Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen narrates his new memoir in an understated tone that is a blend of tenderness and survival humor. His fierce dedication to telling his parents’ stories comes through in his voice, which is by turns forthright and emotional. In fragmented, haunting prose, he interrogates what it means to be a refugee, an immigrant, and an American. His analysis of the American colonial project, along with American imperialism in countries like Vietnam, is piercing and direct. Whether he’s discussing the small intimacies of his own and his family members’ lives as Vietnamese refugees in America or the broader sweep of history, American literary culture, and the role of artists, he remains clear-sighted, rigorous, compassionate, and reflective—A review from AudioFile.
