The plot of this French/English author’s debut novel is quite simple- after the Americans leave Vietnam to the communists, a large South Vietnamese family plan to escape to America, but only three adolescences make it even as far as a refugee camp in Hong Kong and eventually to Britain, not the U.S. But that is just the skeletal plot as the emotional trauma takes its toll, and the reflections on remorse and grief and the musings about the deeper meaning of life move to the forefront.
Most of the writing is straightforward narrative of the three surviving family members, but there is also a lot of history including the racism of Thatcher’s Britain. There is also fanciful thoughts of the deceased ghosts, and a few musings that seem to be those of the author, reflected in first person singular narrative.
“ ‘There is a tradition in the Vietnamese culture’ he said. They believe that you need to give your dead a proper burial in their hometown. If not, their souls are cursed to wander the earth aimlessly as ghosts.”
The life in crowded refugee camps is described in detail.
“As they grew older, the lack of privacy was becoming more burdensome; they could hide nothing except their thoughts and sometimes even those seemed to be on display.”
The grieving process is analyzed in some detail.
“ There is a proper way to grieve in the eyes of others…. But there is a part of grieving that occurs behind the curtains, a part that is just for us and the deceased…. It is in this private communion that we can find solace.”
Racism is still very much in evidence during the Covid endemic as the Vietnamese are looked at with derision.
“She didn’t steal anyone’s job and she didn’t get in trouble with the law. She had followed all the rules and been a model citizen. Yet when people looked at her, all they saw was otherness.”
A remarkable realistic and sober well-written book.
4.5/5
Thanks Jean.
The Passionate Reader 