A review by abooknbrew2
Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I chose to read this as my historical knowledge is very limited. I had no idea what the Vietnam war was about, how it started but particularly why the US was involved. The book tends to assume the readers knowledge, so I had to do a bit of research to find out the background. To be honest I wasn’t that much the wiser, it sounded very complicated.

This book sets out to show the effects of war on ordinary civilians. People from rural farming communities who earned their money from rice. Various story lines involving different characters who eventually come together long after the war when they all seek to find answers, find parents, find children, above all find a sense of belonging and forgiveness.

The tragic stories of Trang and Quynh who leave their almost destitute family to make money in the Saigon bars where they meet up with and provide ‘companionship’ to US soldiers. Phong’s story is a poignant one, it goes back in time to when he was abandoned as a new born outside an orphanage, to Phong as a married man with a family, still looking for his parents and hoping to take his family to live in America under the Amerasian Homecoming scheme, where he hopes his fortunes will change. And later Dan, an American Vietnam veteran, who allows his wife to talk him into coming back to Vietnam in the hope it will help with his PTSD. But Dan has a secret and a desire to find out what happened all those years ago and what happened to one of the bar girls he had a relationship with at the time.

It’s a story that covers many years, much misfortune and suffering but ultimately ends with hope and forgiveness. It’s fictional but based on many real life stories the author has listened to during her research for a PhD and took 7 years to write.

I enjoyed it very much, though perhaps ‘enjoy’ isn’t the right word. I think it makes it all the more poignant knowing the book tells the story of many of those whose lives were affected long after the war had ended.