THE VIETNAM BOX
A monkey bridge is an unsteady crossing of ropes and bamboo strung from one bank to another across a river. Called cầu khỉ in Vietnamese, this bit of humble infrastructure not only represents a facet of life in the Mekong Delta, but it also comes to symbolize the perpetual in between that is so much a part of the nature of immigration. While Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao is not set in Vietnam, it returns to its countryside in memory and comes to life in the durian fruits and lemongrass stalks imported as reminders of home by a community of
refugees and rememberers.
The novel follows a mother who relives her past in private and a daughter who learns how far she can feel from a woman with whom she shares a home and a bloodline...but not quite a life. The book takes us to many bewildering inbetweens, where so much is unsteady, so much beckons and so much pulls us back. For those who lived through the Vietnam War and it’s painful images and nightly bulletins, this
novel offers the other side of the story. One of a family torn apart by conflict so devastating it has all but turned its members into strangers to one another.
The VIETNAM box featuring, Monkey Bridge, a custom-made ROADMAP, and more will guide you through the longstanding impact of war on a country and the people who are forced to flee it.
JUST THE FACTS
- A letter for THE ALIGNIST founder
- A copy of Monkey Bridge
- A specially designed ROADMAP to guide you through the novel
THE WHOLE STORY
- A letter from THE ALIGNIST's founder
- A copy of Monkey Bridge
- A specially designed ROADMAP to guide you through the novel
- A series of recipes featuring Vietnamese comfort foods
- A sample of fair trade organic Vietnamese tea from Arbor Teas
- A handwoven bamboo coaster
- A fair trade, hand-painted ceramic tea mug made in Bat Trang, a small village on the Red River
- A fair trade bird ornament made by hand from recycled paper
- A coin purse made from from recycled plastic
