2024-5. Ma and Me

Putsata Reang. 2022.

There are few things I love more than a story about a complex mother-daughter relationship, given the mother-daughter relationships that I have.  This story of a Cambodian refugee family is just fabulous, made even better by the fact that they immigrate to Corvallis, where I live. The author and I are almost the same age, so it was particularly interesting to hear her tell her story of growing up in the place I now live during a time before I lived here.  She grew up in a small, overwhelmingly white town and I grew up in a large, diverse city,  I loved being able to track my experience against hers and even small stories, like the opening of the first McDonalds' in town and her mother learning to drive in the Wilson school parking lot, felt more meaningful as I knew exactly these places she talked about.  Her stories came alive in this alternative place on the same timeline as my life, as we each navigated different traumas and conflicts in our families.  The richness of this story lies in its complexity, as her mother struggles with her daughter's Queerness, all while opening lying to people about her successes to cover her shame for not being what she wanted her to be.  It is just remarkable insight written remarkably well.  

I don't typically love books read by the author, but this was an exception, as her storytelling voice was clear and just lovely. 

Recommend.

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