Dust Child is a novel about the children born of relationships between American soldiers and Vietnamese women during the war in Vietnam and the web of complicated relationships and secrets between their families. It follows sisters Trang and Quynh, who work in a bar in Saigon; an American veteran named Dan returning to face his painful past; and Phong, an abandoned Amerasian boy—half Black and half Vietnamese—, who is struggling to survive and spends his life trying to find his parents and a way to immigrate to the US, facing discrimination in his home country.

Such an incredible story. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is truly a master of intergenerational family stories and humanizing each and every character she writes, despite the preconceived notions that may exist about their identities. This interwoven journey is backed by the author’s years of interviews and research and touches on family, identity, race, imperialism, war, violence against women, trauma and mental health, rejection, healing, compassion, complicated family ties, and more. It truly has something for everyone and a story that will touch everyone. No spoilers, but the ending made me feel SO much!

I’m in awe of Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s mission and ability to tell stories that increase understanding, compassion, reconciliation, and healing in this world. This book is very different from The Mountains Sing, but while they’re both beautiful and touching, I think I may have ever liked this one more than the last. It was so masterfully told and kept me absolutely glued.

If there is one main thing I have learned from this book, it’s that war hurts all of us. It tears loved ones apart and leaves lifelong and generational wounds, and no one is left unscathed. I, too, hope one day we will have a world without war.

Thank you so much to Algonquin Books for the advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review, and thank you to Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai for her hard work and dedication in bringing this story to the world!

The historical fiction genre and history in general has an incredibly Eurocentric focus. There are so many more stories to tell, wars and injustices to be upset over, and geographies to explore. Nguyen writes my favorite kind of historical fiction. Emotional, captivating, transporting you to its setting, and teaching you history in a way you've never learned along the way.

With Dust Child, Nguyễn explores the lives of children born to Vietnamese mothers, fathered by American soldiers. In the current time, we follow Phong -- now an adult after growing up an orphan born to a Vietnamese mother and a black father -- as he tries to find his parents for a chance to move to America. Dan, an American veteran, and his wife Linda are visiting Vietnam for Dan to heal from his PTSD; unbeknownst to Linda, Dan is also searching for the child he fathered with a bar girl. In 1969, we see sisters Trang and Quỳnh leave their village to become “bar girls” in Sài Gòn, where Trang gets swept off her feet by an American soldier.

I finished Dust Child over the weekend and absolutely loved it. There are a lot of layers to peel with this one, lots of perspectives to think about, and a lot to discuss. The characters were nuanced and felt real with their flaws, desires and thoughts.

Thank you so much to Algonquin Books and the author for this beautiful novel.

The Vietnam War was a time of great sorrow and Dust Child attests to that. Grave atrocities were endured by the Americans and the Vietnamese, which continue today through the number of forgotten Amerasian children left behind by American soldiers. The children were often left in orphanages or on the streets while their mothers lived in abject poverty.

Although fictionalized, Dust Child is still an excellent account of those forgotten women and children. The author brought Vietnamese life, language, and discrimination against Black citizens to light as she wrote about the character, Phong, and his search for his parents. Some of the stories of children who searched for their American fathers, but were ignored or rejected, are heartbreaking. I found time periods throughout the book a bit abrupt at times, but overall, Dust Child was an exceptional read which I highly recommend.

I will never forget the story Que Mai Phan Nguyen weaves in her masterful DUST CHILD. From the start, I was transfixed by a time and world I have ever known, appreciating the art and enjoying the tale incorporating the Viet Nam war and the aftermath. Nguyen makes human and relatable the statistics, the acronyms, and the shorthand we use to describe the reality of a complex world changed forever by that war and its consequences. I found parts of the book hard to read -- and that is more the talent and the unblinking willingness of the author to share deep characters, logical outcomes, and impossible dilemmas. Truly beautifully written. A masterwork.

📖Pub Day Book Review📖

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Another breathtaking and poignant book by Quế Mai! Many books have been written about the Vietnam war, but I have yet to read one this unique and compelling.

In this latest work, she writes about mixed race children that were born from the war time relationships between American servicemen and Vietnamese women. Unfortunately, these children, often shunned by their biological fathers and their own communities, were frequently given up and placed in orphanages.
Quế Mai‘s inspiration for the story is very personal in that she has spent many years helping Amerasians be reunited with their biological families.

