Dust Child

By Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Book Overview

Finalist for the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. The author of the award-winning The Mountains Sing returns with a suspenseful and moving saga of wartime love, family, loss, and redemption set in Việt Nam.

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village to work in a bar in S i G n. Once in the big city, the young girls learn how to drink and flirt (and more) with American GIs in return for money.

Decades later, an American veteran, Dan, returns to Việt Nam with his wife, Linda, hoping to find a way to heal from his PTSD; instead, secrets he thought he had buried surface and threaten his marriage. At the same time, Phong--the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman--embarks on a search to find both his parents and a way out of Việt Nam to a better life in the United States for himself, his wife B nh, and his children. Past and present converge as these characters come together to confront decisions made during a time of war--decisions that reverberate throughout one another's lives and ultamately allow them and find common ground across race, generation, culture, and language. Immersive, moving, and lyrical, Dust Child tells an unforgettable story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies with hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1643755781
• ISBN13: 9781643755786
• Release Date: March 2024
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

What most people didn’t realize during the Vietnam Nam War. Fascinating. A page turner!

Well researched story of the unwanted multiethnic children born as a result of the Vietnam War. Fascinating and heartbreaking. I couldn’t put the book down!

Incredible

This is such an easy read. I finished it within two days. As a child of a Amerasian parent, it is really nice to read and learn where my roots came from. The whole story really left imprint in my heart. I cried so hard. Highly recommend this book!