82: Nguyen Phan Que Mai- Author of The Mountains Sing
Quế Mai shares how she wanted to write a novel set during the Vietnam War from the missing perspective of the Vietnamese themselves, specifically the women, who she felt were often portrayed in literature as having no agency, when actually they were unbelievably strong and resilient. We discuss how she wove ger country's food, culture, proverbs and beliefs into a rich tapestry of a debut that made every best-seller list of 2020 (1400+ Amazon reviews), how her agent believed in her book so strongly she hand-carried her proposal to publishers and gave them a deadline to respond, and how Que Mai…
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