The Book of Salt: A Novel

In Paris, in 1934, Binh has accompanied his employers, Gertrude Stein and Alivce B. Toklas, to the train station for their departure to America. His own destination is unclear: will he go with "the Steins," stay in France, or return to Vietnam? Binh fled his homeland in disgrace. For five years, he has been the live-in cook at the famous apartment at 27 Rue de Fleurus. Before Binh's decision is revealed, his narrative catapults us back to his youth in French-colonized Vietnam, his years as a galley hand at sea, and his days turning out fragrant repasts for the doyennes of the Lost Generation. He is a habitue of the Paris demimonde, an exile and an alien, a man of musings and memories, and, possibly, lies. Love is the prize that has eluded him, from his family to the men he has sought out, often at his peril.--From publisher description.