REVIEW: Em
"The word em refers to the little brother or little sister in a family; or the younger of two friends; or the woman in a couple. I like to think that the word em is the homonym of the verb aimer, “to love,” in French, in the imperative: aime."
Em is a heartwrenching and heartwarming story about the Vietnam
War and its aftermath, told through short vignettes and following a small cast
of characters back and forth in time. It makes a person feel furious and
hopeless about the fact of war.
This is a short book with short chapters and beautiful prose,
which makes it an easy book to read. It deals with heavy topics, which makes it
a hard book to read. The writing is poetic and evocative. I had a hard time
getting into the writing style when I read Vi by the same author, but with this
book I didn’t have that issue. It is translated from French, and I think
reading it in the original language would be the best experience.
For those who are ignorant, as I am, about the American
(Vietnam) War – if you can handle reading about the horror and brutality – I highly
recommend this book. I’m adding Kim Thuy to my list of favourite Canadian
authors.
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