This Is All I Choose to Tell

"Immediately indispensable, exactingly researched, and beautifully written, This Is All I Choose to Tell is both an introduction to and a road map for an expansive analysis of Vietnamese American literature. By carefully and judiciously introducing her personal story and journey from immigrant to academic, Pelaud has created a work that is both necessary and brave."
—Monique Truong, author of The Book of Salt and Bitter in the Mouth

"Pelaud has produced the first book specifically devoted to Vietnamese American literature. The poignancy of this benchmark is not to be missed. Her book is a timely contribution to the field of Asian American literary studies and to the emergent subfield of Vietnamese American literary and cultural studies. She makes Vietnamese American literature readily visible for readers who are interested in finding an anchor through which to wrestle with this corpus of cultural work. I have a deep appreciation for what Pelaud has done."
—James K. Lee, Associate Professor of Asian American Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara, and the author of Urban Triage: Race and the Fictions of Multiculturalism

"Pelaud provides the first comprehensive introduction and overview of Vietnamese American literature, a largely ignored and under-studied area within the larger field of Asian American literature.... Throughout, Pelaud's writing is clear and her analysis sharp. This accessible book is a must read. Summing Up: Highly recommended."
— Choice

"This Is All I Choose to Tell is timely, arriving at a moment when the interest in literature from a global perspective has taken as a top priority the relationship between minor and major literatures.... This Is All I Choose to Tell establishes a starting point for defining Vietnamese American literature as a field with a history, and compels us to think about how to maintain its specificity and autonomy while understanding its contingent nature."
— Journal of Vietnamese Studies

"(T)his is a groundbreaking book regarding Vietnamese American issues in their emerging literature."
— Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement

"(A) sensitive study of Vietnamese American literature.... This Is All I Choose to Tell (is a) critically valuable intervention within the field of Vietnamese American studies, not merely within contexts of the Vietnam War and its memorial afterlife, but also within larger debates in Asian American representations related to ethnicity, immigration, gender, class, and the continual reconfiguration of recently (dis)integrated individual, political, and national selves."
—Journal of American Studies

"The first book-length study of Vietnamese American literature, This Is All I Choose to Tell is unquestionably an essential contribution to the field of Asian American studies.... Pelaud provides scholars and teachers alike with an impressive road map to this burgeoning body of literature, expanding on rigorous literary surveys.... As evidenced by her faithful, meticulous readings, Pelaud is adamant we appreciate the personal commitment needed to transform contradictory positions into artistic products."
— Journal of Asian American Studies

"This Is All I Choose to Tell represents the first book-length study of Vietnamese American literature to date, providing in the first half of the book an overview of the historical-political context of Vietnamese American literature and, in the second half, close readings and theoretical interpretations of specific literary texts.... The title of Pelaud’s book...beautifully encapsulates the way in which Vietnamese American writers have found ways to navigate the complex ethical terrain of disclosure and nondisclosure, of historical witnessing and appropriation, of therapeutic telling and articulate silence."
—Contemporary Women's Writing