“Mother wants to sell the amethyst ring Father brought back from America, where he trained in the navy before I was born. She wants to buy needles and thread, fabric and sandals from the camp's black market. I have never… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share Image
“MiSSS SScott points to the numbers along the wall. I count up to twenty. The class claps on its own. I’m furious, unable to… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“Why no s for two deer, but an s for two monkeys? Brother Quang says no one knows. So much for rules! Whoever invented… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“At first the weight of loss was thrust upon me so harshly I could only take a short breath, just enough to endure the… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“I need the lessons. I’m hiding in class by staring at my shoes. I’m hiding during lunch in the bathroom, eating hard rolls saved… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“She was promised to Father at five. They married at sixteen, earlier than expected. Everyone’s future changed upon learning the name H Chí Minh.” — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“I tell you of loss, my child, so you will listen, slowly, and know that in life every emotion is fated to rear itself… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“This year I hope I truly learn to fly-kick not to kick anyone so much as to fly.” — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“I wish our cowboy could be persuaded to buy a horse, that I could be invisible until I can talk back” — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“Some verbs switch all over just because. I am She is They are He was They were Would be simpler if English and live… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
“Everyone knows the ship could sink, unable to hold the piles of bodies that keep crawling on like raging ants from a disrupted nest.… — Thanhha Lai Copy Share
