Delight, 4/26/2011" I loved her phrasing, but I didn't quite relate to the story... though it was cleverly rendered. The book didn't quite capture my attention and though I wanted to finish it I wasn't impelled to read it quickly. I think it took me a full 2 weeks to finish. "
— Karen, 4/22/2011" An interesting read about a girl with synesthesia which causes her to taste something depending on the word she hears. I found it to be mostly strange, with some sad parts. Not sure I'd recommend or not. "
— Liz, 4/12/2011" SOme interesting insights but mostly morose. "
— Trudy, 3/28/2011" Good story about a young girl growing up in the south in the 70's & 80's. Can't give any details because they would spoil the story. Well done. "
— Paula, 3/15/2011" I might have enjoyed this book more if Ms. Truong hadn't tacked the taste directly onto the words - something I found incredibly distracting. Otherwise, the plot moved along okay. And then I read "Lit." "
— Rebecca, 2/26/2011" A surprisingly great read...unique topic and characters, well-written, thoughtful, yet still easy to read. I really liked this one. "
— Barb, 2/16/2011" So far it is reading like a memoir even though it is fiction and I have no idea where the author is taking me. "
— Carol, 2/10/2011Monique Truong was born in Saigon in 1968 and moved to the United States at age six. She graduated from Yale University and the Columbia University School of Law, going on to specialize in intellectual property. Truong coedited the anthology Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry and Prose. Her first novel, The Book of Salt, a national bestseller, has been awarded the 2003 Bard Fiction Prize, the Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award, and the Young Lions Fiction Award, among other honors. Granting Truong an Award of Excellence, the Vietnamese American Studies Center at San Francisco State University called her “a pioneer in the field, as an academic, an advocate, and an artist.” Truong now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Jennifer Ikeda has been narrating audiobooks since 2002. Among her readings are When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park; Just Listen by Sarah Dessen; and After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates. She has won six AudioFile Earphones Awards.