The Refugees
Ratings22
Average rating3.9
“Beautiful and heartrending” fiction set in Vietnam and America from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer (Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker)
In these powerful stories, written over a period of twenty years and set in both Vietnam and America, Viet Thanh Nguyen paints a vivid portrait of the experiences of people leading lives between two worlds, the adopted homeland and the country of birth.
This incisive collection by the National Book Award finalist and celebrated author of The Committed gives voice to the hopes and expectations of people making life-changing decisions to leave one country for another, and the rifts in identity, loyalties, romantic relationships, and family that accompany relocation. From a young Vietnamese refugee who suffers profound culture shock when he comes to live with two gay men in San Francisco, to a woman whose husband is suffering from dementia and starts to confuse her with a former lover, to a girl living in Ho Chi Minh City whose older half-sister comes back from America having seemingly accomplished everything she never will, the stories are a captivating testament to the dreams and hardships of migration.
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A book of short stories for the Read Harder Challenge: Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative. These stories focus on Vietnamese refugees in the United States, all going through the life experiences we all share. Amazingly well-written. Have to add [book:The Sympathizer 23168277] to my list now.
Dette er en fin samling noveller fra forfatteren bak The Sympathizer hvor alle har til felles en berøring med det å komme fra en flyktninhebakgrunn i Vietnam. Jeg kjenner litt til et vietnamesisk miljø i Stavanger, og jeg har hele tiden dette i miljøet i tankene mens jeg leser The Refugees. Noe kan jeg tro jeg kjenner meg igjen i som unikt vietnamesisk, noe er universelt, sårt, rørende og morsomt, og spesielt historien om kvinnen som opplever at mannen er i ferd med å bli dement - eller er det virkelig mannen som er den demente (...) er gripende (I Love you to Want me - tittelen etter en sang av Lobo), eller om Phuong som vender tilbake til Saigon for å møte sin far som ble igjen i Vietnam og sin halvsøster som også heter Phuong.
Ikke alle historiene er like engasjerende, men de beste er strålende novellekunst.
I'd usually rather read a fat novel than a book of short stories, but I loved Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer, so when I saw this book on the shelf at the library I grabbed it. Of the people in this book, some are refugees from Vietnam who resettled in the US, some are the sons and daughters of those refugees, some are American soldiers who fought in Vietnam and now have to reconcile themselves to children who have decided to live there. All are fascinating in their richness. This author also has a subtle way with humor that I really enjoy. I recommend these stories highly.
