by Thanhha Lai
First published 2022
An watches her grandmother Bà drift into cloudy memories that trap her in confusion. Together with her grandfather Ông, An decides to grow gấc fruits in their garden. They want to recreate xôi gấc, the special dish Bà loved at her wedding in Vietnam decades ago. An and Ông plant the seeds carefully and tend them through each stage of growth. They wait as the plants flower and slowly produce fruit. The process requires patience as the seasons pass. When they finally prepare the xôi gấc, An hopes the familiar flavors will bring Bà back to that joyful wedding day when she and Ông wished for a hundred years of happiness together. The story follows this Vietnamese American family as they use food and memory to bridge the gap that Bà's condition has created between past and present.
Genres: literary-fiction, family-life, historical-fiction, food-and-drink
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Vietnam
Period: 20th-century
32 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins