I should have known what would happen when a poet writes a novel: readers would be gifted with an extraordinary literary achievement. Author Vuong has done just that. In a novel that is as funny as it is poignant, he has mined the depths of the human experience from inside the cramped confines of a fast-food restaurant in suburban Connecticut. What results is a staggering epic filled with unforgettable characters trying to make sense of a world that has left them behind.

Hai is a nineteen-year-old Vietnamese boy about to end his life by plunging from a railroad bridge, when he is accosted by octogenarian Grazina, yelling at him from the window of her dilapidated house. She persuades him to move in with her and “start again,” providing him with what might be graciously called “room and board” while he makes sure she takes all of her medications on time. He soon learns that her increasing dementia straddles life between World War II and her precarious present, and before long he becomes her “Sergeant Pepper,” incorporated into her delusions, guiding her through war-torn Europe.

Then there is Sony, Hai’s younger cousin, an autistic savant with encyclopedic knowledge of the American Civil War. BJ, the woman who manages the HomeMarket (“This is where America is fed”) has aspirations of breaking out of fast-food and becoming a professional wrestler. Russia, “the white boy with the nose ring,” mans the drive-thru, while redheaded Maureen takes orders, and the always sweating Wayne keeps the chickens roasting. As the story progresses, we find that “the usual suspects” are anything but usual, each quirky and flawed in their own way, living lives where putting one foot in front of the other is an act of courage.

The writing is as beautiful as the story is profound. Its humor and its pathos become an indictment of a society that discards human beings as easily as disposable Styrofoam cups. Trust me, once you have read this soaring novel you will never hear the standard words of a fast-food server in the same way again:

“How can I help you?”