Short Girls: A Novel [Hardcover]

Bich Minh Nguyen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 23, 2009

Van and Linny Luong are temperamental opposites. Diligent, unassuming Van has found her calling as an immigration lawyer in the midwestern suburbs, but no one knows that her picture-perfect marriage has suddenly evaporated. Her younger sister, Linny, fashion-forward and socially adept, lives in Chicago where she has drifted into a dead-end affair with a married man. Though both women feel untethered and burdened by a secret, they’ve never been able to confide in each other. But then, after nearly thirty years in the U.S., their eccentric, invention-obsessed father decides to take the citizenship oath—a rite of passage he hopes will improve the prospects of his most prized creation, the “Luong Arm,” an instrument to help short people grasp objects that are out of reach. When Van and Linny reluctantly heed the summons home they end up having to plan a celebration for him, replete with cha gio egg rolls and encounters with old friends from years past. In the time warp of a childhood home unaltered since their mother’s death and insulated by the same Vietnamese American community they grew up with, Van and Linny find they are bound by much more than the duties of culture and family history, or their aging father’s demands and whims. As they chart the uncertainty that has defined them, as well as the bitter irony of their romantic straits, Van and Linny discover in their common cause a new, enduring connection that sees them through the host of surprises to come. Bich Minh Nguyen was hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a writer to watch, a tremendous talent” for her debut memoir, Stealing Buddha’s Dinner, and her charm and shrewd powers of observation are on brilliant display in this first novel. By turns deeply moving, wickedly urbane, and utterly entertaining, Short Girls chronicles the pitfalls and triumphs that govern all family lives. Nguyen’s insights into the complexities of duty, culture, and ambition often shared by the children of immigrants make Van and Linny’s story fresh and unforgettable — a true American tale for our time.

--This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The enigmatic first novel from memoirist Nguyen (Stealing Buddha's Dinner) is a detailed character study of second-generation sisters who find themselves more anchored by their Vietnamese heritage than they had realized. Van and Linny Luong, estranged since their childhood in a suburb of Grand Rapids, Mich., return home for their father's American citizenship ceremony. Van, a lifelong goodie-goodie, finds herself abandoned by her husband, while Linny, Van's polar opposite, leaves her married lover once she discovers how he feels about her. Their father, a reluctant tile worker but enthusiastic inventor of devices to improve the lives of short people, provides a perfect diversion for his daughters—he needs them to come with him to Detroit to audition for a TV show. When the audition doesn't go as planned and family secrets start to come out, Linny, Van and Mr. Luong all get a chance to set aside their past failures and find a way to remake themselves. Though not all of the ideas put into play about immigration and immigrant life work themselves out, Nguyen's novel is clever and lively, a fine update to a familiar setup. (July)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Family squabbles and generational conflicts are common themes in Asian American literature. However, most critics felt Nguyen's sense of place (she grew up in Michigan and knows her terrain), as well as her ability to keep the story moving forward even as the narrative hopscotched through time, elevated the work. Several critics noted the novelty of reading about Asian Americans living outside San Francisco or New York. Still, some reviewers felt that everyday details at times bogged down the narrative and that the believability of the characters varied. Despite these complaints, most critics considered Short Girls a very funny, and occasionally sad, exploration of Asian American family dynamics.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (July 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670020818
• ISBN-13: 978-0670020812
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Move over Allende and Tan! June 9, 2009

By classyglrl

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Bich Minh Nguyen is a breath of fresh air to international women writers. Written in the style of Isabel Allende, but with the flare of Amy Tan, Nguyen does a great job in portraying the daily life struggles young women face in society's inevitable drama, and the life choices they must face, all the while struggling between the internal conflict of who they are raise to become, and what society expects of them, and in the midst? Trying to figure out for themselves what THEY want to be. Regardless of always having to fight the internal conflict of their identity, and the struggle of having two opposing cultures trying to mold them, Nguyen, like most international writer, portrays the pros and cons of either assimilating whole heartedly into mainstream American culture, or simply being culturally pluralistic.

Romance, career, and most importantly family is the driving forces behind the main characters' actions. Nguyen let's us into the minds of her characters, but at the same time, as they withhold their secretive thoughts from their loved ones, Nguyen withholds them from the reader as well, teasing the reader from start to finish.

A great book about what it is like to be culturally pluralistic in modern American society.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Touching, delightful, heart-rending read! July 8, 2009

By Yuni

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I'm always excited to read books by new writers and Bich Nguyen debuted with a gem of a read! It chronicles the life and times of a Vietnamese-American immigrant family. It explores the themes of marriage, family, the main character's sisterhood and the relationship with her parents. You don't need to be an immigrant or have a sister to appreciate the nuances and intricacies of Nguyen's writing. I think this story of the ties that bind us speaks to anyone who has experienced solitude, guilt and heartbreak.

I like that we get the stories from the perspectives of the two sisters. I feel like Nguyen writes from experience and her heart, which makes this story so relateable and touching. I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel and can't wait to read more of Nguyen's works!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Short On Charm August 29, 2009

By Jill I. Shtulman TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Van and Linny Luong are short girls in a tall world -- a distinctly AMERICAN world. When they are young, their father lines them up to record their heights. Early on in the book, he says, "It's not about being tall. It's about being better than taller people. If you not seen as equal you do whatever you can to make equalness happen."

Within these pages, Van and Linny struggle to "make equalness happen." Van escapes from her home through overachieving: she works hard to achieve both at University of Michigan law school, in her ensuing career as a immigration lawyer, and in her young marriage to a well-esconced Chinese American man named Miles. Failure is simply not allowed. Linny, the rebel, takes the opposite tract: she relies on her beauty and sense of fashion to land a job in a catering company and to also land the attractive married husband of one of her customers. But suddenly, they both find themselves on the precipice. Van fails -- for the first time -- on an immigration case as a result of the post 9/11 atmosphere, she miscarries, and her husband leaves her. Linny finds out that her married man is trying for another child; her affair is discovered and she is in danger of losing her job. It is then that both are summoned home by their distant and uninvolved father for his American citizenship ceremony.

In another author's hands, this story might be simply that -- a nicely put-together story. It's a testimony to Bich Minh Nguyen's wizardry that the story becomes a whole lot more. It's about discovering a sense of self in an "other" world that is designed for the majority -- the tall people who know the ropes. It's about how we fit into family -- and community -- fighting to be genuine and to keep our own identity. It's about how the world changes for the immigrant after 9/11. And it's about forging new relationships with siblings, aging parents, and most of all, ourselves.

It is not a perfect novel. The relationship between Van and Miles, while very interesting, sometimes teeters into a form of disbelief. Would any husband be so cold after his wife's first professional failure, blaming her for the outcome? What was the attraction on his end to begin with if he wanted perfection? Sometimes, the plot twists are just a little too pat. But overall, this was an enjoyable read and a rare look into Vietnamese-American culture. I recommend it.