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Description
Second CityDiscover the rich tapestry of voices within 'Second City', a compelling collection that shines a spotlight on the vibrant literary scene of Sydney's Western Suburbs. This anthology is more than just a book; its a journey through the unique multicultural narratives and experiences that shape this dynamic region. Each essay offers profound reflections on identity, culture, and resistance, making it an essential read for anyone interested in contemporary
Discover the rich tapestry of voices within 'Second City', a compelling collection that shines a spotlight on the vibrant literary scene of Sydney's Western Suburbs. This anthology is more than just a book; it’s a journey through the unique multicultural narratives and experiences that shape this dynamic region. Each essay offers profound reflections on identity, culture, and resistance, making it an essential read for anyone interested in contemporary Australian literature.Opening with the award-winning insights of Felicity Castagna, 'Second City' boldly tackles the pitfalls of cultural labelling, encouraging readers to embrace diverse perspectives. Contributors like Aleesha Paz celebrate the radical act of communal creativity, while Frances An delves into the critique of stereotypes that confine women of color. As Sheila Pham navigates the significance of education in bridging cultural divides, May Ngo provides a fresh look at consumer culture in the context of urban spaces.
Eda Gunaydin contributes a poignant exploration of gentrification, articulating the loss of cultural identity in Parramatta. Zohra Aly and Raaza Butt discuss the complexities of Muslim identity in Australia’s suburbs, tackling themes of faith, community, and personal narratives. Through humor, Rawah Arja sheds light on the Lebanese-Australian family experience, while Martin Reyes’ essays interconnect personal hikes with broader reflections on heritage.
Lastly, Yumna Kassab’s piece on Borges emphasizes the multifaceted nature of Western Sydney's literary identity—an affirmation that no single narrative can capture this rich cultural landscape. With stunning prose and thought-provoking insights, 'Second City' is a must-have for aficionados of literature that prioritizes social justice and cultural authenticity.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780648062134
Year: 2021
Publisher: Giramondo Publishing
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780648062134
Year: 2021
Publisher: Giramondo Publishing
Description:
Second City is a showcase of the diverse literary talents that make Sydney’s Western Suburbs such a fertile region for writers. Beginning with Prime Minister’s Award-winning author Felicity Castagna’s warning about the dangers of cultural labelling, this collection of essays takes resistance against conformity and uncritical consensus as one of its central themes.
From Aleesha Paz’s call to recognise the revolutionary act of public knitting to Frances An’s â€counter-revolutionary’ attack on the repressive clichĂ©s of â€women of colour’, Sheila Pham on the importance of education in crossing social and ethnic boundaries, and May Ngo’s cosmopolitan take on the significance of the shopping mall, the collection offers complex and humane insights into the dynamic relationships between class, culture, family, and love. Eda Gunaydin’s Second City, from which this collection takes its title, is both a political autobiography and an elegy for a Parramatta that has been lost to gentrification and redevelopment. Zohra Aly and Raaza Butt confront the prejudices which oppose Muslim identity in the suburbs, the one in the building of a mosque, the other in the naming of her child. Rawah Arja writes in a comic vein on the complexity of the Lebanese-Australian family, Martin Reyes on the overlay of experiences as a hike in the Dharawal National Park recalls an earlier trek in Bangkong Kahoy Valley in the Phillipines.
Finally, Yumna Kassab’s essay on Jorge Luis Borges reminds us that Western Sydney writing can be represented by no single form, opinion, style, poetics, or state of mind.
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4.5 ★★★★★
Based on 6 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Phenomenal. A must-read!
Format: Paperback
I first learned about this book only a week ago when visiting my sister for Thanksgiving in Eugene, Oregon. We went to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art where I saw some work on display by the author, and there was a copy of her book available to look at, so I perused through and decided to buy it and read it. I'm so glad that I did! This is an incredible, poetic story that spans four generations, multiple wars and conflicts, and examines the fragility of the author's relationship with her parents and with her sense of place and motherhood. This book is one of the best I've read in a long time, and the art is moving and beautiful. It gave me new insight into the struggles of refugee life, and created a truly relatable narrative. I devoured this story in one Saturday. I highly recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2018
★★★★★ 5
A well composed memoir
Format: Paperback
Full review on nguyentoread.com
The Best We Could Do is Thi Bui's graphic memoir. Thi was born in Vietnam three months before the Vietnam War reached what we consider to be the end of the war. She came to America with her family in 1978. Bui's memoir spans multiple generations. In learning of her mother's and father's pasts, we learn the history of their parents. We see the struggles and pains of two people from very different walks of life trying to live during a time of war and chaos. We see glimpses of the agony everyone in the middle of the Vietnam War faced. Those who were not directly involved on either side but were caught in the middle of larger powers at war. This memoir more closely details the lives of her parents leading up to them arriving in America and making their life there. I was unsure if this memoir would focus largely on the experience of being a Vietnamese immigrant in America. There were parts that showed how it was for Bui's parents in a country where tensions were still high after the Vietnam War, where discrimination largely due to that was overt, and where degrees were not recognized and people who had spent their lives working and creating careers for themselves were not qualified for most work and had to hurdle multiple challenges to learn a language and complete education all over again if they wanted to provide a better life for their children. What Bui so beautifully captures in this memoir is the why behind how her parents were in raising her. Although Bui was born in Vietnam she was young when her family arrived in America. So I think her experience is one that many first generation Vietnamese-American people of my generation can understand and sympathize with. The wanting to know why their parents are the way they are but unable to ask because many have parents, like Bui's mother, who reluctantly share their stories and don't allow their children that glimpse that could help them better understand. In the panel which was most poignant to me, Bui draws her father as he looks over her work that would become The Best We Could Do. He says "You know how it was for me. And why later I wouldn't be... normal."
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2019
★★★★★ 5
This book made me love my parents more
Format: Kindle
I loved the raw depictions of vietnamese history and human emotions. I recommend this book to anyone experiencing intergenerational trauma. 5 stars, this book helped me understand my father and mother just a little more, and that is priceless
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Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Excellent customer service
Format: Paperback
Totally recommendable.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2019
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Paperback
This helped a lot for us to prepare for the SLATE exam.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2016