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House of Sticks: A Memoir Audiobook
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An intimate, beautifully written coming-of-age memoir recounting a young girl’s journey from war-torn Vietnam to Ridgewood, Queens, and her struggle to find her voice amid clashing cultural expectations.
Ly Tran is just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family immigrate from a small town along the Mekong river in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens. Ly’s father, a former lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army, spent nearly a decade as a POW, and their resettlement is made possible through a humanitarian program run by the US government. Soon after they arrive, Ly joins her parents and three older brothers sewing ties and cummerbunds piece-meal on their living room floor to make ends meet.
As they navigate this new landscape, Ly finds herself torn between two worlds. She knows she must honor her parents’ Buddhist faith and contribute to the family livelihood, working long hours at home and eventually as a manicurist alongside her mother at a nail salon in Brownsville, Brooklyn, that her parents take over. But at school, Ly feels the mounting pressure to blend in.
A growing inability to see the blackboard presents new challenges, especially when her father forbids her from getting glasses, calling her diagnosis of poor vision a government conspiracy. His frightening temper and paranoia leave an indelible mark on Ly’s sense of self. Who is she outside of everything her family expects of her?
Told in a spare, evocative voice that, with flashes of humor, weaves together her family’s immigration experience with her own fraught and courageous coming of age, House of Sticks is a timely and powerful portrait of one girl’s struggle to reckon with her heritage and forge her own path.
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“Tran is exceptional at telling her story with honesty and without judgment. Readers who loved Tara Westover’s Educated (2018) will find a similarly compelling memoir of resilience in a not-often-seen America.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Quotes
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“With vulnerability and moments of humor, Tran recounts her inspiring journey. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile -
“Will assault and warm your heart at the same time—a classic immigrant tale.”
— Vogue -
“A moving account.”
— Marie Claire -
“[An] unsentimental yet deeply moving examination of filial bond, displacement, war trauma, and poverty.”
— NPR -
“Showcases the tremendous power we have to alter the fates of others, step into their lives, and shift the odds in favor of greater opportunity.”
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune -
“[A] painful but powerful exploration of the struggle to find a sense of self within a family at the cross-section of cultures, and Tran’s story is impossible to forget.”
— Shelf Awareness -
“I guarantee that you will never see the nail salon technician in the same way after reading Ly Tran’s memoir.”
— Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, author of When Skateboards Will Be Free
Awards
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A Vogue Pick of Best New Books
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An Indie Next List Pick of the Month
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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An Elle Magazine Pick for Summer
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A Marie Claire Magazine Pick of Best New Books by Asian Authors
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About Ly Tran
Ly Tran graduated from Columbia University in 2014 with a degree in Creative Writing and Linguistics. She has received fellowships from MacDowell, Art Omi, and Yaddo.