Dust Child
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Dust Child
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Narrated by:
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Quyen Ngo
About this listen
In 1969, two sisters from rural Việt Nam leave their parents’ home and travel to the bustling city of Sài Gòn. Soon their lives are swept up in the unstoppable flames of a war that is blazing through their country. They begin working as ‘bar girls’ in one of the drinking dens frequented by American GIs, forced to accept that survival now might mean compromising the values they once treasured.
Decades later, two men wander through the streets and marketplaces of a very different Sài Gòn: modern, forward-looking, healing. Phong – the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman – embarks on a search to find his parents and a way out of Việt Nam, while Dan, a war veteran, hopes that retracing the steps of his youth will ease the PTSD that has plagued him for decades.
When the lives of these unforgettable characters converge, each is forced to reckon with the explosive events of history that still ripple through their lives. Now they must work out what it takes to move forward in this richly poetic saga from Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai at her very best.
©2023 Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (P)2023 Hachette AudioCritic Reviews
"Dazzling. Sharply drawn and hauntingly beautiful." (Elif Shafek, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees)
"Achingly honest and ultimately hopeful." (Library Journal, starred review)
"Another triumph! Powerful and deeply empathetic. A heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption." (Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer)
What listeners say about Dust Child
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Annie Wilson
- 13-06-2023
Beautifully crafted
Outstanding story telling, about the affects of a shameful war on all involved, and the impact of trauma on generations afterwards.
Giving multiple characters multiple voices in a positive non judgemental way.
Historical emotional humane and subtle with the lovely combination of Vietnamese and English language, winding it’s way through the novel.
I love the author’s note at the end of the novel. It gives clarification about the Vietnam war and the tragic aftermath for all involved. I was grateful for this beautiful novel.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D N
- 10-07-2023
Thought provoking
Did not know much about the impact of soldiers in the Vietnam war before listening to this. A powerful emotional story and enjoyed the narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-05-2023
Emotional, informative and well read
Dust Child centers the Amerasian experience (children born to Vietnamese mothers and American military fathers). What I found particularly impressive is Nguyễn's story is informed by her PhD research where she interviewed people with lived experience. I learned so much listening to this book and appreciated how the intertwining stories of each character captured the nuance and complexity of the impact of the war on the Vietnamese. The voice work on this reading was also very impressive.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 21-08-2024
Beautifully read and very enjoyable
The narration of this books is perfect. The blending of Vietnamese and English creates a true listening experience that I would have gotten from reading it myself.
Great story. Although the ending seemed a bit forced although how else do you end a story like this.
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