Literary Fiction · MelancholicStories told by Vietnamese immigrants and others tied to the war, mostly set in Louisiana
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
Fifteen stories, each in a different Vietnamese voice
Each story in this collection is told by a different narrator, most of them Vietnamese immigrants. Many of the stories are set in Louisiana, with others in Vietnam, New Orleans and Mexico. They are about family, gender roles, the differences between two cultures and memories of the war.
More about this book
Who
A different narrator in every story, most of them Vietnamese, with some Americans from the Vietnam War era.
World
Mostly Louisiana, with stories also set in Vietnam, New Orleans and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
What makes it different
It is a short story collection that won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The first edition has fifteen stories, and later editions add two more. Butler served in Vietnam as an Army translator and counter-intelligence agent.
Feel
Quiet and reflective. Each story is short and can be read on its own.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- A Good Scent from a Strange MountainWikipedia