A dazzling, emotionally riveting debut collection: the seven stories in Nam Le's The Boat take us across the globe as he enters the hearts and minds of characters from all over the world. Whether Nam Le is conjuring the story of 14-year-old Juan, a hit man in Colombia; or an aging painter mourning the death of his much-younger lover; or a young refugee fleeing Vietnam, crammed in the ship's hold with 200 others, the result is unexpectedly moving and powerful. This is an extraordinary work of fiction that takes us to the ...
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A dazzling, emotionally riveting debut collection: the seven stories in Nam Le's The Boat take us across the globe as he enters the hearts and minds of characters from all over the world. Whether Nam Le is conjuring the story of 14-year-old Juan, a hit man in Colombia; or an aging painter mourning the death of his much-younger lover; or a young refugee fleeing Vietnam, crammed in the ship's hold with 200 others, the result is unexpectedly moving and powerful. This is an extraordinary work of fiction that takes us to the heart of what it means to be human, and announces a writer of astonishing talent.
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Add this copy of The Boat to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by Canongate Books.
Add this copy of The Boat to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf.
Add this copy of The Boat to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Doubleday Canada.
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Add this copy of The Boat to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Doubleday Canada.
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Nam Le's debut collection of short stories garnered quite a bit of notice, and for good reason. The breadth of settings, narrators, and even styles among the collected stories of "The Boat" is impressive, and they are well executed across the board. I will say that not every piece grabbed me, and one went on long after I wished it would end, but Le is an author to watch. He writes with a sense of honesty that feels very refreshing.
daiprideaux
Feb 5, 2009
Prize Winning Debut
Nam Le deservedly won the £60,000 Dylan Thomas Prize with this stunning debut collection of seven short stories. From the opening story, set in Iowa, where the reunion of a son and his visiting father allows the writer to explore the meaning of homeland and the strength of the ties that bind fathers and sons the writing is consistently astonishing in its quality. The stories range throughout the world. In Cartegna we share the life and thoughts of a 14 year old hitman (hitboy) plying his filthy trade in the Colombian barrios. In 'Meeting Elise' a New York painter has to face the reality of his ageing body as he forces himself to meet his daughter on the eve of her Carnegie Hall debut. And in Haflead Bay, Australia we face an incisive dissection of family and teenage relationships as well as kinds of courage. Nam Le has the poise and technical skill of a master as using his pen as a scalpel he gets right to the heart of what it means to be human. As readers we learn what we would sometimes prefer to forget that when it gets right down to it each of us must face our individual demons alone. The book is quite simply a modern masterpiece.
