USED: How to Pronounce Knife: Stories

In her stunning debut book of fiction, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to find their bearings in unfamiliar territory, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and, above all, their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do-brightly, ferociously, unforgettably.

A former boxer finds a chance at redemption while working at his sister's nail salon. A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother's growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. A school bus driver must grapple with how much he's willing to give up in order to belong. And in the title story, a young girl's unconditional love for her father transcends the fickleness of language.

By turns tender and uncompromising, How to Pronounce Knife establishes Souvankham Thammavongsa as an essential new voice in Canadian literature.