Born in Saigon in 1968, Kim Thoy left Vietnam with the boat people
when she was 10 and settled in Quebec with her family. As well as
being a writer, she has degrees in translation and law and has
worked as a seamstress, interpreter, lawyer and restaurant owner.
Her debut novel, Ru, was published in 2009 and became a bestseller
in Quebec and in France, garnering several prestigious literary
awards, including a Governor General's Award in 2010. Translation
rights have been sold in twenty-eight languages. She has also
written toi (Yours), with Pascal Janovjak, M n and Vi--in addition
to a cookbook, Le Secret des Vietnamiennes (Secrets from My
Vietnamese Kitchen).
SHEILA FISCHMAN is the award-winning translator of some 150
contemporary novels from Quebec. In 2008 she was awarded the Molson
Prize in the Arts. She is a Member of the Order of Canada and a
chevalier of the Ordre national du Quebec. She lives in Montreal.
"Em’s concise approach achieves wonders by delivering a big story
in a small space."
– John Self, The Irish Times, on Em being shortlisted for the
Dublin Literary Award
“Just like tender, strong and graceful Vietnamese silk threads, Kim
Thúy masterfully weaves us through Vietnam’s 20th-century history
while binding us to the lives of its people so that their
experiences expand our worldview. EM is an original, innovative,
poetic and haunting novel that deserves to be read, shared,
studied and discussed.”
– Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, internationally best-selling author of The
Mountains Sing.
"A constellation of connected characters provides a snapshot of
Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora in North America from French
colonization to life after the war. ... A brief, moving
meditation on the nature of truth, memory, humanity, and violence:
a powerful work of art."
– Kirkus Reviews
“Expertly handled by her long-time translator, Sheila Fischman, the
text juxtaposes horror and beauty to lasting effect. The prose is
poised and elegant even when describing atrocity. … This is Thúy’s
most ambitious and affecting book yet. Both sprawling and intimate,
Em amplifies her storytelling and is a moving memorial to survivors
and those who perished alike.”
– Quill & Quire, starred review (Canada)
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