A Literary Gem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     When I finished this novel, I was shocked it only made "The New York Times 100 Most Notable Books List."  This should have been in the Top 5 for fiction, because it was surely better than that "Exhalation" crap, by Ted Chiang.

                                       This is an epistolary novel, a letter by an American Vietnamese man nicknamed "Little Dog" to his illiterate mother, wherein he tells her all the things he can't.  And that includes being gay.

                                         Chronicling he and his mother's flight from Viet Nam, to, of all places, Hartford, Connecticut, this 242 pager moves like a panoramic, epic novel, without the excess.  The author, Ocean Vuong, is a poet, and it shows in the brevity of his prose.  Nevertheless, I could not stop being mesmerized by the writing and the story, which was deeply moving, saying all it needed to.

                                            Many writers, and editors, could take a cue from Vuong's writing.  What a pity it did not get more attention.  Had I read it last year, it would certainly have made my list.

                                               But it is not too late, girls, so pick up a copy, and read this extremely moving, yet detailed, mother-son story.

                                                Sometimes, good things do come in small packages, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!