Quế Mai humanizes Vietnamese women that worked in the service of US servicemen. They were treated as objects, often being abused by their clients. She shows how strong, intelligent and determined these women were, but certainly not untouched by the horrors of war.

The chapters alternate between different characters. Phong, an Amerasian who was left at an orphanage as an infant, has longed to find his parents. Dan, a veteran plagued by PTSD, travels to Vietnam to confront his demons. Finally, Trang and Quynh travel to Saigon from their families’ rice farm to become bar girls and send money back home. The way the stories of each character weave into each other is so beautiful and done in such a skillful way.

I will read anything Quế Mai writes! I crave her books, not only because I always learn so much, but because she brings to life stories that need to be told, voices that need to be heard. I am so grateful that I get to experience her artistry.

Thank you @algonquinbooks and @netgalley for the e-arc!

Dust Child is a beautifully written book about Amerasian children born during the Vietnam War. It will not only break your heart, it will rip it out. The book will leave you in tears not only from the sadness that the characters endure, but from the love that can come out of that tragedy and sadness. Each of the main characters is so deeply written, you can feel their desperation, anger, love, and every emotion they feel. In the US, we don't read much about the Vietnam War, but like much else in our history, the stories must be told. Do your book group favor and suggest this wonderful book.

Thank you @AlgonquinBooks for the #gifted eARC of DUST CHILD!

I finished this book last week and I’m still struggling to put into words how beautifully written and powerful this book is. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is a tremendous writer and you can tell she did enormous amounts of research while writing this book.

Each of the characters are grappling with the effects of the Vietnam War on their lives. The book tells the stories of several characters switching between 1969 and 2016. Phong, the child of an American soldier and a Vietnamese woman, are searching for family and a shot at a better life in America. Trang and her sister Quynh just want to survive the war and help their parents out of their massive debts. Dan is returning to Vietnam in hopes that it will help his post-traumatic stress from his service as a helicopter pilot during the war.

Throughout the book, each of these characters meet additional characters who also were deeply impacted by the war in different ways. It became clear to me that truly no one was left untouched by this terrible war, no matter what side you were on.

The breadth of the trauma and healing covered is masterful. Your heart will ache. But there are also moments of joy and understanding. DUST CHILD will definitely be one of my favorite books 2023 and I have a feeling it will stick with me long after this year.

I cannot wait to read whatever the author writes next. She is truly talented and I have learned so much through both of her books. Thank you for telling these stories Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai!

DUST CHILD is out March 14!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5381353514
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TW: graphic/violent depictions of sex work, war related PTSD/flashbacks

In Dust Child, we follow the interwoven stories of Trang and her younger sister Quỳnh as they leave their rural village to become bar girls in Sài Gòn in 1969, American veteran Dan and his wife Linda as they come to Vietnam to face Dan's past forty years after the war, and Phong, the orphaned son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman - a "dust child", as he reflects on his experiences and continues his search for identity and acceptance as a grown man with a family of his own.

Dust Child is the product of the author's work with Amerasian and veteran parent reconciliation programs and research she conducted for her PhD. I think this is a huge thing to note - the fictionalized stories found in Dust Child are rooted in information from real-life interviews, reading, and research about the lives of those on both sides of the Vietnam War, and those who were largely forgotten about once the conflict was "over," And these stories are devastating.

I read and was wholly captivated by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's first novel in English, The Mountains Sing, in January of this year. It is also set during the Vietnam War and centers a family from North Vietnam, while Dust Child is set in the south. For me, Dust Child was a slightly less nuanced story than her first novel, but what I continue to love about Nguyễn's writing is that she manages to weave hope and compassion into these novels about the horrific realities and cruelties of war. She gives us the opportunity to read about the lived experience of people on all sides of the conflict through her stories and humanizes them all - individuals striving for what seems best for their families or their countries and trying to survive the horrors and lasting trauma of war.

I'm interested to learn more about the children, like Phong, left behind by the war and I'm grateful to the author for a wealth of resources in her author's note and acknowledgments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read this book for review. All opinions are my own.

Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế was born and raised in Vietnam and is the author of many books including the award winning "The Mountains Sing". This new release is set in Vietnam in both 1969 and 2016 and deals with the effects of the war on the Vietnamese civilians and the many Amerasian children fathered by the American troops. In 1969 we meet two sisters who move to Saigon to become bar girls to help their parents pay their debts. While they thought they were only going to be flirting with the American soldiers, they quickly learned that to earn real money they needed to do more. In 2016 we meet Dan (a Vietnam vet) and Linda, who have come to Vietnam to hopefully help Dan deal with his PTSD and, unknown to Linda, Dan hopes to find the woman and child he left behind when he returned home many years ago. We also meet Phong, who is the son of a black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman. He, together with is wife and two children, are hoping to get a visa to go to America in search of a better life. Being dark skinned, both Phong and his children suffer prejudice as their skin is considered dirty and is a reminder that they are children of the enemy. This is a wonderful story as well as a reminder of the lasting effects of the war on the Vietnamese people. I really enjoyed it.

Sisters Tranh and Quỳnh, Amerasian Phong, and Dan, who served as a helicopter pilot during the war tell this story of Vietnam. Moving between the 1960s and 1970s and the present, it's both tragic and uplifting. Tranh and Quynh moved to Saigon to work in bars to help pay their family's debt and save for their own futures but life as bar girls is not as simple as was portrayed to them. Tranh falls in love but then things begin to fall apart. At the same time, Phong is left hanging in a bundle from a tree in front of an orphanage. He's taken in and cared for by one of the nuns, even after they are forced from Saigon. He's struggled mightily and now he's trying to get visas for himself and his family to move to the US. Dan's wife Linda brought him to Vietnam in the hope that the trip would help him to resolve his lingering PTSD and guilt. It might be clear how several of these people are related but Phong- who are Phong's parents? The author saves a small twist of the knife for the end of this beautifully written and atmospheric novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Very good read.

My first introduction to this author was recent, when I read her debut for a book club. Thus, I was pretty excited to see another release from her coming out soon.

Dust Child was both a very emotional, yet educational read for me. I feel as if there is so much I never knew about the Vietnamese War and the repercussions to both the American soldiers and the Vietnamese people. Dust Child is told in alternating timelines from back in 1969 and in modern day, 2016, and it tells the stories of a few intermingling characters. Phong, an Amerasian, trying to get his family to America after a lifetime of racism and hardship; Dan, an American war vet coming back to Vietnam to find the woman and child he left behind; and Trang, the woman Dan left behind.

I don’t know how, but despite the desperation and traumatic events all the characters go through, at the end, I was left with this feeling of happiness and hopefulness. It’s as if Dust Child is the story of resiliency and hope.

Overall, a fantastic read. Thank you to Algonquin Books for the review copy.

I was a huge fan of the author’s first book, The Mountains Sing, which opened my eyes to colonialism and the toll the unrest and wars took on families in Viet Nam. I was very excited to read the sophomore offering Dust Child, which continues with the edification of the reader through fiction to the costs of war.

Dust Child tells the story of the VietNam War and it’s fall out from the perspective of an American Soldier and his wife both during the war and 40 years later, of young women drawn to the capital during the war hoping to find jobs, and of a Amerasian child born to one of those women and a Black American Soldier. The pain and suffering is intense throughout this book, and Nguyen does not pull back from the violence of war, but she does not dwell and writhe in it either. Instead there is a balance that is achieved between the beauty of VietNam and the horrors of war.

This book is a fictionalization of stories Nguyen collected during her PhD. The level of research shows in all aspects of the plot and creation of the place. I have yet to visit VietNam, but I felt comfortable with the space throughout.

The characters are layered and well constructed. The misunderstandings are palpable and frustratingly real. The ending does feel a bit contrived. The fact that all the surviving characters find some level of peace and connection by the end felt a little sugary in the delivery, even as complexity was introduced. Maybe I just don’t trust a happy ending, even a partial one.

Thoughts

In the author's notes you learn that it took Que Mai seven years to write this book because she did a lot of research and actually worked with Amerasian's and their families to be reunited. This really shows throughout the book. Even without knowing about the topic you can tell how well researched it was. And with something this important that is something that I admire. You can feel Que Mai's heart in the stories told in this book.

