书名：Inside Out and Back Again再见木瓜树
难度：Lexile蓝思阅读指数800L
作者：Thanhha Lai
出版社名称：HarperCollins
出版时间：2013
语种：英文
ISBN：9780061962790
商品尺寸：13 x 1.5 x 19.4 cm
包装：平装
页数：288
Inside Out and Back Again《再见木瓜树》是一部自由诗体小说，以越南战争为背景描写了主人公金河及一家人的生活。这部小说写法独特，采用了简单易懂、短小精悍的自由诗体方式写出了难民的哀苦，每一幕都像是电影的停格切片，召唤出生活与感官交融的美好与苍凉：热闹的古街，连绵的木瓜树，黑亮的种籽落了再生。然后笔锋陡然一转，故事的叙述进入战争，随着烽火漂流海外，然后成为异乡人……

本书故事取材于作者Thanhha的个人经历，从一个儿童难民的视角让我们清晰地看到了她曾经的挣扎和奋斗以及少数族裔在异国他乡的艰难经历，在坎坷的挣扎中成长，带着永不放弃生活的信念和对家人的承诺。

从西贡的木瓜树、糖莲子、糯米方粽转换成阿拉巴马的牛肉干、葡萄、洋芋片和硬梆梆的圆面包……两个世界，两段人生，作者的故事陌生而又熟悉，在一代又一代移民的身上不断上演，那种百折不挠、不卑不亢的精神从不曾消失，也正是这种精神让无数的孩子心灵为之一震、肃然起敬，并感受到生命的不易、生活的磨砺和亲情的责任。

本书一问世便获得了第62届美国国家图书奖“青少年文学奖”，这是美国图书的荣誉，它成就了作者Thanhha Lai，也让亚裔族群在美国的奋斗史再一次被镁光灯所聚焦。

媒体评论：
翻开这本书，慢慢地阅读，细细品尝味美的语言。
——凯蒂·阿贝特（畅销书作家／美国纽伯瑞文学奖得主）
 
赖昙荷根据个人经验，创作出一本以儿童叙说难民奋斗的真实历程。全书用平易近人的自由诗体书写，以第1人称自述表达情感，既幽默又令人心碎，读者将深深被小主角金河的忧伤所感动，随之体认无家可归的痛苦。——美国《书单》杂志
 
严密描写出小主角金河的情感生活格外辛酸。她历经了在越南的轻快氛围，再到美国的挣扎，在学术界和社会上取得了一定的地位，精辟描写出人类的韧性。——美国《出版人周刊》
 
具启发性、情感深刻且超乎有趣的诗体小说。初次登场便不容错过，作者赖昙荷唤起一个不同的时空背景，刻划出一位情感复杂且逼真的小女孩金河。这个故事将赢得读者的认可，即使他们不曾处在陌生的国家。——美国《柯克斯书评》
 
作者赖昙荷的简约语言记录了文化变动下的迷惘，以及难民的复杂情感与不断变动的家族向心力。——美国《号角图书》杂志
 
小主角金河的声音满是幽默与希望。——美国《学校图书馆期刊》
 
在这个用自由诗体创作的故事中，作者赖昙荷毫不保留的道出自己的身世，用很少的文字描绘出巨大的图像，并唤起丰富的视觉感受。——美国《儿童图书中心周报》

Inside Out and Back Again is a #1 New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award!
Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee—fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama—this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration.
Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope—toward America.
This moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it "enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny."
An author's note explains how and why Thanhha Lai translated her personal experiences into Hà's story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions.

Review
"Lai's spare language captures the sensory disorientation of changing cultures as well as a refugee's complex emotions and kaleidoscopic loyalties."--The Horn Book

"In this free-verse narrative, Lai is sparing in her details, painting big pictures with few words and evoking abundant visuals."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Open this book, read it slowly to savor the delicious language. This is a book that asks the reader to be careful, to pay attention, to sigh at the end."--Kathi Appelt, bestselling author of Newbery Honor Book The Underneath

"American and Vietnamese characters alike leap to life through the voice and eyes of a ten-year-old girl--a protagonist so strong, loving, and vivid I longed to hand her a wedge of freshly cut papaya."--Mitali Perkins, author of Bamboo People

"An enlightening, poignant and unexpectedly funny novel in verse. In her not-to-be-missed debut, Lai evokes a distinct time and place and presents a complex, realistic heroine whom readers will recognize, even if they haven't found themselves in a strange new country."--Kirkus Reviews

"Ha's voice is full of humor and hope."--School Library Journal

"Based in Lai's personal experience, this first novel captures a child-refugee's struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free-verse poems, Hà's immediate narrative describes her mistakes--both humorous and heartbreaking; and readers will be moved by Hà's sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast."--Booklist

"The taut portrayal of Hà's emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. An incisive portrait of human resilience."--Publishers Weekly

"Told in compelling free verse."--Brightly
没有人会相信这些话
但是有时候
我宁愿选择住在战争的西贡
而不是和平的阿拉巴马

在她十岁的生命当中，金河只知道西贡这个地方：市场里的兴奋喧嚣、传统节庆的喜乐、她与好友的温暖情谊……以及她心爱的美丽木瓜树。但是，战火已经逼近家门。随着西贡的陷落，金河和家人被迫逃离家乡，趁夜登船驶向未来。抵达阿拉巴马之后，金河发现这是一个不同的世界：邻居的冷漠疏离、食物的单调乏味、城市风景的奇特怪异……却也因而激发全家人的生命强度与韧性。

小女孩踏上寻找新家园的旅程，在不长不短的一年里，她走过了变化、梦想、哀伤和疗愈，为自己的生命故事谱出了动人的新乐章。

无论身在何处，都要相信希望！
赖昙荷（Thanhha Lai），1965年出生于越南，家境小康，在家中排行第九。越战期间西贡沦陷时，和家人被迫在海上漂流，以难民的身份被安置在美国阿拉巴马州。前后花了十年的时间，适应新环境和学习正确的英语文法。曾经在加州《橘郡纪事报》服务了两年，在萌生创作小说的念头后，便辞退了工作。在许多的尝试和取得纽约大学艺术创作硕士的学位后，出版了第1本小说。现任教于纽约新学院大学，平日喜欢跑步、骑自行车、阅读、写作，以及和四岁的孩子一起游戏。

Thanhha Lai was born in Viêt Nam and now lives with her family in New York. Like the father in Listen, Slowly, Thanhha has been buying bicycles for poor children in Viêt Nam since 2005.
1975: Year of the Cat
Today is Tet,
the first day of the lunar calendar.

Every Tet
we eat sugary lot us seeds
and glutinous rice cakes.
We wear all new clothes,
even underneath.

Mother warns
how we act today
foretells the whole year.

Everyone must smile
no matter how we feel.

No one can sweep,
for why sweep away hope?
No one can splash water,
for why splash away joy?

Today
we all gain one year in age,
no matter the date we were born.
Tet, our New Year’s,
doubles as everyone’s birthday.

Now I am ten, learning
to embroider circular stitches,
to calculate fractions into percentages,
to nurse my papaya tree
to bear many fruits.
But last night I pouted
when Mother insisted
one of my brothers
must rise first
this morning
to bless our house
because only male feet
can bring luck.