Short Girls [Paperback]

Bich Minh Nguyen (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking; 1st Edition/1st Printing edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905490402
• ISBN-13: 978-1905490400
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

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 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Short Girls: A Novel (Hardcover)

(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 "nut_stud" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Short Girls: A Novel (Hardcover)

(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 CONSUMMATE READER BRINGS SISTERS' STORY TO LIFE, July 26, 2009

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Short Girls (Audio CD)

Alice H. Kennedy who read Nguyen's acclaimed memoir Stealing Buddha's Dinner gives equally appealing voice to Short Girls, the author's first foray into fiction. Born in Saigon Kennedy's voice is distinct, clear and easily segues between characters. A slightly more strident tone identifies older sister Van, and a lighter sound captures Linny.

The two girls are not close, perhaps unsurprising since they are so different. Van is a law school graduate whose world abruptly changed after 9/11. First, there is a professional failure when she cannot prevent the deportation of a client, next she suffers a miscarraige, and then the final blow - her husband leaves, simply walks away.

Linny, on the other hand is a college dropout who happily works at You Did It Dinners where Moms can come for prepared dinners to freeze. She's a fashionista, devoted to designer duds and all things trendy. But lfe is not rosy for Linny either. Her romance with a married man is headed directly for where most of those arrangements go - nowhere.

Each could use a sister's shoulder to cry one but they've been estranged for so long. Then they receive a call from their father, Dinh Luong, a man obsessed by the thought that all Americans are tall while those of Vietnamese heritage are short. In attempts to combat what he considers to be a serious drawback he has invented the Luong Arm, which is intended to help the vertically deprived reach objects which would ordinarily be too high for them to reach. Unfortunately his invention has never caught on.

Nonetheless, after 28 years he has decided to become an American citizen in the hope that this will help him sell the Luong Arm. He's the last of his friends to give up his green card and he calls his daughters to come home and celebrate the occasion. Upon arrival they find that they're not only there to celebrate but also to plan the festivities.

That's not the only surprise that awaits as the two sisters at first reluctantly then slowly begin to discover each other, and find they have more in common than either had ever dreamed.

- Gail Cooke