Short Girls [With Earbuds] (Playaway Adult Fiction) [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

Bich Minh Nguyen (Author), Alice H. Kennedy (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2009 | Series: Playaway Adult Fiction

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 Audio 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)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Publisher: Playaway (September 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1441810358
• ISBN-13: 978-1441810359
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• 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)

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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)

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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
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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