Books News
New book: The Boat
By M&C News
May 14, 2008, 10:11 GMT

Nam Le’s new short story collection is titled The Boat.

The NYT had favorable things to say, yet also noted, “Some of his attempts at ventriloquism — like his portrait of an ailing New York painter, who is about to see his estranged daughter for the first time in 17 years (“Meeting Elise”) — can feel strained, like creative-writing class exercises in point of view. But in most cases his sympathy for his characters and his ability to write with both lyricism and emotional urgency lend his portraits enormous visceral power.”

Booklist has said, “[The characters] are brought to life in powerful stories of love and death through a muscular yet delicate style: lyrical, often poetic, leaving the obvious unsaid and endings ambiguous. Readers will devour this book.”

Many blurbs have been written for this collection, which readers can skim when they visit the Amazon’s book page.

Other than that, the NYT provides not only a review, but an excerpt as well.

“A stunningly inventive, deeply moving fiction debut: stories that take us from the slums of Colombia to the streets of Tehran; from New York City to Iowa City; from a tiny fishing village in Australia to a foundering vessel in the South China Sea, in a masterly display of literary virtuosity and feeling,” the book description reads.

Knopf is the publisher.