Reviews

For a reality series, HBO’s "House of Ho" is bad at fitting into the confines of its genre. Then again, the Hos are bad at fitting into the confines of stereotypes. 

Hai-Dang Phan, however, is not interested in simply pathologizing his parents; nor does he pretend that he can be an adequate storyteller of their pasts. Rather, Phan lingers within the liminality of reenactments, not just as an imperfect portal into history, but as a mysterious realm in its own right.

The book is mostly light-hearted, quippy and delightfully cringey as it brings you back into awkward adolescence, the heart of the conflict is the mystery around Linh and Bảo’s family feud--a modern reception of Romeo and Juliet and Lan và Điệp.

"Touted as a soldier’s book for soldiers, 'Vietnam' delivers strong military storytelling with narratives focused at the grassroots level while also bringing the stories of people at ground zero from all sides of the Vietnam conflict to light in all of its grueling, limb-wrenching, and heart-breaking detail."

It never stops delighting me to see an East Asian-inspired fantasy work—especially when it comes in a package as tightly woven as The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

Phan Nhiên Hạo reminds us that one does not have to write in English in order to be an American poet, nor does one have to publish in Vietnam in order to be a Vietnamese poet.