Flesh by Khanh Ha – A Review

The setting is Tonkin (northern Vietnam) at the turn of the 20th century. A boy, Tài, witnesses the beheading of his father, a notorious bandit, and sets out to recover his head and then to find the man who betrayed his father to the authorities. On this quest, Tài’s entire world will shift. Flesh takes the reader into dark and delightful places in the human condition, places where allies are not always your friends, true love hurts, and your worst enemy may bring you the most comfort. In that emotionally harrowing world, Tài must learn to deal with new responsibilities in his life while at the same time acknowledging his bond, and his resemblance, to a man he barely knew–his father. Through this story of revenge is woven another story, one of love, but love purchased with the blood of murders Tài commits. A coming-of-age story, but also a love story, the sensuality of the author’s writing style belies the sometimes brutal world he depicts.

Well, it’s time for another blog tour review. Today, I’m taking part in the Novel Publicity tour for Khanh Ha’s debut novel, Flesh.

Disclaimer: The folks at Novel Publicity gave me a copy of Flesh in exchange for my honest review. Read on for my thoughts and then to see what kind of goodies you can win.

Book Review Updates

 

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be dropping a book review on you this week. Tomorrow, to be specific. It’s one of four I have tentatively scheduled over the next few months. Which books are they, you ask? (I hope you asked, anyway) Well, I’ll tell you.