Dunia Alice

What would it feel to be an immigrant in Australia? This is one of the memoir of a Cambodia girl in Australia. Written in a vivid way by Alice Pung (the original title of this book is Unpolished Gem but Penerbit Bentang changed it into Dunia Alice) we'll find many interesting stories here.

Alice parents are Chinese who immigrated to Cambodia then fled to Australia as asylum seekers. As immigrant, they sure need time to adapt with their whole new life. There are a lot of surprises there. Alice told them in a witty way, how her grandma and parents were so amazed to see many great things in Australia compared to their former life in Cambodia.

But being an immigrant does not always mean bed and roses, they also face problems, such as the cultural shock and also the language. For old people like Alice's grandma and mother, it's really hard to learn new language as English language. They tried and failed. This language difficulties lead to many problems. Even for Alice as a young girl, she felt it's hard to grow up in a new country. She's sometimes confused and felt trapped between her mother's thoughts and her desire to be like a 'normal' girl just like her Australian friends.

Already translated by Penerbit Bentang on February 2011. Awesome debut. Informative and at the same time entertaining.