Part 9 of our Celebrating Refugee Series takes us to Kim Thuy. A Canadian novelist born in Saigon, Vietnam. At the age of 10, Thuy left Vietnam with her parents and 2 brothers, fleeing the country's communist regime. After a stay in a refugee camp in Malaysia, the family, like many refugees who then qualified as "boat people," arrived in Granby, Quebec.
After trying various occupations, Thuy pursued studies at the Université de Montréal where she completed three degrees. At the same time, she opened a restaurant in Montréal to introduce the city to the cuisine of her native country. When the restaurant closed Thuy began to write, fulfilling a long-held ambition.
Thuy's first novel, "Ru" fictionalizes her family's long journey from Vietnam to Québec. Critics universally praised the book (which means "lullaby" in Vietnamese) since its release, and it has been published in several languages.