Eric Nguyen - Things We Lost to the Water (Online Event)


............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Book Passage Presents

Tues., May 25th, 2021 • 5:00pm PT • Live • Online

In conversation with Julie Carlucci

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER
This event will be broadcast live and does not require registration to attend. To view, please click the "Watch Here" button at the time of the event, or subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive a ten-minute reminder.
 

 

A stunning debut novel about an immigrant Vietnamese family who settles in New Orleans and struggles to remain connected to one another as their lives are inextricably reshaped.

When Huong arrives in New Orleans with her two young sons, she is jobless, homeless, and worried about her husband, Cong, who remains in Vietnam. As she and her boys begin to settle in to life in America, she continues to send letters and tapes back to Cong, hopeful that they will be reunited and her children will grow up with a father.

But with time, Huong realizes she will never see her husband again. While she attempts to come to terms with this loss, her sons, Tuan and Binh, grow up in their absent father's shadow, haunted by a man and a country trapped in their memories and imaginations. As they push forward, the three adapt to life in America in different ways: Huong gets involved with a Vietnamese car salesman who is also new in town; Tuan tries to connect with his heritage by joining a local Vietnamese gang; and Binh, now going by Ben, embraces his adopted homeland and his burgeoning sexuality. Their search for identity—as individuals and as a family—threatens to tear them apart, un­til disaster strikes the city they now call home and they are suddenly forced to find a new way to come together and honor the ties that bind them.

Eric Nguyen earned an MFA in Creative Writing from McNeese State University in Louisiana. He has been awarded fellowships from Lambda Literary, Voices of Our Nation Arts (VONA), and the Tin House Writers Workshop. He is the editor in chief of diaCRITICS.org. He lives in Washington, DC. Things We Lost to the Water is his first novel.

Joining the conversation is the head of Book Passage's Signed First Editions Club program, Julie Carlucci. In addition to curating and researching unknown and debut authors throughout the year, Julie also designs personalized book lists for over 250 Book Passage clients across the U.S., delighting avid readers each month with a perfectly picked book aimed to captivate, enchant, entertain and provoke thought. Julie leads multiple book group discussions in the Marin community and reviews nearly 100 newly published books a year.

 

Eric Nguyen photo by Tim Coburn

 

Location: 

Staff Pick Badge
Things We Lost to the Water: A novel By Eric Nguyen Cover Image
$26.95
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9780593317952
Published: Knopf - May 4th, 2021