Summary of Ly Tran's House of Sticks

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 We arrive in New York in February 1993, coming from rice paddies, mango trees, and the sun. We are sick from the turbulence of travel, and we are shocked by the airplane smell. We have never been on a bus, and we are terrified of going underground.

#2 I remember arriving in New York City with my family. We had never seen sidewalks, buildings this tall, or a tree-lined street. Everything was so neat.

#3 In 1985, my family moved to New York City. We had no furniture, only thin sheets, some pillows we’d have to share, and a straw mat provided by Mr. Six, the landlord. We had no heat, except for the heat of our bodies and the breath we blew into our hands, which we pressed against our cold bodies.

#4 My father built an altar high up on our living room wall to honor the Buddha and bodhisattvas. He spent his days building it, and in the evenings, he and my mother would pray to the Buddha.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669398462

IRB Media

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Insights on Ly Tran's House of Sticks

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We arrive in New York in February 1993, coming from rice paddies, mango trees, and the sun. We are sick from the turbulence of travel, and we are shocked by the airplane smell. We have never been on a bus, and we are terrified of going underground.

#2

I remember arriving in New York City with my family. We had never seen sidewalks, buildings this tall, or a tree-lined street. Everything was so neat.

#3

In 1985, my family moved to New York City. We had no furniture, only thin sheets, some pillows we’d have to share, and a straw mat provided by Mr. Six, the landlord. We had no heat, except for the heat of our bodies and the breath we blew into our hands, which we pressed against our cold bodies.

#4

My father built an altar high up on our living room wall to honor the Buddha and bodhisattvas. He spent his days building it, and in the evenings, he and my mother would pray to the Buddha.

#5

My parents were eventually able to get food stamps, and my mother sold her last white-gold bracelet to a jeweler in Chinatown for one hundred dollars. She had to choose between feeding six hungry people and buying winter clothing for us.

#6

I was treated at the Wyckoff Heights hospital for two months, and when I was released, my parents found some used clothes that they gave to me and my brothers. We were ecstatic, and started calling each other American names.

#7

My father had a friend come over to our house to teach us how to make money sewing clothes. We were to deliver the finished products to him every weekend, and he would give us the materials the next weekend. We were to be paid well for our work.

#8

My mother and I explore the neighborhood, and she learns the differences between the bodegas that dot Seneca Avenue. She surveys the discount department stores and nearby supermarkets.

#9

My family and I were very proud of ourselves after we made 450 cummerbunds and 250