The book of salt
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, (2004)Abstract
In Paris, in 1934, Binh has accompanied his employers, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, to the train station for their departure to America. His own destination is unclear: will he go with "the Steins," stay in France, or return to Vietnam? Binh fled his homeland in disgrace. For five years, he has been the live-in cook at the famous apartment at 27 Rue de Fleurus. Before Binh's decision is revealed, his narrative catapults us back to his youth in French-colonized Vietnam, his years as a galley hand at sea, and his days turning out fragrant repasts for the doyennes of the Lost Generation. He is a habitue of the Paris demimonde, an exile and an alien, a man of musings and memories, and, possibly, lies. Love is the prize that has eluded him, from his family to the men he has sought out, often at his peril.--From publisher description.