The Gangster We Are All Looking For by L Thi Diem Thy - Book Report/Review Example

The Gangster We Are All Looking For by Lê Thi Diem Thúy Here the attempt is to evaluate and analyze the book “The gangster we are all looking for” by Vietnamese American writer le Thi Diem Thuy. The book was published first in the Best American Essay of 1997 in concise and later went on to be a published novel. This novel received Pushcart Prize which aggravated the value of this writing. The book reflects a narrative story expressed by a female immigrant whose name is unrevealed throughout the book. The story happens both in American and Vietnam and projects a theme of family relationships, identity crisis and war scenario. “This book is precise and intriguing but leaving the narrator nameless sparks many questionable situation to the readers” (Thesis) In this book, water is projected as symbolic element and this has been used to portray the imaginative sense of the narrating immigrant. According to Baumann “Le Thi Diem Thuy’s first novel is a refugee's story – a story of Vietnam and America, of youthful yearning and adult resignation, of unimaginable loss and of the tenacity of memory” (2003). This book is written from the perspective of the child immigrant who is the narrator of the story. The child in this book explains about the changing situation of her life as she moves from Vietnam to America. The story begins with a scenario where the girl along with her father and four uncles being rescued from San Diego sea in order to get a new life. The narrator who is the Vietnamese girl views the world as an unpleasant place to live in and gives ear to the call of objects which are inanimate in nature. Moreover, she yearns inside to unite with her mother and eagerly waits for her which in the end happens. The book strikingly illuminates the sympathetic life of the narrator and her agony. But unknowingly the secrecy o f her name reflects some confusion and dubious thoughts in the mind of the reader. One could very well think about the reason for hiding the name of the narrator in this story and can come up with couple of reasons for the same. One could be that she is writing the novel from the very own experience of her life and don’t want to reveal this fact. Secondly, it could be that she is writing the story from the standpoint of every Vietnamese child who have immigrated to America but do not want to stereotype them. In both ways, it is arguable that, unlocking the name of the narrator could have helped enormously the writer in giving more depth to the character. Here the book is written by the author from a political point of view as the narrator of the story undergoes all the pain giving experience due to the political collision between Vietnam and America. This book has a central scenario of Vietnam – American war and it is the political agendas which give rise to war and conflicts among different countries .A point to note is that the other writers who has written on immigrant related stories have very well made sure that the name of the narrator is displayed in order to add color to the story. Adding the name of the narrator gives substance and depth to the character, and the author has directly missed on this point. The content of the book is the pathetic story of a girl immigrant from a war stricken poor country and her traumatized life as she grows up in a hostile environment. The story in a relinquish manner narrates the life of a fragile and delicate girl who is surrounded by uncertainties and skepticism. In general sense, this book caters to the desire of different types of readers. One group would be the Vietnam citizens itself who are educated and urbanized. The other group is the American population who are genuinely immigrants from different parts of the world. More socially speaking, the female population would be highly interested in reading this book as it is a story narrated by a girl. Also military men and veterans would read this book as the story has element of war and political conflicts in it. As everyone knows, any book needs inspiration and encouragement from various sources like personal interviews, books, literature and articles. Here we could see that, the author has used primary as well as secondary sources to construct her book. She has interviewed the Vietnamese American immigrants who have suffered the tantrums of war and endured the struggle to survive in the American soil in the times of uncertainty. She also have read vividly about the Vietnamese American war and grasped the important elements from the books and literature to avail her with the needed information and tips. The author of this book is poetic and is solo performance artist and hence has used her complete imaginative power in the story. She has amalgamated the agony and suffering of the narrator with natural forces like water, space and beings like butterflies to give an end product which is highly enjoyable. The book is fiction, but it does sharply portray many dimensions of the author’s life. As per Nguyen “Although the book is a work of fiction, she borrows events from her real life to weave a powerful and moving tale of overcoming adversity and sorrow” (2012). This book is expressive and I would like to recommend it to all the teenagers of America who are white. The reason for this because they should understand the trauma and suffering undergone by people of poor countries in order to save their lives from the atrocious grip of America. This book could educate them to eradicate the sense of bias and prejudice stemming in their mind against fellow immigrants who have moved to America for survival reasons. The book also adequately provides ample space for research on the history of Vietnamese American war and its effect on the citizens of Vietnam. However, the mystery behind the narrator name holds a threat to the book as reader’s desire for transparency. References Baumann, Paul. "Washing Time Away." nytimes.com. The New York Times Company, 25 May 2003. Web. 3 Nov. 2012. . Nguyen, Ly. "The Gangster We Are All Looking For." aslantedview.com. Aslantedview, 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2012. . Read More