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'The Gangster We Are All Looking For': Chapter Five "nu' o ' c"

By One Book One San Diego, Clare Pister / Community Engagement Manager, Ashley Rodriguez / Diversity, Engagement, & Grants Coordinator

Published December 1, 2010 at 12:53 PM PST

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

Ocean islands, Vietnam. Photo taken while skydiving. (Feb-March 2008)

Chapter Synopsis

The final chapter seems to alternate between two narratives every few paragraphs.

One narration takes place in America. The father preoccupies himself with various tasks in order to ignore the ringing phone. Ma works at a Vietnamese restaurant whose foreign cuisine is overpriced. Rumors that their daughter has become a writer on the East Coast have spread in their community.

The second narration takes place in Vietnam, twenty years ago. The body of the narrator's brother was pulled out of the South China Sea. It is said that he slipped and fell when attempting to jump from one boat to another. Ma's father brings the dead brother back home, where people tell him that his actions and the boy's body curse the home with bad water. Ba is currently fighting in the Vietnam War.

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Important Elements of Chapter Five

Specific Quotations Regarding the Beginning & Ending:

Page 158: “Out from the darkness of the sea, wave after wave of small, luminous bodies washed to shore.”

Tags

KPBS One Book, One San Diego

One Book One San Diego

One Book, One San Diego is a partnership between KPBS and the San Diego Public Library. The mission of the program is to bring San Diegans together through an enriching, locally relevant literary experience. Each program year, the community helps to choose a book that will be the featured “One Book.” That book will then shape the local focus, outreach initiatives, and special events that will compose the One Book experience.

See stories by One Book One San Diego

Clare Pister

Clare Pister managed the One Book, One San Diego campaign as well as the station’s children’s educational and literacy outreach initiatives. This includes planning community events and collaborating with schools, libraries and community organizations to bring quality educational programming and content to new and diverse audiences. Clare began working at KPBS in 2009. She graduated from the University of Virginia where she studied anthropology and linguistics. Clare’s past work experience includes coordinating community outreach and literacy programs. She previously designed and implemented curriculum at Words Alive and the Neighborhood House Association in San Diego.

Ashley Rodriguez

Ashley Rodriguez is a coordinator in KPBS’ Diversity, Community Engagement and Grants department, tasked with building relationships with diverse communities and leaders in San Diego. In collaboration with community organizations, schools, and other public media stations, Ashley coordinates events tied to KPBS and PBS programs such as Not In Our Town and Freedom Riders. She also coordinates engagement activities for the multi-station collaborative Fronteras: The Changing America Desk. Ashley began working at KPBS as a part-time assistant while attending San Diego State University. In 2011, Ashley was awarded the Susan and Stephen L. Weber Education and Community Engagement Fellow and graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in international security and conflict resolution.

See stories by Ashley Rodriguez