{"product_id":"land-of-smiles-paperback","title":"Land of Smiles - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eT. C. Huo\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A remarkable story, a courageous performance, and we're privileged to get it.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSet in the 1970s, in the era of the Vietnam War and its volatile aftermath, \u003ci\u003eLand of Smiles\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a young Southeast Asian man's journey from a refugee camp in Thailand to a housing project in Oakland, California.The novel opens with a Laotian boy, Boontakone, who swims across the Mekong River, leaving his old life behind, and losing his mother and sister in the process. In a refugee camp in Thailand, Boontakone struggles to decipher the secret codes of his new life. Huo offers a glimpse into a world as highly ordered and dependent on proper observance of social customs and manners as any created by Jane Austen. Eventually Boontakone and his father make their way to America, where the young man will have to sort out impressions as dazzling and puzzling as the American high school, \u003ci\u003eSuperman\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSaturday Night Fever\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBalancing a moving account of dislocation and loss with gentle comedy, \u003ci\u003eLand of Smiles\u003c\/i\u003e is a new classic in the literature of the immigrant experience.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBorn in Laos of Chinese descent, \u003cb\u003eT. C. Huo\u003c\/b\u003e immigrated to the United States in 1979. He received a master's degree in creative writing from the University of California at Irvine. Among the writers Huo has studied with are Thomas Keneally, Ethan Canin, and Robert Pinsky. He has received the award for adult fiction from the Asian\/Pacific American Librarians Association. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eLand of Smiles \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eA Thousand Wings\u003c\/i\u003e, and lives in Santa Clara, California.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.53 x 7.98 x 5.37 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 05, 2000\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51751403389216,"sku":"9780452281851","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/e49f15c74627399e66e57ab0c4b72ff7.webp?v=1779972379","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/land-of-smiles-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}