Dust Child
Dust Child by Phan Quế Mai Nguyễn is a poignant exploration of love, family, and redemption set against the backdrop of wartime Việt Nam. Published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill on March 5, 2024, this edition spans 368 pages and is presented in English. The narrative unfolds in 1969, following sisters Trang and Quỳnh as they leave their rural village to work in a bar in Sài Gòn, where they navigate complex relationships with American GIs. The story also weaves in the experiences of Dan, an American veteran returning to Việt Nam, and Phong, the son of a Black American soldier, as they confront the lasting impacts of their pasts.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of interconnected lives as past and present collide, revealing the choices made during a tumultuous time. The characters grapple with their histories and seek healing and understanding across cultural and generational divides. Dust Child delves into themes of war, cultural heritage, and the quest for identity, offering a narrative that resonates with the complexities of human experience. Through its immersive storytelling, the book invites reflection on how individuals can redefine their destinies amidst the shadows of their legacies.
Official synopsis Publisher
Finalist for the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. The author of the award-winning The Mountains Sing returns with a suspenseful and moving saga of wartime love, family, loss, and redemption set in Việt Nam.
In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village to work in a bar in Sài Gòn. Once in the big city, the young girls learn how to drink and flirt (and more) with American GIs in return for money.
Decades later, an American veteran, Dan, returns to Việt Nam with his wife, Linda, hoping to find a way to heal from his PTSD; instead, secrets he thought he had buried surface and threaten his marriage. At the same time, Phong–the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman–embarks on a search to find both his parents and a way out of Việt Nam to a better life in the United States for himself, his wife Bình, and his children.
Past and present converge as these characters come together to confront decisions made during a time of war–decisions that reverberate throughout one another’s lives and ultamately allow them and find common ground across race, generation, culture, and language. Immersive, moving, and lyrical, Dust Child tells an unforgettable story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies with hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy.
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