Publisher Description

Like Viet Thanh Nguyen's acclaimed The Sympathizer, VietnamEazy captures with startling honesty and detail the dizzying dislocation that so many Vietnamese arrivals in the United States have experienced and, like Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, explores the age-old mysteries of the mother-daughter relationship. It tells the story of Kieu, a Vietnamese-American woman, and her quest for success on a TV cooking show, introducing the intoxicating allure of Vietnamese food to a general audience, interwoven with the haunting, sorrowful tale of her family and upbringing. This is a universal tale of redemption that mothers and daughters can read together and discuss, preferably over a steaming bowl of pho.

Author Biography

Trami Nguyen Cron was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and when she was eight years old left Vietnam with her family for France. Three years later, they settled in the United States. Trami, a longtime resident of Northern California, is the founder of Chopsticks Alley, an international foodie group promoting restaurants and hosting events for members while raising funds to support homeless kids in the Silicon Valley. She is a successful entrepreneur, having started numerous businesses in Northern California, and serves as the philanthropy director for the Miss Vietnam of Northern California Intercollegiate Pageant. When asked about why she wanted to author a book about the Vietnamese experience, Trami responded, "I wanted to write about all that is beautiful and unique about Vietnam from its culture to its food. I want to share stories about the people of Vietnam that have nothing to do with the Vietnam War."

Review

"Part immigrant story, part reality-TV sendup, and part cookbook, this remarkable novel hooks the reader with a string of unforgettable images: a grandmother complaining about her sagging breasts; a Zumba instructor shouting at her class in Vietnamese; a mother arriving late in clicking heels to her daughter's emergency surgery. Author Trami Nguyen Cron reminds us that good writing reaches our hearts only through our senses." --Novelist Nick Taylor, author of Father Junipero's Confessor "This book captures the true essence of Vietnamese cooking. It is a must-have for all Vietnamese cuisine lovers." --Chef Khai Vu, owner of District One Vietnamese restaurant, Las Vegas "Trami Nguyen Cron's lively and appealing debut novel draws in the reader and keeps her hooked. Charming, amusing and moving." --Novelist Emily Mitchell, author of The Last Summer of the World "Each of the novel's chapters begins with a recipe -- among them, Feminine Salad, Sour Fish Soup and Hades Rice. Food is not only a central theme in the storytelling, it's the connective tissue between Kieu, her mother and her mother's mother, each of whom have different ideas of what it means to be a woman in the modern world. What follows is a Joy Luck Club-style cross-generational interplay between Asian women, each shaped by different psychological and emotional circumstances." --Wallace Baine, San Jose Mercury News

Long Description

Like Viet Thanh Nguyen's acclaimed The Sympathizer , VietnamEazy captures with startling honesty and detail the dizzying dislocation that so many Vietnamese arrivals in the United States have experienced and, like Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club , explores the age-old mysteries of the mother-daughter relationship. It tells the story of Kieu, a Vietnamese-American woman, and her quest for success on a TV cooking show, introducing the intoxicating allure of Vietnamese food to a general audience, interwoven with the haunting, sorrowful tale of her family and upbringing. This is a universal tale of redemption that mothers and daughters can read together and discuss, preferably over a steaming bowl of pho.

Review Quote

"Part immigrant story, part reality-TV sendup, and part cookbook, this remarkable novel hooks the reader with a string of unforgettable images: a grandmother complaining about her sagging breasts; a Zumba instructor shouting at her class in Vietnamese; a mother arriving late in clicking heels to her daughter's emergency surgery. Author Trami Nguyen Cron reminds us that good writing reaches our hearts only through our senses." --Novelist Nick Taylor, author of Father Junipero's Confessor "We learn intricate details about Vietnamese food, including recipes that open each chapter, but VietnamEazy is much more than a foodie story. Each time Kieu cooks something, it reminds her of stories her mother or grandmother told her in years past. Memories emerge and the resulting novel interweaves several different narratives. For one, we get the current-day tale of Kieu competing on a ridiculous TV cooking show, replete with flashy Hollywood-style participants of varying degrees of flagrant superficiality. And then we get a few lifetimes' worth of mother-daughter relationship issues unique to the Vietnamese." --Gary Singh, Metro Silicon Valley "This book captures the true essence of Vietnamese cooking. It is a must-have for all Vietnamese cuisine lovers." --Chef Khai Vu, owner of District One Vietnamese restaurant, Las Vegas "Trami Nguyen Cron's lively and appealing debut novel draws in the reader and keeps her hooked. Charming, amusing and moving." --Novelist Emily Mitchell, author of The Last Summer of the World "Each of the novel's chapters begins with a recipe - among them, Feminine Salad, Sour Fish Soup and Hades Rice. Food is not only a central theme in the storytelling, it's the connective tissue between Kieu, her mother and her mother's mother, each of whom have different ideas of what it means to be a woman in the modern world. What follows is a Joy Luck Club -style cross-generational interplay between Asian women, each shaped by different psychological and emotional circumstances." --Wallace Baine, San Jose Mercury News

Details