Unpolished Gem

Alice Pung

Unpolished Gem
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Black Inc.
Country
Australia
Published
28 August 2006
Pages
288
ISBN
9781863951586

Unpolished Gem

Alice Pung

This story does not begin on a boat. Nor does it contain any wild swans or falling leaves. In a wonderland called Footscray, a girl named Alice and her Chinese-Cambodian family pursue the Australian Dream - Asian style. Armed with an ocker accent, Alice dives head-first into schooling, romance and the getting of wisdom. Her mother becomes an Aussie battler - an outworker, that is. Her father embraces the miracle of franchising and opens an electrical-appliance store. And every day her grandmother blesses Father Government for giving old people money.

Unpolished Gem is a book rich in comedy, a loving and irreverent portrait of a family, its everyday struggles and bittersweet triumphs. With it, Australian writing gains an unforgettable new voice.

‘This is a sophisticated and fiercely intelligent book.’ Helen Garner

 

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