Trapeze pre-empts Tuyen Do's 'deeply moving' multi-generational novel

Trapeze has pre-empted debut novel Summer Rolls by Tuyen Do, a multi-generational tale set in the UK and Vietnam.

Zoe Yang, former assistant editor at Trapeze, acquired world all-languages, excluding US rights, from Juliet Pickering at Blake Friedmann, and the book will be published by editorial director Sareeta Domingo. Adapted from Do’s play of the same name, which according to the publisher was the first British-Vietnamese play to be staged in the UK, Trapeze Books will publish Summer Rolls in hardback in April 2025, with a paperback to follow in 2026.

"Mai is navigating life in ’90s London as a first-generation British-Vietnamese teenager, caught between two cultures," the synopsis says. "Her mother, Trinh, is constantly reminding her to work hard and be grateful. But Trinh was young once too, living a vibrant and complicated life in Vietnam until forced to flee her war-torn home. Now her focus is the son she thought she’d lost, and the daughter she desperately wants to protect. She tries to forget the memories buried in the rubble of the life she left behind […] When secrets from the past finally resurface, the family’s bonds are truly shaken."

Domingo said: "Tuyen has crafted an exceptional debut novel, telling a vital story about the complexities of being a second-generation immigrant in Britain today, as well as the impact that crossing an ocean to escape conflict can have on a family. It’s about the challenges of assimilation, culture and personal evolution – but most of all, Tuyen has beautifully captured the utterly relatable nuances of a mother-daughter relationship."

Do added: "My aspirations for this still hidden female story is that it will be illuminating, healing and a celebration of that very special bond between a daughter and her mother."

Pickering said: "Tuyen’s voice – both in her playwriting and her novel – is so striking, resonant and empathic; I loved Summer Rolls from the first page. This is a timely, relatable and deeply moving book from a brilliantly talented debut author, and no one who reads Mai and Trinh’s story will forget it."