In the title story of Souvankham Thammavongsa's debut collection, a young girl brings a book home from school and asks her father to help her pronounce a tricky word, a simple exchange with unforgettable consequences. Thammavongsa is a master at homing in on moments like this -- moments of exposure, dislocation, and messy feeling that push us right up against the limits of language.
The stories that make up How to Pronounce Knife focus on characters struggling to find their bearings in unfamiliar territory, or shuttling between idioms, cultures, and values. A failed boxer discovers what it truly means to be a champion when he starts painting nails at his sister's salon. A young woman tries to discern the invisible but immutable social hierarchies at a chicken processing plant. A mother coaches her daughter in the challenging art of worm harvesting.
In a taut, visceral prose style that establishes her as one of the most striking and assured voices of her generation, Thammavongsa interrogates what it means to make a living, to work, and to create meaning.
View Booking Instructions
You must have a valid Coquitlam Public Library card to reserve your book club set. The card used to pick up the book club set must match the card used to make the reservation. Reservations can be made a minimum of 7 days before the pickup date and a maximum of 1 year in advance.
- Use the booking grid below to click on your preferred pickup date OR click on the “Go To Date” button to select a date using the calendar. Green spaces indicate item availability.
- The return date will be set automatically.
- Click the white “Add to Cart & Checkout” button.
- If you clicked on the blue “Add to Cart” button, you will need to scroll to top of page and click on the green “1 item / Checkout” button to complete your booking.
- Fill out the booking form.
- Check the Terms & Conditions box.
- Click on “Submit my Booking” button.
- IMPORTANT: The software only allows you to add to cart and check out ONE ITEM at a time. Repeat steps 1-5 for additional reservations.
You will receive an email notification when your reservation has been approved.
- Your Book Club Set will be ready on your selected pickup date. Your 7-week loan begins on your selected pickup date. No renewals permitted.
- Book Clubs must check out a complete set (12 copies); all copies must be returned at the same time by the due date.