Catherine Dang

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What Hunger

A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nguyen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer's Body and Little Fires Everywhere.

A haunting coming-of-age tale following the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Ronny Nguyen, as she grapples with the weight of generational trauma while navigating the violent power of teenage girlhood, for fans of Jennifer's Body and Little Fires Everywhere.

It's the summer before high school and Ronny Nguyen's days are spent dozing off to trashy magazines. In contrast stands her brother Tommy, the pride of their immigrant parents and destined to be the first in the family to attend college. The thought of Tommy leaving for college and being left alone with her parents, Me and Ba, fills Ronny with dread.

Their parents rarely speak of their past in Vietnam, except through the lens of food. Their meals are a tapestry of cultural memory: thick spring rolls with nem nuong, and steaming bowls of pho tai with slices of blood-red beef. In the aftermath of the war, Me and Ba taught Ronny and Tommy that meat was a dangerous luxury, a symbol of survival that should never be taken for granted.

But when tragedy strikes, Ronny's world is upended. Her sense of self and her understanding of her family are shattered. A few nights later at a party, a boy crosses the line, and Ronny is overtaken by a force larger than herself. This newfound power comes with an insatiable hunger for flesh, a craving that is both a saving grace and a potential destroyer.

What Hunger is a visceral, emotional journey through the bursts and pitfalls of female rage.