How is the theme of transformation displayed in the novel The Gangster We Are All Looking For?

Transformation in Le Thi Diem Thuy's first novel The Gangster We Are All Looking For can be discussed from several different angles. Here are a few ideas to get you started thinking about transformation.
First of all, consider the notion of transformation with in the basic context of a Bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story. The unnamed narrator of this novel starts her story from the age of 6 years old and the trajectory of the novel continues until she is 26, which fits the definition of this genre. Just within the framework of her maturing process, the narrator's transformation from a child who is completely reliant on her parents to a young adult and a successful writer is rich with potential for exploration.
As well, the narrator is a refugee from Vietnam, coming to America with her father and four other men as a very young child. As she adapts to her new life in San Diego, California, she undergoes a transformative process unique to immigrants. For example, the narrator arrives to her new country without fully understanding why they left Vietnam; her growing awareness impacts her as she transforms into her new self and copes with the unsettled nature of her new life. As well, she learns more about her parents, Ba, her father who fought in the Vietnam War, and Ma, her pathologically anxious mother. This knowledge about her family also changes her and her understanding of how she fits into her family's dynamics, especially when the story of her lost brother's disappearance and death emerges when she is an adult.
Finally, transformation can be discussed in relation to the title of the novel. The gangster of the title is mentioned in Chapter 3, when the narrator makes a decision to be the "gangster we are all looking for" when she grows up. Her ability to transform her challenging childhood and family tragedy into art allows her to become her own kind of gangster, a strong and resilient individual who is able to live according to her own rules.