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Khanh Ha

Khanh Ha

About

Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh (Black Heron Press) and The Demon Who Peddled Longing (Underground Voices). He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, a Best Indie Lit New England nominee, finalist to Mary McCarthy Prize (Sarabande Books), Many Voices Project (New Rivers Press), Prairie Schooner Book Prize (Prairie Schooner), a twice finalist of The William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Award, the recipient of SAND HILLS PRIZE FOR BEST FICTION, and Greensboro Review’s ROBERT WATSON LITERARY PRIZE IN FICTION. The Demon Who Peddled Longing was honored by Shelf Unbound as a Notable Indie Book. Ha studied Journalism at Ohio University and learned the craft of writing under Daniel Keyes (Flowers for Algernon). His new, highly acclaimed novel, Mrs. Rossi’s Dream, has been released in April of 2019 (The Permanent Press).

The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky

The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky

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<p><em style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">After centuries of religiously motivated war, the world has been split in two. Now the Blessed Lands are ruled by pure faith, while in the Republic, reason is the guiding light—two different realms, kept apart and at peace by a treaty and an ocean.</em><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">Children of the Republic, Helena and Jason were inseparable in their youth, until fate sent them down different paths. Grief and duty sidetracked Helena’s plans, and Jason came to detest the hollowness of his ambitions.</span><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">These two damaged souls are reunited when a tiny boat from the Blessed Lands crashes onto the rocks near Helena’s home after an impossible journey across the forbidden ocean. On board is a single passenger, a nine-year-old girl named Kailani, who calls herself “the Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.” A new and perilous purpose binds Jason and Helena together again, as they vow to protect the lost innocent from the wrath of the authorities, no matter the risk to their future and freedom.</span><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><br style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;" /><span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:13.63636302947998px;line-height:17.563634872436523px;">But is the mysterious child simply a troubled little girl longing to return home? Or is she a powerful prophet sent to unravel the fabric of a godless Republic, as the outlaw leader of an illegal religious sect would have them believe? Whatever the answer, it will change them all forever… and perhaps their world as well.</span></p>

Story Behind The Book

Media Links

Booklist Best New Book (March 2019)

🔗 https://www.booklistonline.com/Mrs-Rossi-s-Dream-Ha-Khanh/pid=9715514?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

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Reviews

<h1 style="font-size:17px;line-height:normal;font-family:Tahoma;margin:0px 0px 8px;color:rgb(0,0,0);"><font color="#993366" size="2"><b>Mrs. Rossi’s Dream.</b></font></h1> <p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;"> </span><span style="font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold;">Ha, Khanh (author).</span></p> <p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;"> </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">Mar. 2019. 312p. Permanent Press, $29.95 </span><a href="http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9781579625689" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;" title="Link to WorldCat and see if your local library has this book">(9781579625689)</a><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">. </span><br style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;" /><font color="#3366FF" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">REVIEW. </font><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">First published </span><a style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">March 15, 2019 (<i>Booklist Starred Review</i>).</a></p> <div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;clear:both;padding-top:10px;"> </div> <p> </p> <p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;">Catherine Rossi’s dream, in 1987, is to find the remains of her son, Lieutenant Nicola Rossi, the only American unaccounted for after a deadly firefight in Vietnam in 1967. So she travels to the Mekong Delta with her daughter, Chi Lan, 18, adopted from a Catholic Vietnamese orphanage when she was five. At the small inn where the Rossis stay, employee Le Giang believes Mrs. Rossi’s quest is highly unlikely to be fulfilled, but he comes to treasure the companionship of Chi Lan. The narration alternates between the voices of Lieutenant Rossi in 1967 and Le Giang, in the present of 1987, a man born and conscripted in the north who defected to the army of the south, then was imprisoned for “reeducation” in the north for 10 years. Both men describe the horrors and deprivations of war, along with the bonds of fellowship forged, as well as the natural beauty and dangers of the country, on the way to a healing climax. Ha’s prose is so clear and vivid, whether describing a dying soldier’s wounds or local flora and fauna, and his message is so powerfully understated that this beautifully written novel should have a place alongside the best fiction of the Vietnam War.--Booklist (starred review)</p>