The Frangipani Hotel: Fiction
Set in Vietnam and the U.S., these stories integrate the darker elements of Vietnamese folklore and myth.  The nine pieces of short fiction feature a variety of characters who come from different economic and educational backgrounds and often spotlight relations among family members.  In “Reception,” the slowly unfolding narrative encompasses the family running the Hotel Frangipani, an American businessman, and the beautiful manifestation of a local spirit.   Internal tensions among characters propel narratives and create a suspenseful atmosphere.  “Guests” features an American woman employed by the consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, her Canadian lover, and the people, local and expatriate, who surround them.  Readers get to decide the outcome of several of the stories.   One with an ambiguous ending, “Red Veil,” begins in a Catholic convent, alternates between modern and  historic Vietnam, and spotlights the tragedy of two sisters, a new stepmother, and the revenge of a human channel for the spirits of the dead.   This first collection introduces a writer to watch and belongs in any library serving a short story readership. --Ellen Loughran