Monique Truong: Bitter in the Mouth

Bitter in the Mouth (Random House)

Monique Truong is an intransigent — she will not settle for anyone's desire to interpret or in any way falsity the world she knows. This time Truong, who was born in Vietnam, sets to revealing the lies implicit in the question, "What is it like to grow up Asian in America?" Her first refutation is that the question should read, "What is it like to look Asian while being raised American in America?" Our conversation digs into the under-structure of many identity-based assumptions.

Read an excerpt from Bitter in the Mouth.