Sunday, June 5, 2016

Mãn - Kim Thúy

Title: Mãn
Author: Kim Thúy; translated by Shelia Fischmann
Pages: 139
Published: 2014
Genre: Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Mãn has three mothers: the one who gives birth to her in wartime, the nun who plucks her from a vegetable garden, and her beloved Maman, who becomes a spy to survive. Seeking security for her grown daughter, Maman finds Mãn a husband--a lonely Vietnamese restaurateur who lives in Montreal. 

Thrown into a new world, Mãn discovers her natural talent as a chef. Gracefully she practices her art, with food as her medium. She creates dishes that are much more than sustenance for the body: they evoke memory and emotion, time and place, and even bring her customers to tears.

Mãn is a mystery--her name means "perfect fulfillment," yet she and her husband seem to drift along, respectfully and dutifully. But when she encounters a married chef in Paris, everything changes in the instant of a fleeting touch, and Mãn discovers the all-encompassing obsession and ever-present dangers of a love affair. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I enjoyed this more than Thúy's debut novel, Ru.  It was probably due to the fact that I better able to understand Thúy's style and could better appreciate the book.

While it may have not been her best work, I personally enjoyed more and look forward to other books that may come in the future from the author.

Bottom line: Really enjoyed the read and would probably recommend the book to those that enjoy Thúy's style. Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4/5

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