Dust Child

Dust Child is one of my favorite books of the year✨ oh my!! this book was a lesson in history, human connection, and sacrifice. this was the first time I read about Viet Nam from the Vietnamese perspective and to say it was enlightening is an understatement Nguyên Phan Qué Mai delves into the complexities of war and the difficult decisions made when survival is your only option. To truly grapple with the lasting impacts of war on communities who sought freedom but are left with anything but. This book made me question what we are taught in school and the importance of books to broaden our understanding of the human experience from diverse perspectives I am in awe of the courage and determination of Qué Mai and forever grateful for her gifting us this story. Before this book, I had never heard about Amerasians. I had never heard the term dust child. I had never considered that besides the destruction and displacement of people, there are babies born who are labeled enemies and as such are inflicted with the pain and hatred truly designated for the individuals who have since returned to their countries. To know that these children became orphans and then unable to identify who their parents are because they have no documentation. To live a life on the outskirts longing for love and belonging but being bullied, ostracized, and forgotten because of your differences is absolutely heartbreaking. but it is interesting to see how racism shapes societies around the world as if it is a fundamental part of human nature. I could rave about this book for days from the writing style, character development, pacing, and plot I was completely swept away. I was fully immersed in the characters’ journeys and that twist had me SHOOK!!! listen friends when you pick this one up, don’t read the synopsis. just dive in and enjoy the journey🫶🏾 Thank you @nguyenphanquemai_ @algonquinbooks for the gifted copy! I had the pleasure of discussing this book with my book club and wow what a beautiful discussion💕

“Many GI kids were homeless. We called them bui doi, which means the dust of life…Because of our skin color, people think we’re dirty, low class. Because I’m the child of an American soldier, some people consider us the enemy…Everyone came from dust and would one day return to dust. Life was transitory, after all.” So begins the premise for Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s Dust Child, a dual timeline novel braiding together the disparate stories of an American Vietnam War Vet, two sisters employed as bar girls during the Vietnam War, and a Dust Child abandoned by his parents in the wake of the Vietnam War. For one of the bar girls, outside war rages, but inside is an inferno of love. “Her involvement with Dan, just like his country’s involvement in Viet Nam, was a mistake. Both caused irreparable damage, leaving the Vietnamese to clean up the mess.” They’ve “inherited our horrible war.” Forty years later, Dan returns to make amends. But his journey leads him to confront some ugly biases along the way. “All his life, he’d expected people from around the world to know English, to translate their life experiences to serve people like him…Interested? Help? Ha! No way. They’re selfish, self-centered, and ignorant. They wanted you to dig up your past to satisfy their curiosity. They don’t really care about you nor me. They live privileged lives and they consider us dirt.” All of the characters–and readers–discover that they “could love a person beyond their language, skin color, and nationality…love was stronger and more powerful than any war….Heaven had blessed people with their different skin colors, and regardless of their differences, they were beautiful in their own ways.” “We should always look past people’s actions and try to understand their reasons.” “Rough seas make better seamen, but…wars made tougher women.” The day each man went to Viet Nam in 1969 was also the day that each woman became a soldier, and they hadn’t stopped fighting. Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s Dust Child is a tribute to “the countless women whose lives had been nothing but firewood in the furnace of wars.”