Trinity Nguyen’s debut novel was not what I expected—in the best way. Vivi, a Vietnamese American, lies to her parents about where she’s studying abroad. With a mother who refuses to speak of the Vietnam she fled as a young adult, Vivi is desperate for some connection with her roots and potential family she hasRead More
An Exploration of Queer Muslim Diasporic Identity: The Last One by Fatima Daas
I snagged Fatima Daas’s The Last One because someone—I forget both where and who—mentioned it had won France’s Prix de Flore. Look, I’ll admit it, I’m a magpie for any book that makes the French literary crowd uncomfortable enough to shower it with accolades. What blindsided me? Three hours hunched over the book in my café’s corner,Read More
A Delicious Debut: A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen
A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen (she/her) is the perfect delicacy to round out your February reading. This dual perspective debut novel follows two young women over the course of a semester as they learn more about themselves, each other, and the rich, beautiful, and complex Vietnamese culture that binds them. Lan is aRead More
Mental Illness, Diaspora, and Eldritch Horror: Where Black Stars Rise by Nadia Shammas and Marie Enger
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! Dr. Amal Robardin, a sapphic Lebanese immigrant who just started working as a therapist, finds herself deeply concerned after the mysterious disappearance of her very first client, Yasmin, a young woman from Iran who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Amal feels a responsibility toRead More