Unpolished Gem
This is an original take on a classic story - how a child of immigrants moves between two cultures. In place of piety and predictability, however, Unpolished Gem offers a vivid and ironic sense of both worlds. It combines the story of Pung's life growing up in suburban Footscray with the inherited stories of the women in her family - stories of madness, survival and heartbreak. Original and brave, this is a girl's own story that introduces an unforgettable voice and captures the experience of Asian immigrants to Australia.
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Praise:
‘Alice Pung is a gem. Her voice is the real thing.’ —Amy Tan
‘There’s something striking on every page of Unpolished Gem.’ —Helen Garner
‘Unpolished Gem is virtuoso storytelling.’ —The Australian
‘A memoir so vivid that images from it linger behind your eyelids.’ —The Age
‘... offer(s) a rare bicultural vantage point on Australian multiculturalism’ —The Sydney Morning Herald
‘... intelligent and touching’ —The Herald Sun
‘Unpolished Gem is a delightful read – a funny, touching debut from a writer we’re sure to hear more from.’ —The Courier Mail
Awards:
Winner- Australian Newcomer of the Year in the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards
Shortlisted - Australian Biography of the Year and Australian Book of the Year in the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards
Shortlisted - 2007 NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Shortlisted - 2007 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Shortlisted - 2007 Age Book of the Year Awards
Shortlisted - 2006 Colin Roderick Award
Shortlisted - 2007 The Westfield/Waverley Library Award for Literature
Selected in the 2007 Books Alive Great Read Guide
Voted one of Victoria’s top 5 summer reads in the State Library of Victoria's Summer Read program.
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Alice Pung is the author of Unpolished Gem and Her Father’s Daughter and the editor of the anthology Growing Up Asian in Australia. Alice’s work has appeared in the Monthly, Good Weekend, the Age, The Best Australian Stories and Meanjin.
