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House of Sticks: A Memoir
New York City Book Awards Hornblower Award Winner
One of Vogue and NPR's Best Books of the Year
This beautifully written "masterclass in memoir" (Elle) recounts a young girl's journey from war-torn Vietnam to Queens, New York, "showcas[ing] the tremendous power we have to alter the fates of others, step into their lives and shift the odds in favor of greater opportunity" (Star Tribune, Minneapolis).
Ly Tran is just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family immigrate from a small town along the Mekong river in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens. Ly's father, a former lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army, spent nearly a decade as a POW, and their resettlement is made possible through a humanitarian program run by the US government. Soon after they arrive, Ly joins her parents and three older brothers sewing ties and cummerbunds piece-meal on their living room floor to make ends meet.
As they navigate this new landscape, Ly finds herself torn between two worlds. She knows she must honor her parents' Buddhist faith and contribute to the family livelihood, working long hours at home and eventually as a manicurist alongside her mother at a nail salon in Brooklyn that her parents take over. But at school, Ly feels the mounting pressure to blend in.
A growing inability to see the blackboard presents new challenges, especially when her father forbids her from getting glasses, calling her diagnosis of poor vision a government conspiracy. His frightening temper and paranoia leave a mark on Ly's sense of self. Who is she outside of everything her family expects of her?
An "unsentimental yet deeply moving examination of filial bond, displacement, war trauma, and poverty" (NPR), House of Sticks is a timely and powerful portrait of one girl's coming-of-age and struggle to find her voice amid clashing cultural expectations.
One of Vogue and NPR's Best Books of the Year
This beautifully written "masterclass in memoir" (Elle) recounts a young girl's journey from war-torn Vietnam to Queens, New York, "showcas[ing] the tremendous power we have to alter the fates of others, step into their lives and shift the odds in favor of greater opportunity" (Star Tribune, Minneapolis).
Ly Tran is just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family immigrate from a small town along the Mekong river in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens. Ly's father, a former lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army, spent nearly a decade as a POW, and their resettlement is made possible through a humanitarian program run by the US government. Soon after they arrive, Ly joins her parents and three older brothers sewing ties and cummerbunds piece-meal on their living room floor to make ends meet.
As they navigate this new landscape, Ly finds herself torn between two worlds. She knows she must honor her parents' Buddhist faith and contribute to the family livelihood, working long hours at home and eventually as a manicurist alongside her mother at a nail salon in Brooklyn that her parents take over. But at school, Ly feels the mounting pressure to blend in.
A growing inability to see the blackboard presents new challenges, especially when her father forbids her from getting glasses, calling her diagnosis of poor vision a government conspiracy. His frightening temper and paranoia leave a mark on Ly's sense of self. Who is she outside of everything her family expects of her?
An "unsentimental yet deeply moving examination of filial bond, displacement, war trauma, and poverty" (NPR), House of Sticks is a timely and powerful portrait of one girl's coming-of-age and struggle to find her voice amid clashing cultural expectations.
Editorial Reviews
"[An] unsentimental yet deeply moving examination of filial bond, displacement, war trauma, and poverty. Ostensibly an immigrant success story, Tran's narrative power lies in its nuanced celebration of filial devotion that withstands the enormous cost of the American dream ... The dilapidated nail salon in a racially volatile Brooklyn neighborhood that Tran's parents came to own after the end of their sweatshop era - with its filing sticks as tools of the trade - witnessed their stark tribulations as well as the wondrous resilience of their immigrant selves. In the end, Tran's empathy and her parents' appreciation of her filial love cemented the emotional bricks that steady their seemingly tenuous hold on this unaccustomed earth."
-NPR
"House of Sticks is a book that will assault and warm your heart at the same time-a classic immigrant tale, told from the perspective of a Vietnamese child who settled with her family in New York City in the early ‘90s with little to no knowledge about life in America… But it is also much more: a coming of age story, A New York hustle, a battle with a father who not only maintains an ironclad sense of filial duty, but also, fueled by his paranoia, exercises irrational control over things like vision correction. (In another elegant examination of absence, the book recounts what a fundamental challenge it is to move through the world without basic ability to see.)"
