Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

 Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Moving between the Vietnam war and the present day,

Dust Child is a powerful and compelling tale of family secrets and hidden heartache.

Dust Child by Nguyen phan Que Mai is published on 20th April 2023 by Oneworld Publications. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

 

Synopsis

In 1969, two sisters from rural Việt Nam leave their parents’ home to find work in Sài Gòn. Caught up in the war that is blazing through their country they, like many other young Việtnamese women, are employed as hostesses in a bar frequented by American GIs. Soon they are forced to accept that their own survival, and that of their family back home, might mean compromising the values they have always held dear. As the fighting moves closer to the city, the elder sister, Trang, begins a romance with a young American helicopter pilot. Decades later, two men wander the streets and marketplaces of modern Sài Gòn. Phong is a ‘Dust Child’ – the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman, abandoned by his mother and ostracized all his life – and is looking for his parents and through them a way out of Việt Nam. Meanwhile war veteran Dan returns with his wife Linda, hoping to ease the PTSD that has plagued him for decades. Neither of them can escape the shadow of decisions made during a time of desperation.

My Review

Aside from the fact that the book cover is stunning and thought provoking; this is a novel that is beautifully, and emotively written from the perspectives of all three of the main characters. We all know, or should know, about the atrocities that took place in Vietnam and Que mai tells the narrative from three completely different angles and in such a passionate way that links you with all of them, understanding completely how they felt and the situations they found themselves in.

The story follows Trang ( Kim) and Quynh as they leave their village for Sai Gon; Phong, a mixed race child of an American GI and a Vietnamese mother and Dan, a former American helicopter pilot as their stories and paths converge until many decades later .

Que Mai tells a story that gives the reader a genuine insight into what life was like for different factions within war torn Vietnam and how they were treated by other groups within society.

This book touches many emotions as you read it. I felt anger at how children of mixed race were treated, both during the war and also afterwards when they tried to find biological parents and achieve a better life for themselves in America as Amerasians. how girls resorted to prostitution in order to survive and also support parents who were struggling to exist against the ravages of a war torn country. Young men and women stripped of their youth  and lives by the atrocities of war and their love for life squashed by evil and corruption.

The many strands that Que mai weaves within her book and how the past and future are brought together. and find each other, in so many ways leads to a compelling re ad that show the strength, compassion and forgiveness that can be found in all walks of life and lead us to a healing conclusion.

Dust Child is an incredible story of love, loss and forgiveness that is beautifully written and brings to our attention the history of Vietnam and the effects, both short and long term, of the war.

This is an incredible 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read.

About the Author

NGUYỄN PHAN QUẾ MAI is an award-winning Vietnamese poet and novelist. Born in the Red Delta of Northern Việt Nam, she grew up in the Mekong Delta, Southern Việt Nam. She is a writer and translator who has published eight books of poetry, short stories and non-fiction in Vietnamese. Her debut novel and first book in English, The Mountains Sing, is an international bestseller, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and winner of the 2021 PEN Oakland/ Josephine Miles Literary Award, the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship, and others, and has been translated into fifteen languages. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and her writing has appeared in various publications including the New York Times. Quế Mai was named by Forbes Vietnam as one of the twenty most inspiring women of 2021. Dust Child is inspired by her many years working as a volunteer helping family members unite, and reflects the real-life experiences of Amerasians and their family members .