Monique Truong facts for kids

Monique T.D. Truong (born May 13, 1968) is a talented Vietnamese American writer. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has written many popular books.

Monique Truong studied at Yale University and Columbia University School of Law. Her first novel, The Book of Salt, came out in 2003. It became a national bestseller and won several important awards. She has also written other books, essays, and short stories.

Early Life and Education

Monique Truong was born in Saigon, which is now Ho Chi Minh City. In 1975, when she was six years old, she and her mother left Vietnam. They came to the United States as refugees because of the Vietnam War.

Her father, who worked for an international oil company, joined them later. The family lived in different states, including North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.

Monique went to Yale University for her college studies. She graduated in 1990 with a degree in literature. Later, she earned a law degree from Columbia University School of Law.

Writing Career

Monique Truong has had a very interesting writing career. She has written novels, essays, and even lyrics for music.

First Novels and Awards

Monique helped edit a book called Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry & Prose. This book was published in 1998.

Her first novel, The Book of Salt, was published in 2003. This story takes place in Paris after World War I. It is about a Vietnamese cook named Binh. He works for famous writers Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Monique got the idea for the book from reading that Stein and Toklas had "Indo-Chinese" cooks.

The Book of Salt won many literary awards. These include the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award and the Stonewall Book Award.

Her second novel, Bitter in the Mouth, came out in 2010. This book tells the story of a Vietnamese-American girl who was adopted. She grows up in the American South. The main character, Linda, feels like an outsider because of her background.

Later Works and Other Writings

Monique Truong's third novel is The Sweetest Fruits, published in 2019. This book tells the story of a writer named Lafcadio Hearn. It is told through the eyes of three women in his life. Publishers Weekly and other groups named it one of the best fiction books of 2019.

As of 2020, her novels have been translated into fourteen different languages. This means people all over the world can read her stories.

From 2011 to 2012, Monique wrote a food column called Ravenous. It appeared in T: The New York Times Style Magazine. She also received nominations for the James Beard Foundation Award for her work in Gourmet magazine.

Her essays have appeared in many well-known publications. These include The Wall Street Journal, O, The Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times. Her essays cover topics like food, racism, and the Vietnam War.

Monique Truong also works with composer Joan La Barbara. She has written lyrics for a choral work and a song cycle. She is also writing a story for an opera.

Books by Monique Truong

• Watermark: Vietnamese American Poetry & Prose, co-edited with Barbara Tran and Khoi Truong Luu (Asian American Writers' Workshop, 1998)
• The Book of Salt (Houghton-Mifflin, 2003)
  • New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award
  • Bard Fiction Prize
  • Stonewall Book Award-Barbara Gittings Literature Award
• Bitter in the Mouth (Random House, 2010)
  • Honor, Adult Fiction Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
• The Sweetest Fruits (Viking, 2019)

Selected Short Stories and Essays

• "Kelly" (1991, 1995)
• "Many Happy Returns", Food & Wine
• "My Father's Vietnam Syndrome," The New York Times
• "Why It's Every Person's Responsibility to Stand Up to Racism", O, The Oprah Magazine
• "The Hypocrisy of Eating at Mexican Restaurants," NPR's The Salt

Honors and Awards

Monique Truong has received many honors and awards for her writing.

• 2021 Dos Passos Prize winner
• 2020 John Gardner Fiction Book Award Winner for The Sweetest Fruits
• 2016 Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence at Baruch College
• 2014–2015 U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellow in Tokyo
• 2012 Visiting Writer at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
• 2011 American Academy of Art and Letters Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for Bitter in the Mouth
• 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 2007 Princeton University Lewis Center for the Arts Hodder Fellowship
• 2004 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award Winner for The Book of Salt
• 2004 Bard Fiction Prize for The Book of Salt
• 2004 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award
• 2004 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for The Book of Salt
• 2004 Stonewall Book Award—Barbara Gittings Literature Award for The Book of Salt