Jan 18, 2021
Have you heard Kim Thúy read Vi, the featured One eRead Canada title presented throughout January and across the country in our first bilingual book club?
I read Vi last summer, but recently opted into the eAudio availability until January 31, and immediately fell under the spell of Kim Thúy's words and voice. It's so simple to get it on either Cloud or Libby (Overdrive's app). What an experience - to listen while cooking, running, puttering or lying around in that state between waking and sleeping. How wonderful to be read to - a comforting feeling. I was immersed in Vietnamese culture, and equally shocked as the refugee family arrives in Canada in July, thinking it is a country 12 months in the cold and being dressed accordingly. Love and adoration weave through Vi's story told in fragments, artfully crafted. Listening to the eAudio enhanced the reading experience, and illuminated the layers and themes of Thúy's book. Now I'm a convert to audiobooks and have just started How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa (available as an Express eAudio), an interesting complement to Vi, though about Laotian refugees. They both speak to the diversity of literary voices writing in Canada.
Enjoy our special Vi author events where Kim Thúy is interviewed by Shelagh Rogers' of CBC's The Next Chapter (in English), and Kevin Sweet, arts reporter from Radio-Canada (in French). Don't miss out on this uniquely Canadian bilingual book club brought to you by public libraries, and download your copies of eBook and eAudio for a worldly experience of the senses.
This title is available on Cloud, Overdrive and Cantook Station in both languages.