Quiet As They Come
“This deeply moving collection of stories hums and glows with the interconnected lives of an extended immigrant family from Vietnam. Chau navigates her characters’ lives—their tragedy and humor, longings and furies, vast losses and secret beauties—with grace, skill, and ferocious compassion. Quiet As They Come announces the arrival of an astonishing literary talent with a great deal to say about the intricacies of family life, coming of age, emigration, and—above all—the treasures buried in the human heart.”
-Carolina De Robertis, author of The Invisible Mountain“Heartbreaking tales of ordinary people lost between the extraordinary circumstances of history. Bitter and beautiful all at once.”
-Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street“Quiet As They Come is a beautifully rendered, intimate, and dramatic story of family and country. Each character is drawn with such honesty and generosity, such insight and imagination. Angie Chau has impressed and enthralled me and I was very sorry to come to the last page. Buy this book!”
-Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club"In stories that manage to be both playful and poignant, Angie Chau displays her exceptional gift for capturing the intricate interactions between parents and children, men and women, and Vietnamese and American cultures. There’s grit beneath the sparkle of her language. Chau’s intimate portrayal of characters who must navigate the uncertain terrain between what’s left behind and what lies ahead is revelatory."
-Leslie Larson, author of Breaking Out of Bedlam"We call it naturalization, but these bright, authentic, well-made stories both personalize and illuminate just how unnatural the first twenty years in America felt for thousands of Vietnamese families who fled to San Francisco to escape the Vietnam War. Angie Chau writes with humor, intensity and forgiveness about lives full of danger, insult, momentary reprieve, unending tenacity and undying hope."
-Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness
Quiet As They Come was recently used at Loyola University for the course "20th Century US Fiction"
(click to see syllabus), and at
Chabot College in California for the course "Asian-American Literature"
(click to see syllabus).
The book has been or will be adopted for classroom curriculum at universities and high schools including Loyola University, Stanford University, Chabot College, University of the Pacific, California College of the Arts, San Francisco City College, Drew School, Brooks School, and Excel High School amongst others.
The book has been or will be adopted for classroom curriculum at universities and high schools including Loyola University, Stanford University, Chabot College, University of the Pacific, California College of the Arts, San Francisco City College, Drew School, Brooks School, and Excel High School amongst others.