2009 / Ru
The writer’s first book, Ru, published in 2009 by Libre Expression, was an instant success. A bestseller in Quebec and France and translated into twenty-eight languages, Ru also won numerous literary prizes, including the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award of Canada 2010, the Grand Prix RTL-Lire 2010 at the Paris Book Fair, the Italian Premio Mondello per la Multiculturalità 2011, and the Grand Prix littéraire Archambault 2011. Ru was also a finalist for the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie in 2010 and the prestigious Giller Prize 2012, which recognizes the best Canadian book. The English edition won the Canada Reads competition and was declared “the” book to read in Canada in 2015.
Ru is composed of very short interconnected narratives, similar to a recurring melody: the first sentence of the chapter often picks up the idea that ended the previous chapter, thus building a bridge between all the events the narrator has experienced: her birth in Vietnam during the war, the flight with the boat people, her arrival in a small town in Quebec, her studies, her family ties, her autistic child, etc. The writer’s life is filled with charming and unique people, difficult or outlandish situations lived with equal happiness, and she knows how to play wonderfully with the reader’s emotions.
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS (Ru)
- Winner 2015 – Canada Reads
- Winner 2014 – Prix Littéraire des Ambassadeurs des pays de la Francophonie (Denmark)
- Winner 2011 – Premio Mondello per la Multiculturalità (Italy)
- Winner 2011 – Grand Prix littéraire Archambault – Audience Award
- Winner 2010 – Grand Public Prize, Montreal Book Fair
- Winner 2010 – Governor General’s Literary Award 2010
- Winner 2010 – Grand Prix RTL-Lire, Paris Book Fair (France)
- Finalist 2018 – The New Academy Literary Prize 2018 (The Alternative Nobel)
- Finalist 2012 – Scotiabank Giller Prize (Canada)
- Finalist 2012 – Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation
- Finalist 2010 – Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie (International)
- Finalist 2010 – Prix Première (Belgium)
- Finalist 2010 – Prix Ouest-France Étonnants Voyageurs (France)
- Finalist 2010 – Prince Pierre of Monaco Discovery Grant (Bourse de la Découverte)
- First Selection 2012 – Man Asian Literary Prize
- First Selection 2014 – International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- Nominated 2012 – Amazon.ca First Novel Award
- Bestseller in Quebec (Renaud-Bray, Archambault, and Le Devoir charts)
- National Bestseller in Canada (Maclean’s, BookNet Canada)
- CBC Books Canadian Writer to Watch in 2012
- Chapters Indigo Chain – Heather’s Pick in 2012
- BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime Pick (Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world) in June 2012
- In the Quebec Top 10 for Canada Reads 2013
2011 / À toi
The writer’s second title, co-written with Pascal Janovjak and titled À toi (To You), was published in September 2011. Born from a rare literary complicity, this correspondence-meditation sketches the journey of two children of exile and nomadism, through memories and anecdotes. The work is one of Radio-Canada’s 2016 Essentials and its audio version can be listened to online.
2013 / Mãn
The writer’s third book, Mãn, was a finalist for the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie in 2014 and has been translated into thirteen languages. The paperback English version was featured on the Discovery Pick list of the Barnes & Noble chain in the United States in the fall of 2015.
Mãn has three mothers: a teenager who gave birth to her and left her in the vegetable garden of a Buddhist temple on the edge of one of the branches of the Mekong River, a nun who took her in and fed her before entrusting her to another woman, Maman, a teacher and spy. For her safety, Maman entrusts her to a Vietnamese restaurateur living in Montreal, who becomes her husband. In this new world, Mãn develops her natural talent for cooking, an art through which she learns not only to nourish the body but also to distill memories, emotions, and sensuality into the dishes. It is thus that she discovers, upon meeting a Parisian chef, the inextricable link between love and food, and the passionate love and its perils.
Mãn is a refined story, of delicate beauty, about learning the word “love.”
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS (Mãn)
- Finalist 2013 – Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie
- Finalist 2013 – Prix Ouest-France Étonnants Voyageurs
- Discovery Pick by Barnes & Noble United States in the fall of 2015
- Book of the Year by MacEwan University (Canada) in 2015
- Book of the Year by Algonquin College (Canada) in 2015
2016 / Vi
Published in 2016, this new book by Kim Thúy, speaker, tells the story of Vi, the youngest sister of three older brothers, the “little treasure” who finds herself in the great wide world and its upheavals despite herself. Leaving Saigon for Montreal, visiting Suzhou and Boston, growing up alongside ordinary heroes, she witnesses the immensity of the sea, the multiplicity of horizons, the uniqueness of sorrows, the luxury of peace, the complexity of love, the infinity of possibilities, and the violence of beauty. Like a good student, she observes, learns, and receives. But will she ever truly live this great life?
