These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.
The author and poet Souvankham Thammavongsa was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Laotian parents, and the family soon moved to Toronto to start life afresh. These experiences inform her debut story collection, which traces the complicated struggles of 14 Laotian immigrants and those around them. One person picks worms at a hog farm; another learns English from daytime soap operas. The stories are often bleak and filled with exploitation and crushed dreams—but they also sparkle with illicit romances and quick surges of joy.
Buy Now: How to Pronounce Knife on Bookshop | Amazon
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
