Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN author Carolyn Huynh’s second novel The Family Recipe has hit the shelves.
Father of estranged adult children Duc Tran, who is the founder of the national Vietnamese sandwich chain Duc’s Sandwiches, has decided to retire.
He informs the five siblings that in order to get their inheritance, they must revitalise run-down shops in undesirable, old-school locations across Houston, San Jose, New Orleans and Philadelphia within a year.
The only one without a shop is the bachelor son, but if he gets married before the year’s up, the inheritance goes to him.
Carolyn’s writing tends to focus on the Vietnamese-American identity in a humorous manner, taking inspiration from her mother’s tall tales, superstitions, the diaspora, and memory, both real and imaginary.
“I use memory as a way to write stories I wish I could have had,” she said in an interview.
“I always have hopecore endings. It’s part of my writing ethos to create the happy endings I wish we could get as a diaspora and move more towards generational healing,” she added.
‘Hopecore’ is an emerging narrative, where individuals actively seek joy and positivity in the world around them.
