Reviews

How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

ang44's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sweet and heartbreaking short story collection about people from Laos experiencing America and unique hardships. This was a quick read but every story really highlighted a different emotional aspect of the human experience.
Stories that really spoke to me (most of them honestly!):
How to Pronounce Knife
Slingshot 
Randy Travis
Mani Pedi
The Universe Would Be So Cruel
School Bus Driver
Ewwrrrkk
A Far Distant Thing
Picking Worms

lalawoman416's review against another edition

4.0

American life.
Immigrant experience.
The kids who love them.

ayeesharbrts's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

lejosie's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

adinadragos's review

challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

autumn_alwaysreadingseason's review

3.5

Most of these stories are about immigrants from Laos. They are dealing with which parts of their new culture to adopt versus resist. They are seeing their children (the next generation) take on new habits and become further away from Laos. They leave each other or silently bear the pain together. They have a variety of jobs and inhabit spaces that are glossed over by the majority. 

My favorites were:
"How to Pronounce Knife"
"Randy Travis"
"Mani Pedi"
"The Universe Would Be So Cruel"
"Edge of the World"

They are all about how we relate to each other--whether we show up for one another or let each other go. 

Most of these were in the first half of the book, so my attention waned in the second half.

waadyk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

biorg's review against another edition

4.0

Torn between 3 and 4: I think A LOT OF the stories were effective, and the prose was concise and sharp. However, when compared to other 4s I gave this year, it seems not as enjoyable as others (for me personally). Idk why. Also not sure why that particular story chosen as a collection title, imo it's one of the, if not the weakest ones in the entire book.

bimmbles's review against another edition

3.0

Realizing more and more that short stories are hard for me. This was a gorgeous collection, just not sure it's the form for me!

abception's review against another edition

reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0