Title: This is all I choose to tell : history and hybridity in Vietnamese American literature /
Authors: Pelaud, Isabelle Thuy, 1965-
Publisher: Temple University Press,
Year: 2011
Subjects: American literature Vietnamese American authors History and criticism.; Vietnamese Americans in literature.; Cultural fusion in literature.; Multiculturalism in literature.; Race in literature; Vietnamese Americans Ethnic identity.; History in literature.; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Literature and the war
Abstract: In the first book-length study of Vietnamese American literature, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud probes the complexities of Vietnamese American identity and politics. She provides an analytical introduction to the literature, showing how generational differences play out in genre and text. In addition, she asks, can the term Vietnamese American be disassociated from representations of the war without erasing its legacy? Pelaud delineates the historical, social, and cultural terrains of the writing as well as the critical receptions and responses to them. She moves beyond the common focus on the Vietnam war to develop an interpretive framework that integrates post-colonialism with the multi-generational refugee, immigrant, and transnational experiences at the centre of Vietnamese American narratives. Her readings of key works, such as Andrew Pham's Catfish and Mandala and Lan Cao's Monkey Bridge show how trauma, racism, class and gender play a role in shaping the identities of Vietnamese American characters and narrators.
Contents: History -- Overview -- Hybridity -- Survival -- Hope & despair -- Reception.