{"product_id":"koan-khmer-9780810147430","title":"Koan Khmer","description":"\u003cb\u003eA powerful debut novel about war, immigration, and home\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Celebrating the power of literature to rescue a life from despair, \u003ci\u003eKoan Khmer\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of Samnang Sok, an orphaned child survivor of the Cambodian genocide who sets out to make a new life in America alongside his extended family. Struggling to cope with the traumas of his past, Samnang feels alienated from his American peers at school and disconnected from his aunts, uncles, and cousins at home. Inspired by the books he discovers along the way, Samnang begins piecing together information about the past through stories told by elders, family photographs, and his own memories and dreams. Based loosely on Tuon's life, the novel traces Samnang's difficult journey toward an answer to the question, \u003ci\u003eHow does one rebuild a life after genocide and displacement and create a home?\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eKoan Khmer\u003c\/i\u003e gives an unflinching voice to a distinctly Cambodian American sensibility. Tuon creates a refugee space that all Americans can visit in this bildungsroman that breathes life into cultural knowledge disrupted by loss and grief. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBUNKONG TUON\u003c\/b\u003e is a Cambodian American writer and poet. He is the author of three full-length poetry collections. His writings have appeared in C\u003ci\u003eopper Nickel, Massachusetts Review, New York Quarterly, The American Journal of Poetry, Diode Poetry Journal, \u003c\/i\u003eamong others. Tuon is poetry editor of \u003ci\u003eCultural Daily\u003c\/i\u003e. He teaches at Union College, in Schenectady, NY.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Curbstone Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50893341098258,"sku":"9780810147430","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9fbb646b-caef-4424-b9a2-0ff8d02f7343.jpg?v=1738230685","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/koan-khmer-9780810147430","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}