Essays

Author Viet Thanh Nguyen on the struggles of being a refugee in America

Posted on March 3, 2018  |  Leave a comment

David Canfield of Entertainment Weekly offers an exclusive excerpt of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s introduction to The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives, to be released on April 10th. For his next project, acclaimed author Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) has taken on the role of editor. Nguyen has edited the upcoming essay collection The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives,… (read more)

Learning to Listen from My Son

Posted on January 20, 2018 | Leave a comment

Originally published in the New York Times. LOS ANGELES — A bathroom at 4:45 a.m. is quiet. I try to wake at this time, three…(read more)

The Forgotten Victims of Agent Orange

Posted on September 15, 2017 | Leave a comment

This New York Times article, co-authored with Richard Hughes, confronts the lack of recognition and reparations for the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange. Phan Thanh…(read more)

The Great Vietnam War Novel Was Not Written by an American

Posted on May 2, 2017 | Leave a comment

Viet Thanh Nguyen writes on the many Vietnamese-American works ignored by both the American and Vietnamese mainstream. This article was originally published by the…(read more)

In Praise of Doubt and Uselessness

Posted on April 24, 2017 | Leave a comment

The following article by Viet Thanh Nguyen was originally published by the Los Angeles Times. Almost exactly 20 years ago, I arrived in Los…(read more)

Vietnamese and Vietnamese American Lit: A Primer from Viet Thanh Nguyen

Posted on February 25, 2017 | Leave a comment

“Sometimes people have said that I give voice to the voiceless Vietnamese. If you know anything about Vietnamese people, you know they are not…(read more)

Viet Thanh Nguyen on Being a Refugee, an American — and a Human Being

Posted on February 6, 2017 | Leave a comment

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Vietnam war refugee reflects on American identity. The following article was originally published in the Financial Times. I am…(read more)

Martin Luther King, Jr., on Vietnam—and Today

Posted on January 16, 2017 | Leave a comment

Martin Luther King, Jr., is best known for his speech “I Have a Dream.” Relatively few people know of his speech “Beyond Vietnam,” delivered…(read more)

Trump Is a Great Storyteller. We Need to Be Better.

Posted on December 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

Viet published an op-ed in the New York Times about storytelling in the age of Trump. Here is the unedited, 1400-word version. The link…(read more)

Kissinger: The View From Vietnam

Posted on November 29, 2016 | Leave a comment

One of the saddest ironies of my own history is that the United States might have achieved its goals in Southeast Asia without ever…(read more)

Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Democrats’ Failure and Our Future

Posted on November 28, 2016 | Leave a comment

This essay by Viet Thanh Nguyen was originally published by the Los Angeles Times. Donald Trump has triumphed, an accomplishment that many, except his…(read more)

The End of the Empire: On Donald Trump’s Victory

Posted on November 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

This commentary originally appeared in The New York Times on November 9, 2016. Worst-case scenario in the next four years: fascism, a wall, mass…(read more)

The Hidden Scars All Refugees Carry

Posted on September 7, 2016 | Leave a comment

The following oped by Viet Thanh Nguyen was originally published by The New York Times. Many people have characterized my novel, “The Sympathizer,” as…(read more)

Viet Thanh Nguyen: Winning the Pulitzer Changed the Value of My Book and Myself

Posted on July 26, 2016 | Leave a comment

The author recalls the dreamlike state in which he wrote his Pulitzer-winning novel The Sympathizer, and wishes for the private joy he felt while writing…(read more)

Reconsidering the Work of a Chinese Immigrant Writer of the 1930s

Posted on July 24, 2016 | Leave a comment

Viet Thanh Nguyen reviews Hua Hsu’s A Floating Chinaman: Fantasy and Failure Across the Pacific. Originally posted as a New York Times Book Review…(read more)

The Immigrant’s Fate Is Everyone’s

Posted on July 7, 2016 | Leave a comment

The following article was originally published in the July 11, 2016 issue of TIME. I am an immigrant. I am also a human being, an…(read more)