There are three main perspectives in this book. The perspective of an Amerasian growing up in Viet Nam, the perspective of a young woman having to work as a bar girl during the war, and an solider from the United States. Que Mai writes all of these perspectives with compassion and empathy. She really illustrates the effects of war on everyone involved.

I haven't read The Mountains Sing but I know it has received high praise and I can imagine why now. It will definitely move up my tbr after reading this stunning novel.

This book is out March 14th 2023. Make sure you read this book and learn more about what happened after the United States left Viet Nam. This one will definitely go in my must read stack.

Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Algonquin and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC!

I'd only heard great things about Nguyen Phan Que Mai and The Mountains Sing prior to this so I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to read her latest. This story is told on a dual timeline, primarily set during and 45 years after the Vietnam War, by multiple narrators: a biracial orphan searching for a way to emigrate to the US, an American veteran still haunted by his past, and a young woman trying to survive the war and provide for her family. Altogether, their stories intertwine across decades of trauma.

The historical fiction genre needs more stories like this. Too often, readers get the white-washed, watered-down versions of the truth in order to feel good about and absolved from the past. Que Mai challenges that by telling the hard truths and consequences of war, and the ones who get left behind. The honesty in this book is what makes it so beautiful; she gives the people of Vietnam a voice. We see the war from the non-white lens, and it isn't as black-and-white as most history books make it seem.

Dust Child is a must-read and now I know why Nguyen Phan Que Mai is so highly acclaimed. The book is out on March 14.

Thank you to NetGalley & Algonquin Books/Algonquin Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Mountains Sing was such a powerful book that I was very excited to read this story as I have a strong connection to Vietnam. I travelled from South to North Vietnam in 2014 and it became one of my favourite places on earth to visit. The people were so absolutely kind & gracious it still brings tears to my eyes to think about . Throughout my travels I visited many of the museums and memorials showcasing the horrors of the war that so many of the beautiful people I met were subjected to. I also visited where the Mỹ Lai massacre occurred that the author mentions in the book. To say that the the Vietnamese are strong & resilient is an understatement. The violence, death, & horror they lived through is unimaginable.

This story sheds light on so many important parts of history that so many people do not know about. Yes these characters were fictional but the stories come from real events.

Dan the American war veteran coming back to visit a place that literally broke him through a violent war. Linda his wife who is a kind soul having to live with a man living so much in the past and still suffers from so much trauma. Trying to help make amends through bringing Dan back to Hồ Chí Minh City, not knowing Dan has such a secret from his time living in Vietnam.

Phong an orphan Amerasian trying to find his father after living a very hard life on the streets.

Sisters Trang and Quỳnh broke my heart. To know so many young women suffered and had no choice but to work in those bars is awful. My favourite quote from this book comes from Quỳnh which I felt was so beautiful and powerful:

“People who died young are said to have supernatural powers, and she believed this now. She believed in the blessings of the dead, and the interconnectedness of life. And she believed that all stories relating to the war were connected, one way or another, by blood.”

This quote reflects the beliefs that so many people I met in Vietnam believe. We are all connected, we must believe that everything and everyone has a purpose in this life and that they help guide us all even after they leave for the afterlife.

My hope for the story is a happy ending where Dan finds Hoa. When Trang is speaking about her love for her daughter in the story I couldn’t help but sob because her time with her daughter was cut so short. Truly one of the most heart wrenching parts of a book that I have read.

The way that this story weaves characters together and connects so much love, heartbreak, history and tragedy will stick with me for a long time. This story is important and I hope it encourages people to look into the history of Vietnam and to travel and explore the beautiful country & meet the amazing people of Vietnam for themselves firsthand.

The mark of great historical fiction is a story’s ability to transport me to a completely different time and place and teach me something new along the way. DUST CHILD by #ownvoice author Nguyen Phan Que Mai does just that.

Based on the author’s research, DUST CHILD tells the story of overlooked children born of Vietnamese women and American GIs during the Vietnam war known as Amerasians.

The story is told from three distinct perspectives: an American GI and his wife who return to Vietnam years after the war, two sisters from the countryside who become “bar girls” for American soldiers during the war, and a young Amerasian man who is in search of his biologic American father.

With a vivid setting and a tale that spans generations, DUST CHILD opened my eyes to a part of history I hadn’t learned about. The author’s personal connection to the story is fascinating as her work has resulted in many Amerasians being reunited with their family members.

