andrea_c 's review for:

The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

4.0

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I didn't expect to read Nguyen again so soon after finishing his debut, but I made it onto the library waitlist early for this collection. It wasn't The Sympathizer I was reminded of while reading, however, but the novel Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. Both deal with stories of people searching for a better life and an identity; and both treat their characters with immense empathy, while still acknowledging that humans are messy and imperfect and selfish creatures.