Reviews

Thank you Midtown Scholar for having Sigh, Gone front and center. I’m a Vietnipino kid who grew up across the river a decade later, and Phuc’s story is literally and figuratively close to home. This memoir has such passion, nuance, history and compassion in all the moments, both those that are individually and universally historic. Phuc’s narration is a gift.

internationalkris's review against another edition

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4.0

Such a well-written memoir of a Vietnamese-American childhood in rural Pennsylvania. Favorite sections for me were Phuc's birth into a punk identity in high school as well as anywhere in the book when the author makes connections between his life and the excellent literature that he is avidly consuming. This book also has a lot of very thoughtful passages about racism, both as it was experienced by Phuc and his family as well as their internalized beliefs. The audiobook, read by the author, is highly recommended.

julesjb's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was incredible. Sigh, Gone is a piece of nonfiction that reads like fiction. The writing is fluid and the voice of Phuc Tran is captivating and easy to relate to. Through his memoir, we follow Phuc, from his childhood to his high-school graduation, a Vietnamiese kid that fled with his family to the US, how he desperately tried to fit in and how he felt alienated from his own family.⁣
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I love how he assimilated his own life with literature works such as The Scarlet Letter or Pygmalion. The writing was inspiring, emotional but also terribly funny. Some parts were painful to read, mainly the ones where Phuc talked about his relationship with his father. ⁣
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reederi's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.75

lindasdarby's review against another edition

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3.0

Reading about Phuc Tran(and his family to some degree) coming from Vietnam to Pennsylvania was a mixed bag - some parts of the book were really hard to read, some more interesting than others and at some points I wanted to punch Phuc in the face for being such a dumb jerk. I think the thing he did with comparing his life to classic books was mostly a gimmick that didn't really work for me. Some chapters it was better than others but a lot of the time it felt like a stretch. I will say that despite the fact that I think Phuc is kind of a jerk and thinks he is smarter than other people(most notably his parents -this is oversimplified) his upbringing was definitely really hard. The chapters where we read of the abuse from his father made me sick. Horrible in every way and it broke my heart. The chapters where Phuc is trying to understand racism - and this is obviously a running theme throughout the book so it starts at a young age - are probably the best in the book and the ones where I could empathize and learn the most. Seeing how Phuc struggles with this throughout his life and tries to come to terms with what it means for him and his friends and family and who he is are the best in the book. So much of the book is dedicated to him being punk and listening to cool music and getting the right clothes but I realize it is because it was so important in his development and learning and accepting of himself- they just aren't the best part of the book. Interesting and definitely worth the time.

claire_blanchard's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

marywithalilamb's review

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funny reflective slow-paced

3.5

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