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS (Vi)
- Winner 2017 – NordSud International Prize, Pescarabruzzo Foundation
- Winner 2017 – Prix Arlette-Cousture
- Finalist 2018 – Scotiabank Giller Prize (Canada)
- Finalist 2017 – Prix littéraire des lycéens – Île-de-France (France)
- Finalist 2016 – Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie (International)
2017 / L’Autisme expliqué aux non-autistes (Autism Explained to the Non-Autistic)
L’Autisme expliqué aux non-autistes was born from a project dear to Kim Thúy, speaker, who is the mother of an autistic teenager. It was by using the method developed by Brigitte Harrisson and Lise St-Charles, autism specialists and founders of SACCADE, that she succeeded in understanding and being understood by her son, Valmond.
Kim Thúy encouraged the two specialists, one of whom is autistic herself, to share their vision in an accessible work to provide parents of autistic children, practitioners working with people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and, more broadly, the general public, with a unique tool for communication and understanding of this neurological disorder.
2017 / Le Secret des Vietnamiennes (The Secret of Vietnamese Women / Vietnamese Secrets)
Kim Thúy offers us more than 50 recipes from her native country, often accompanied by a short text, a book excerpt, or an anecdote, thus opening the door to the writer’s intimate and singular world for the reader. With the collaboration of Michelle Bouffard, a sommelier, the writer suggests Vietnamese food and wine pairings, as well as a presentation of rarer ingredients and their substitutes. She also presents different varieties of rice vermicelli and noodles, herbs, and fruits, for the delight of Vietnamese cuisine lovers.
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS (Le Secret des Vietnamiennes)
- Winner 2019 – The Gourmand Cookbook Awards in the C18 Asia category (Canada)
- Winner 2018 – Prix Eugénie Brazier – Francophonie and Beyond Category (France)
- Winner 2018 – Måltidsakademien – Best Cookbook in Translation (Sweden)
- Winner 2018 – Taste Canada Awards / Regional and Cultural Cookbooks
- Finalist 2020 – Taste Canada Awards / Regional and Cultural Cookbooks (English Language)
- Selection 2018 – 30 Best Books Selected by Critics, Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden)
2019 / L’Estime de soi et l’Autiste (Self-Esteem and the Autistic Person)
Following L’Autisme expliqué aux non-autistes, Kim Thúy renewed her collaboration with the two autism specialists, this time on a work focusing on the construction of the self of an autistic person, through her own experiences as the parent of an autistic teenager.
If L’Autisme expliqué aux non-autistes was a lifeline for many parents and practitioners, by explaining the why of certain behaviors observed and often criticized, this second book explores the possibility of a better existence for autistic people in the neurotypical world. The reality of the autistic person must be at the heart of interventions, to help them build their identity and self-esteem. This work shows that the two fundamental aspects of an autistic person’s self-esteem—competence in areas that are important to them and validation coming from significant people—will lead them to develop a sense of social awareness.
2019 / Le Poisson et l’oiseau (The Fish and the Bird)
Kim Thúy’s first illustrated album, Le Poisson et l’oiseau, was born from a dream of the writer where a little girl had forgotten to close the cage door of her bird. Nearby, in its bowl, the goldfish tries to converse with the bird. How can they play together with all the differences that separate them? How can they love each other when they have nothing in common? The answer lies somewhere in the unfolding of the bird’s wings and the grace of the fish’s fins.
Le Poisson et l’oiseau takes the form of a poem that pays tribute to beauty and difference. It was masterfully illustrated by Rogé.
2020 / Em
Written in her distinctive style, Kim Thúy’s new novel, speaker, is dazzling and formally complex, revealing a fascination for the ties that bind us. Em, which means “little brother,” “little sister,” or “beloved” in Vietnamese, explores the ways in which humans traumatized by war and exile are driven to seek love and a family circle when their past catches up with them. Through the intertwined destinies of a family of characters, the novel evokes the Operation Babylift, which allowed the evacuation of thousands of biracial orphans from Saigon in April 1975, as well as the nail polish and manicure salon industry, and the rubber plantations in Indochina of yesteryear.
