Set in post-war Vietnam, The Demon Who Peddled Longing tells the terrible journey of a nineteen-year-old boy in search of the two brothers who are drifters and who raped and killed his cousin. It brings together the damned, the unfit, the brave, who succumb by their own doing to the call of fate. Yet their desire to survive and to face life again never dies, so that when someone like the boy who is psychologically damaged by his family tragedy, who no sooner gets his life together after being rescued by a fisherwoman than falls in love with an untouchable girl and finds his life in peril, takes his leave in the end, there is nothing left but a longing in the heart that goes with him.  REVIEWS       Monday, November 24, 2014    Book Viral's Author of Choice       "An absolute joy, without the contrivance of undue complexity, Khanh Ha delivers not only an emotive read, but an exquisite and beautifully observed image of a world few of us will see with such absolute clarity. Recommended without reservation, The Demon Who Peddled Longing is highly deserving of your attention whilst BookViral has no hesitation in naming Khanh Ha our fourth ever author of choice."―Book Viral"The Demon Who Peddled Longing takes you on the quest of an insular boy―a quest to avenge his cousin's murder and to win the heart of a fickle woman. His deliverance lies not in the consummation of these goals but in the dignity with which he pursues them. As poetic as Faulkner, as stark as Cormac McCarthy, The Demon Who Peddled Longing is an absorbing read." ―James Hanna, The Sand Hill Review  "Compelling and beautifully written . . . a richly accomplished story set in a land still wounded by war." ―Stephen Evans, author of The Marriage of True Minds  "An unnamed protagonist journeys through a Faulknerian dreamscape where redemption arises out of violence and beauty blossoms from the mire of loss. A rare achievement through a mesmerizing rhythm of language. That this novel is an artistic triumph is an understatement." ―John M. Gist, Red Savina Review  "As with his debut novel, Flesh, Ha's writing is sweeping and lyrical . . . the story takes its time unfolding in an epic cinematic sprawl that emphasizes sensory details as much as a sense of the unknown . . . Ha delivers well-drawn characters and a suspenseful storyline that will keep readers turning pages."―Laura Roberts, Black Heart Magazine "Everything that occurs in THE DEMON WHO PEDDLED LONGING jumps off the page, thanks to Ha's vivid and poetic prose, and to his deep, intimate knowledge of the Vietnamese people. Ha not only knows how they live and work, but what they love, fear, despise and hold dear. Without a shred of sentimentality or falsity, he paints a memorable portrait of Viet Nam, a country with a life-force that seemingly will never be extinguished".―Willard Manus, Lively Arts "The Demon Who Peddled Longing is, like the title of the novel, a highly evocative, poetic work. Khanh Ha's descriptions of the physical environment are lushly poetic; the river, the fields, the vegetation form an intrinsic backdrop to Nam's journey, and beautifully complement the longing and love that propel the boy onward. A lovely novel by a refreshingly original author."―Literary Fiction Book Review"Khanh Ha's Flesh, a visceral and harrowing read, serves as a brilliant companion for his new novel. But whereas the tragic elements of experience seemed to engulf all other aspects of life in Flesh, there is a solid foundation of beauty in this work.Writers like Khanh Ha take the reader into ordinary and glorious places."--Buried In Print ABOUT THE AUTHOR Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh (2012, Black Heron Press). He is a five-time Pushcart nominee and the recipient of Greensboro Review's 2014 ROBERT WATSON LITERARY PRIZE IN FICTION.

The Demon Who Peddled Longing

Literature & Fiction

Ha, Khanh

Contemporary

Underground Voices

"In this almost folkloric saga of a royal eunuch, his adopted daughter and the tragedies and triumphs of love in their lives from the days of the emperor's court to the war with America, Khanh Ha takes us deeply into the heart of traditional Vietnam in a tale told in such lushly poetic, descriptive language that it immerses the reader deeply and sensually into the gorgeousness of the land, the texture and taste of food, and the complex humanity of the characters. 'Her: The Flame Tree' is an intricately woven, seductively fascinating story of family, sacrifice, loyalty and redeeming love in the face of heart-breaking loss that breathtakingly weaves the lives of individuals we come to know and care about into the sage of Vietnamese--and American--history." --Wayne Karlin

Her: The Flame Tree

Gival Press

A Mother's Tale is a tale of salvaging one's soul from received and inherited war-related trauma. Within the titular beautiful story of a mother's love for her son is the cruelty and senselessness of the Vietnam War, the poignant human connection, and a haunting narrative whose setting and atmosphere appear at times other worldly through their landscape and inhabitants. Captured in the vivid descriptions of Vietnam's country and culture are a host of characters, tortured and maimed and generous and still empathetic despite many obstacles, including a culture wrecked by losses. Somewhere in this chaos readers will find a tender link between the present-day survivors and those already gone. Rich and yet buoyant with a vision-like quality, this collection shares a common theme of love and loneliness, longing and compassion, where beauty is discovered in the moments of brutality, and agony is felt in ecstasy.

A Mother's Tale & Other Stories

United States

C&R Press

Author of Mrs. Rossi's Dream, a 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIES Silver and Bronze Winner (War & Military Adult Fiction); and A Mother's Tale & Other Stories, a Foreword Reviews INDIES Bronze Winner\nFrom Vietnam to America, this story collection, jewel-like, evocative and layered, brings to the readers a unique sense of love, passions and the tragedy of rape, all together contrasting a darker theme of perils. The titular story captures a simple love story that transcends cultural barriers. The opening story "A Woman-Child" brings the shy eroticism of adolescence set against a backdrop of the seaside with its ever present ecological beauty. A youthful love affair between an older American man and a much younger Vietnamese girl has its poignant brevity in "All the Pretty Little Horses." In "The Yin-Yang Market" magical realism and the beauty of innocence abounds in deep dark places, teeming with life and danger. "A Mute Girl's Yarn" tells a magical coming-of-age story like sketches in a child's fairy book.\nBringing together the damned, the unfit, the brave who succumb by their own doing to the call of fate, their desire to survive never dying, it is a great journey to inhabit this world where redemption of human goodness arises out of violence and beauty to become part of its essential mercy.

All The Rivers Flow Into The Sea: and other stories

EastOver Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ha, Khanh. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ha, Khanh

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ha, Khanh. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Demon Who Peddled Longing

Her: The Flame Tree

A Mother's Tale & Other Stories

All The Rivers Flow Into The Sea: and other stories