Phuc Tran - Signed Copies

Print: A Bookstore is proud to be working with local author, Phuc Tran, to offer signed copies of his books.

receive copies signed by the author, place your order with Print: A Bookstore. In the order comments during check-out, please include who you would like the book signed to. For any questions, reach out to our Community Coordinator, Stephanie Heinz, at 207-536-4778 or stephanie@printbookstore.com.

For anyone who has ever felt like they don't belong, Sigh, Gone shares an irreverent, funny, and moving tale of displacement and assimilation woven together with poignant themes from beloved works of classic literature.

In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran immigrates to America along with his family. By sheer chance they land in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town where the Trans struggle to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The MetamorphosisThe Scarlet LetterThe Iliad, and more, Tran navigates the push and pull of finding and accepting himself despite the challenges of immigration, feelings of isolation, and teenage rebellion, all while attempting to meet the rigid expectations set by his immigrant parents.

Appealing to fans of coming-of-age memoirs such as Fresh Off the Boat, Running with Scissors, or tales of assimilation like Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Displaced and The Refugees, Sigh, Gone explores one man’s bewildering experiences of abuse, racism, and tragedy and reveals redemption and connection in books and punk rock. Against the hairspray-and-synthesizer backdrop of the ‘80s, he finds solace and kinship in the wisdom of classic literature, and in the subculture of punk rock, he finds affirmation and echoes of his disaffection. In his journey for self-discovery Tran ultimately finds refuge and inspiration in the art that shapes—and ultimately saves—him.

Phuc Tran has been a high school Latin teacher for more than twenty years while also simultaneously establishing himself as a highly sought-after tattooer in the Northeast. Tran graduated Bard College in 1995 with a BA in Classics and received the Callanan Classics Prize. He taught Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit in New York at the Collegiate School and was an instructor at Brooklyn College’s Summer Latin Institute. Most recently, he taught Latin, Greek, and German at the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine. His 2012 TEDx talk “Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive” was featured on NPR’s Ted Radio Hour. He has also been an occasional guest on Maine Public Radio, discussing grammar; the Classics; and Strunk and White’s legacy. He currently tattoos at and owns Tsunami Tattoo in Portland, Maine, where he lives with his family.

Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In By Phuc Tran Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250826619
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Flatiron Books - April 5th, 2022

Cranky (Cranky and Friends) By Phuc Tran, Pete Oswald (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Phuc Tran, Pete Oswald (Illustrator)
$19.99
ISBN: 9780063256286
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: HarperCollins - February 6th, 2024