Alice Pung's memoir Unpolished Gem (originally published in 2006) is certainly an interesting book. It tells the story of Pung and her family as they fled from Cambodia (which was enveloped in Civil War and genocide) and went to Australia. The novel examines how different Pung's life was in Australia and how difficult is was for her to integrate into Australian culture. At the end of the day, Unpolished Gem is a movie about a journey -- the journey of immigrants to a brand new country, the journey to self-discovery, the journey to assimilating and adjusting to a new culture, and the journey to repair a family who had just escaped a horrible, violent situation in Cambodia.
Upon release, Unpolished Gem received mostly -- but not universally -- positive reviews. Kirkus Reviews called the book "Poignant, provocative, [and] sometimes laugh-out-loud funny" and said that "Pung’s rollicking tale of two worlds is not to be missed." USA Today thought similarly, saying that “Revelations about her painful adolescence and bouts with depression are brutally honest and recounted with superlative narrative skills.” Other reviewers liked the book, but felt that Pung's book wasn't self-reflective or deep enough to merit a much better review.
