BooksCanadian

Vi

Kim Thy takes the reader on a journey around the globe in her novel about a young Vietnamese refugee.

Kim Thy, translated by Sheila Fischman

CBC Books Posted: Jan 10, 2018 10:47 AM EST | Last Updated: August 16, 2021

The perfect complement to the exquisitely wrought novels Ru and Mn, Canada Reads winner Kim Thy returns with Vi, exploring the lives, loves and struggles of Vietnamese refugees as they reinvent themselves in new lands.

The youngest of four children and the only girl, Vi was given a name that meant "precious, tiny one," destined to be cosseted and protected, the family's little treasure.

Daughter of an enterprising mother and a wealthy, spoiled father who never had to grow up, the Vietnam War destroys the life they've known. Vi, along with her mother and brothers, manages to escape but her father stays behind, leaving a painful void as the rest of the family must make a new life for themselves in Canada.

While her family puts down roots, life has different plans for Vi. As a young woman, she finds the world opening up to her. Taken under the wing of H, a worldly family friend, and her diplomat lover, Vi tests personal boundaries and crosses international ones, letting the winds of life buffet her. From Saigon to Montreal, from Suzhou to Boston to the fall of the Berlin Wall, she is witness to the immensity of the world, the intricate fabric of humanity, the complexity of love, the infinite possibilities before her. Ever the quiet observer, somehow she must find a way to finally take her place in the world. (From Random House Canada)

KimThyis aMontreal-based award-winning novelist and short storywriter. Born inSaigon, Vietnam, she and her family were among thousandswho fledthecountry on boatafter the fall of Saigon. They later settled in Quebec.

Thyalso wrote the Canada Reads2015 winner,Ru. The book was defended by Cameron Bailey.

Viwas on the longlist for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prizeand wasa finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for translation.

From the book

H is much younger than my mother. At the beginning of the 1970s in Saigon, she was the perfect modern woman in the American style, with her very short dresses that showed off the slanted, heart-shaped birthmark high up on her left thigh. I remember her irresistible platform shoes in the hallway of our house, which struck me as decadent, or at least gave me a new perspective on the world when I slipped them on. Her false eyelashes thick with mascara transformed her eyes into two spiky-haired rambutans.

She was our Twiggy, with her apple-green and turquoise eyeshadow, two colours that clashed with her coppery skin. She was unlike most of the young girls, who avoided the sun in order to set themselves apart from the peasants in the rice fields, who had to roll their pants up to their knees and endure the violent bright light. H bared her skin at the swimming pool of the very exclusive Cercle Sportif, where she gave me swimming lessons. She preferred American freedom to the elegance of French culture, which gave her the courage to participate in the first Miss Vietnam competition, even though she was an English teacher.

FromVi by Kim Thy, translated by Sheila Fischman2018. Published by Vintage Canada.

Interviews

The Next Chapter13:40Kim Thy on Vi

Earlier this winter, Shelagh Rogers spoke with Kim Thy as part of an event in support of a virtual e-book club supported by 600 libraries across the country. Kims novel Vi was the featured book for One eRead Canada. Here is part of that conversation with Kim Thy.

Author Kim Thy on Canadian pride

8 years ago

2:34

Canada Reads-winning author Kim Thuy's speaks about the contrast between Canada and Vietnam.

C'est la vie27:30Au revoir Vietnam, bonjour Quebec (Part 3)

Author Kim Thy reflects on the events that brought her to Canada, and the meaning of the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

Other books byKimThy, translated by Sheila Fischman

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