In this episode, a conversation with Alice Pung, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of her landmark memoir, and a bona fide modern Australian classic, Unpolished Gem. In a wonderland called Footscray, a girl named Alice and her Chinese-Cambodian family pursue the Australian Dream – Asian style. Armed with an ocker accent, Alice dives head-first into schooling, romance and the getting of wisdom. Her mother becomes an Aussie battler – an outworker, that is. Her father embraces the miracle of franchising and opens an electrical-appliance store. And every day her grandmother blesses Father Government for giving old people money. Unpolished Gem is a book rich in comedy, a loving and irreverent portrait of a family, its everyday struggles and bittersweet triumphs, and a longstanding Readings favourite. Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781760645762/unpolished-gem--alice-pung--2026--9781760645762

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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