Dragonfish A Novel [Paperback]

Well-handled and tautly told&[A] strong first novel for its risk taking, for its collapsing of genre, for its elegant language and its mediation of a history that is integral to post-1960s American identity yet often ignored.Heartbreaking and haunting.Transfixing&Like such writers as Caryl Phillips, Dinaw Mengestu and Edwidge Danticat, [Tran] is devoted to capturing the immigrant experience and widening everyones understanding of its particular as well as universal truths.Splendid&will quickly engage you with its suspenseful story of marital discord, told in duplicate, and set largely in Las Vegas&A dark and gripping story,[A] hard-hitting debut novel&. [Suzy is] a mystery no one can solve, particularly the people turning all their efforts in the wrong direction. But while their efforts arent fruitful, theyre absorbing. And they speak to the way everyone is a bit of an enigma to other people, no matter how many words they put into the effort to be understood.Like Gatsby, the characters in Trans novel yearn for something unattainable&This and the feeling that there will only be a tragic end are what elevateA sophisticated mystery anchored in one womans quest to make amends with the daughter she abandoned,A superb debut novel&that takes the noir basics and infuses them with the bitters of loss and isolation peculiar to the refugee and immigrant tale.Everything is perfect there, those quiet little garnishes of idiosyncratic detail are gifts, both amusing and full of character. Trans novel is filled with this sort of inspired meticulousness, and reading it is to enter its world.Absolutely gripping. Vu Tran has written a terrificand deceptively weirdnovel that manages to make Vietnam and Las Vegas feel like old, familiar friends. Dont call him a writer to watch. Call him a writer to read.A