How to Pronounce Knife
AuthorSouvankham Thammavongsa
PublisherMcClelland & Stewart
Publication date
April 7, 2020
Awards
ISBN9780771094613

How to Pronounce Knife is a short story collection by Souvankham Thammavongsa, published in 2020 by McClelland & Stewart.[1] The stories in the collection centre principally on the experiences of Laotian Canadian immigrant families, sometimes from the perspective of children observing the world of adults.[2]

The collection won the 2020 Giller Prize[3] and the 2021 Trillium Book Award for English prose.[4]

Critical reception

How to Pronounce Knife was generally well-received by critics, including a starred reviews Booklist, who wrote, "These stories have a quiet brilliance in their raw portrayal of the struggle to find meaning in difficult times and to belong in a foreign place. Thammavongsa writes with an elegance that is both brutal and tender, giving her stories and their characters a powerful voice."[5]

Writing for Shelf Awareness, Alice Martin called the prose "spare" and "precise," saying its "syntactical simplicity [...] throws the internal complexity of these characters and their situations into stark relief, displaying how restraint can pack an unexpectedly sentimental punch."[6]

The jurors for the Giller Prize said the collection is "a stunning collection of stories that portray the immigrant experience in achingly beautiful prose. The emotional expanse chronicled in this collection is truly remarkable. These stories are vessels of hope, of hurt, of rejection, of loss and of finding one's footing in a new and strange land. Thammavongsa's fiction cuts to the core of the immigrant reality like a knife--however you pronounce it."[7]

Publishers Weekly called the collection "sharp," "elegant," and "potent,"[8] and Kirkus Reviews referred to it as "moving, strange, and occasionally piercing."[9]

Awards

Awards for How to Pronounce Knife
Year Award Result Ref.
2020 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Finalist [10][11]
2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner [3][12][7]
2021 Danuta Gleed Literary Award Runner-Up [13][14]
2021 PEN/Open Book Award Finalist [15]
2021 Trillium Book Award, English Winner [4][16]

References

  1. ↑ Abouseif, Carine (2020-04-29). "Souvankham Thammavongsa on crafting her debut fiction collection How to Pronounce Knife". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ↑ Bhatt, Jenny (2020-04-23). "In 'How to Pronounce Knife,' stories of Lao immigrants reveal everyday moments of racism, classism, power and privilege". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  3. 1 2 "Souvankham Thammavongsa wins $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize for short story collection How to Pronounce Knife". CBC Books. 2020-11-09. Archived from the original on 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  4. 1 2 Drudi, Cassandra (2021-06-16). "Souvankham Thammavongsa wins $20,000 Trillium Book Award". Quill and Quire. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  5. ↑ Park, Emily (2020-02-15). "How to Pronounce Knife". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  6. ↑ Martin, Alice (2020-04-24). "How to Pronounce Knife". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  7. 1 2 "Awards: Scotiabank Giller Winner, PNBA Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2020-11-11. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  8. ↑ "How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa". Publishers Weekly. 2019-10-23. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  9. ↑ "How to Pronounce Knife". Kirkus Reviews. 2020-01-25. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  10. ↑ "2020". National Book Critics Circle. Archived from the original on 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  11. ↑ Maher, John (2021-01-24). "NBCC Awards Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  12. ↑ Nawotka, Ed (2020-11-10). "Souvankham Thammavongsa Wins 2020 Giller Prize". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  13. ↑ Qiao, Vicky (2021-05-28). "Jack Wang wins $10K Danuta Gleed Literary Award for best first short story collection for We Two Alone". CBC Books. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  14. ↑ "Awards: Danuta Gleed Winner, Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2021-06-02. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  15. ↑ "Announcing the 2021 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists". PEN America. February 10, 2021. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Awards: Walter Scott, Trillium Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2021-06-18. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
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