Open a book this minute and start reading. Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself with words. Wash yourself away. Dissolve. Carol Shields Republic of Love

Khanh Ha’s Flesh (2012)

From the title, readers might guess that Khanh Ha’s first novel, Flesh, will be of a visceral nature.

And from the cover image, with a young woman’s neck and shoulders and long braid disappearing into wafts of smoke, readers will suspect a romantic tale.

Once they learn that it takes place in turn-of-the-century Vietnam (then [...]