Daniel, a young French-Vietnamese man, lies dying in a Montreal hospital. Spurned by his family for contracting AIDS in Provincetown, Daniel spends his last months in despair. Only his cousin Mai stays by his side to record the darkest of family secrets. From French Indochina to present day North America, this novel follows three generations of a Vietnamese family as they endure their own folly and the whims of history.

Born in Vietnam, Caroline Vu left her native country at the age of 11. She lives in Montreal, where she works as a family physician at a community health centre. Her first novel, Palawan Story, won the Canadian Author Association's Fred Kerner Prize and was shortlisted for the Concordia University First Book Prize. Her second novel, That Summer in Provincetown, was optioned by Chantal Thuy. Catinat Boulevard is her third novel.

Caroline Vu's profile page

The universality of Caroline Vu’s subtle messaging distinguishes her as one of Canada’s most exciting emerging authors.

Ottawa Review of Books

Through circumstance, a family and its unravelling, the tracing of a simple migration, Caroline Vu brings to our doorstep the devastation of a generation.

Claudio Gaudio, author of Texas and 2013 ReLit finalist

A stunning portrait of a family, tinged with the colours of confabulation and set against the bloody backdrop of Vietnamese history.

Claire Holden Rothman, Governor General finalist and author of The Heart Specialist

A Beautiful Novel

by deuxvoiliers