- Print Length: 320 pages
- Publisher: Flatiron Books (April 21, 2020)
- Publication Date: April 21, 2020
- Sold by: Macmillan
In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran immigrates to America along with his family. By sheer chance they land in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town where the Trans struggle to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The Metamorphosis, The Scarlet Letter, The Iliad, and more, Tran navigates the push and pull of finding and accepting himself despite the challenges of immigration, feelings of isolation, and teenage rebellion, all while attempting to meet the rigid expectations set by his immigrant parents.
Appealing to fans of coming-of-age memoirs such as Fresh Off the Boat, Running with Scissors, or tales of assimilation like Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Displaced and The Refugees, Sigh, Gone explores one man’s bewildering experiences of abuse, racism, and tragedy and reveals redemption and connection in books and punk rock. Against the hairspray-and-synthesizer backdrop of the ‘80s, he finds solace and kinship in the wisdom of classic literature, and in the subculture of punk rock, he finds affirmation and echoes of his disaffection. In his journey for self-discovery Tran ultimately finds refuge and inspiration in the art that shapes—and ultimately saves—him.
THOUGHTS/REVIEW
Phuc Tran writes an astonishing and amazingly relatable coming-of-age memoir about his life and his family’s survival, by fleeing Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon, and settled in Carlisle, PA. Arriving to the US with only one shoe on his feet, he tells this poignant story that was at times heartbreaking, on many occasions laughable, but always with brevity and wit.
The stories were woven together through themes stemming from beloved works of classic literature in the chapters such as, Crime and Punishment, The Scarlet Letter or The Iliad to name a few.His love for literature becomes his solace and refuge that ultimately shaped who he eventually becomes. This was evident in the way Tran articulates language as an art form that I find so beautiful in his writing.
I also appreciated In this memoir, how he bravely recounts his relationship with his father as he takes on severe beatings, suffer through financial hardships and racial taunts. His life was not an easy path which I thought really shaped his character and ethos - truly admirable.
Phuc Tran narrates an America that both welcomed and embraced him, and yet also disparaged him and his family in a very confusing time as he struggles to fit in. This heartwarming story is about race and prejudice, resilience and strength, assimilation and displacement, acceptance and belonging, and how through hard work and a well thought out plan can overcome adversities in this coming-of-age memoir.
I highly recommend this book for an amazing story - you cannot miss this one!!!
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:
PHUC TRAN has been a high school Latin teacher for more than twenty years while also simultaneously establishing himself as a highly sought-after tattooer in the Northeast. Tran graduated Bard College in 1995 with a BA in Classics and received the Callanan Classics Prize. He taught Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit in New York at the Collegiate School and was an instructor at Brooklyn College’s Summer Latin Institute. Most recently, he taught Latin, Greek, and German at the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine. His 2012 TEDx talk “Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive” was featured on NPR’s Ted Radio Hour. He has also been an occasional guest on Maine Public Radio, discussing grammar; the Classics; and Strunk and White’s legacy. He currently tattoos at and owns Tsunami Tattoo in Portland, Maine, where he lives with his family.
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