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A review by bawallington
The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen
3.0
"Only ten days had passed since the fall of Saigon, but I felt as though I had accelerated into adulthood with no brakes." -The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood, Kien Nguyen
Following the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese Communist forces, Kien Nguyen - the son of a wealthy Vietnamese woman and an American GI who has returned to the U.S. - finds himself in a country rapidly changing into a place hostile to the old ways of capitalism and to the "Amerasian" children that have been left behind. For ten years, he endures alienation, poverty, and torment as he and his family struggle to flee to a better life.
CW: death, torture, police/government brutality, animal abuse & death, sexual assault
The events of Kien's childhood are brutal and deeply upsetting - and difficult - to read. To be honest, I almost dreaded ending my day with more scenes of abject misery. The story and perspective he shares, however, is one that I feel is often missing from the American-centric Vietnam War and post-war narratives. What happened to the people, the children, that were (quite literally) left behind? It's important, but it's so hard to read and reflect on. I also felt that his retelling was all event, little reflection or processing - "and then this happened and then this and then this and then this" - which is just not my preference when it comes to memoir. But how do you assign meaning to the worst possible things that could happen to you? It's tough. But I think it's ultimately just not for me.
Following the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese Communist forces, Kien Nguyen - the son of a wealthy Vietnamese woman and an American GI who has returned to the U.S. - finds himself in a country rapidly changing into a place hostile to the old ways of capitalism and to the "Amerasian" children that have been left behind. For ten years, he endures alienation, poverty, and torment as he and his family struggle to flee to a better life.
CW: death, torture, police/government brutality, animal abuse & death, sexual assault
The events of Kien's childhood are brutal and deeply upsetting - and difficult - to read. To be honest, I almost dreaded ending my day with more scenes of abject misery. The story and perspective he shares, however, is one that I feel is often missing from the American-centric Vietnam War and post-war narratives. What happened to the people, the children, that were (quite literally) left behind? It's important, but it's so hard to read and reflect on. I also felt that his retelling was all event, little reflection or processing - "and then this happened and then this and then this and then this" - which is just not my preference when it comes to memoir. But how do you assign meaning to the worst possible things that could happen to you? It's tough. But I think it's ultimately just not for me.