A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain is a collection of short stories written by Robert Olen Butler documenting the lives of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States of America. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1993.
The stories focus mainly on the cultural differences between Vietnam and the United States and are each narrated from the point of view of a different Vietnamese immigrant in Louisiana. The stories were originally published in various journals but were later compiled and re-published with two additional stories in 2001.
The book has been met with critical acclaim, with many critics praising Butler's ability to capture the essence of the Vietnamese culture, and the struggles of immigrants adapting to life in a new country. Many of the stories are heart-warming and provide insight into the lives of immigrants from a different culture. For example, the story "The Other Country" is about a family that is torn apart by the Vietnam War, with one son fighting in the war and another son left behind in the United States. The story shows the strength of family bonds and how even the most difficult of circumstances can bring people together.