Read this if you like:
-Stories about an overlooked part of history
-Multiple timelines and character points of view
-A vivid Vietnamese setting highlighting a rich culture

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)
PUB DATE: March 14, 2023

Many thanks to Algonquin and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, 352 pages. Algonquin Books, 2023. $29.
Language: R (77 swears, 29 “f,” 1 “c” + Vietnamese swears); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: ADULT - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Phong is desperate for the better life that America promises for his family, but his visa is continually denied without proof that he is Amerasian. Dan has returned to Vietnam with his wife, Linda, hoping to heal his memories of the war. As these families search for the truths that were lost to war, they must also accept that war and truth are not pretty.
My understanding of the Vietnam war has always been small, glossed over between lessons on WWII and the Cold War. Nguyễn forces her characters and readers to face the effects of the Vietnam war on the people who stayed long after the bombs stopped. I enjoyed seeing how Vietnamese culture changed over time, even as I wanted to weep for all those who lost loved ones and struggled to make the best decisions they could. These intertwined stories are engrossing because they are gritty and real, even when they are uncomfortable.
Phong is half Black and half Vietnamese, Dan and Linda are White, and the majority of the other characters are Vietnamese. The mature content rating is for mentions of drugs and pornography, alcohol use, nudity, masturbation, sexual harassment, prostitution, mentions of rape, and oral and vaginal sex. The violence rating is for mentions of bombs, grenades, gun use, child abuse, domestic violence, suicide, self harm, war memories, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I have long been interested in this topic so I jumped at the opportunity to read this novel.
It’s a moving story about the effects of the Vietnam War. Soldiers who had liaisons with Vietnamese women and the children who were left behind.
Two sisters move to Saigon to pay off their family’s debts. An orphan who wants to know his history. A Vietnam War vet wants to find the woman and child he left behind,
Nguyen depicts the characters’ experiences and much of the history of the era very well.
It’s an important contribution to the understanding of a war that still has many scars.

It is 1969, during the height of the Vietnam War. Two young Vietnamese sisters are desperate to pay off their parent's debts. They leave their rural village and become "bar girls" in Sài Gòn, entertaining American GIs in return for money.

It is 2016, and an orphan of a Black American soldier & an unknown Vietnamese mother is searching for a way to immigrate to America with his family. His visa application is denied, and is told he needs proof that his dad is American.

At the same time, an American Vietnam vet lands in Sài Gòn with his wife, hoping to heal from his PTSD. In actuality, he secretly looks for the Vietnamese woman and baby he left behind all those years ago.

DUST CHILD is a beautifully written story that shatters my heart into a million pieces. Told from alternating POVs across time, the novel explores the devastating effects of war, not just on American soldiers but, most importantly, the Vietnamese people caught in the crossfire. Nguyễn delves deep into the complexities of war and its lasting impacts, showing how it affects every aspect of life, from politics to personal relationships.

One of the most potent aspects of DUST CHILD is how it shines a light on the Vietnamese people forced to choose sides during the war and those unable to leave after the war. These are important stories often overlooked, but they are just as important as those of the American soldiers.

DUST CHILD is a powerful and beautiful novel that explores the aftermath of the Vietnam War from unique and insightful perspectives. The immersive writing, multiple POVs, and unexpected plots make it a must-read for everyone.

One of the many reasons I love to read is that books have the power to transport me elsewhere and teach me new things. Dust Child, by Nguyén Phan Qué Mai, took me to a new place (Vietnam) and a different time (Vietnam War).

The storytelling and characters throughout captivated me & I didn't want to the book down! There were three different POVs and duo time lines throughout, which can sometimes confuse me, but this was done masterfully. The points of view gave perspective of shared pain amidst VERY complex experiences of the Vietnam War and its aftermath

Reading this was an emotional whirlwind. Any book that centers adoption is bound to have me in my feelings, facing my own traumas. Whereas I generally do have neat and tidy feelings about adoption, this author and her ability to transport me with her descriptions did give me neat and tidy feelings. Her writing has such purpose and her ability to share these stories that were inspired by real events was an experience I feel so lucky to have had.

Thank you to Algonquin Books and the author for this digital ARC!