Dust Child

If you have not read Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s earlier novel, The Mountains Sing, please do. Somehow, this author manages to bring a lyrical and empathetic telling of the terror of war. Dust Child is her second extraordinary novel about the impact of war in Vietnam, written in English (English is not her first language). Nguyen Phan has worked extensively with veterans and war victims to ensure all the heartache, the destruction, and the consequences of war are told with grace and kindness for every person. This story centres on the children that are left behind in a war; those that are created through a union with a Vietnamese woman and an American soldier (‘children of the dust’) or those that leave their villages during war to make money from the American soldiers.

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village and become ‘bar girls’ in Sài Gòn. Regrettably, Trang falls in love with an American helicopter pilot, Dan. Decades later, he returns to Vietnam to reckon with his past. At the same time, Phong, the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman, searches to find both his parents and a way out of Vietnam. The characters in this epic novel chance upon each other and confront the decisions they made during war time. The repercussions allow them to share their despair and to find forgiveness despite circumstances, age, culture and language.

I urge you to read this novel. It teaches more about humanity than anything I have read for a long time. It will break your heart, but will also leave you with a great sense of hope.