-Vogue, Best Books to Read 2021
"Out of heartbreaking inherited trauma, Tran discovers joy in new relationships and the grace for one of the most beautiful scenes of parent-child rapprochement I've ever read. Her new eyesight lets Tran see, most importantly, 'the voice I'd been unable to access all my life...on the page.' Words are strong enough to contain a life's story, holding together all the fractures in remembering and telling."
-Commonweal Magazine
"A moving recount of how Tran and her family immigrated from a small town in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens, and how she forged her path in a new culture."
-Marie Claire, 20 New Books by Asian Authors to Get Excited About
"Tran found herself pulled in myriad directions by her desires: to please her family, to fit in with her friends, to chart her own course, to belong. She tells her own coming-of-age story in
-NPR
"House of Sticks is a book that will assault and warm your heart at the same time-a classic immigrant tale, told from the perspective of a Vietnamese child who settled with her family in New York City in the early ‘90s with little to no knowledge about life in America… But it is also much more: a coming of age story, A New York hustle, a battle with a father who not only maintains an ironclad sense of filial duty, but also, fueled by his paranoia, exercises irrational control over things like vision correction. (In another elegant examination of absence, the book recounts what a fundamental challenge it is to move through the world without basic ability to see.)"
-Vogue, Best Books to Read 2021
"Out of heartbreaking inherited trauma, Tran discovers joy in new relationships and the grace for one of the most beautiful scenes of parent-child rapprochement I've ever read. Her new eyesight lets Tran see, most importantly, 'the voice I'd been unable to access all my life...on the page.' Words are strong enough to contain a life's story, holding together all the fractures in remembering and telling."
-Commonweal Magazine
"A moving recount of how Tran and her family immigrated from a small town in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens, and how she forged her path in a new culture."
-Marie Claire, 20 New Books by Asian Authors to Get Excited About
"Tran found herself pulled in myriad directions by her desires: to please her family, to fit in with her friends, to chart her own course, to belong. She tells her own coming-of-age story in
Readers Top Reviews
Stephen J Veryser
I got this after reading the Michael Jackson excerpt in Harper's. It's not bad, if a little amateur. Like one of the chapters is written in present tense, which was weird. It also felt a bit unsure about what details were relevant so seemed to include everything, and I found myself skimming sections that probably could have been cut. Thanks for sharing very heartfelt and honest/transparent.
Donna Stephen J V
Learning experience about life as a Vietnamese immigrant to America. Had never really thought about it but it was full of difficult challenges for them and especially the children. Made me thankful for how I grew up as a middle class working family!
P MDonna Stephen
The is an excellently written and thoughtful book about a young immigrant woman growing up in NYC. The story really translates to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider and had to overcome obstacles to reach their full potential. Definitely read this
Jonathan Hernande
I've met Ly personally once or twice and after reading her book, you get to know her more. Her challenges as an immigrant struggling to fit in and live with her family were very touching. While reading the book, I felt like you were there in her footsteps. Certain topics about being admitted to mental hospital, her tunnel like vision and her dad refusing her to get glasses cause of some government conspiracy just made me both sad and angry like "man, why can't this woman catch a break?" All in all, this is an uplifting memoir and for those who are going through struggles in life or had a rough childhood, this book should resonate with you. I wish Ly best of success in future endeavors as an author and in life :)
CharlotteJonathan
Engrossing and enlightening about immigrant struggles to get out of abject poverty— but the memoir is more than that. The author’s experience reveals a lovely personality, akin to a lotus rising from mud to beauty. Her family is loving (and I particularly admire the continuing warmth among the siblings) but they are unable to leave their experience and cultural limits to help her. She lives a cycle of struggles, failure, re-birth, failure, re-birth etc.; and I wish for her a future of continued happiness.
