Summer Rolls

SUMMER ROLLS is an intimate novel that explores forbidden love, the experience of growing up a second-generation immigrant in the UK, and the enduring effects of war on individuals for fans of PACHINKO and ON EARTH WE'RE BREIFLY GORGEOUS. Told through the eyes of both Mai, the daughter, growing up in modern-day London and her mother, growing up in 1950s Vietnam, the novel explores how the traumas of one generation are mapped onto the lives of the next, and the enduring effects of conflict, both domestic and global. Having escaped war-torn Vietnam, long-buried memories have left deep scars within the Nguyen household. As the family integrates into their new life in Britain, these wounds and secrets slowly bubble to the surface as young Mai starts to grow up, rebelling and falling in love. Unravelling an untold family history, both mother and daughter must interrogate the past and decide the ways in which it will dictate their future in this deft and tender exploration of family, trauma and acceptance.