Dust Child: 'Dazzling. Sharply drawn and hauntingly beautiful.' Elif Shafak

(Hardback)

Available Formats

---

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

'Dazzling. Sharply drawn and hauntingly beautiful.' Elif Shafak, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees In 1969, two sisters from ruralVitNam leave their parents' home and travel to the bustling city ofSi Gn. 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 clung to. Decades later, two men wander through the streets and marketplaces of a very differentSi Gn: modern, forward-looking, healing. But neither of these men can escape the shadow of decisions made by themselves and others during a time of war. Through the interwoven stories of these four unforgettable characters, Dust Child exposes the devastating legacy of conflict, and asks what it takes to move forward. Heartfelt, suspenseful and poetic, this isNguyn Phan Qu Maiat her very best.

Reviews

'Nguyn Phan Qu Maiwill win many more readers with her powerful and deeply empathetic second novel... A heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption.'

-- Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Sympathizer

'Intricately weaved, the characters coax you into their world effortlessly. An important historical moment and Nguyen Phan Que Mai is a knowledgeable and sympathetic guide.'

-- Melody Razak, author of Moth

'Dazzling. Sharply drawn and hauntingly beautiful.'

-- Elif Shafak, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees

'Nguyen makes the suffering of the Vietnamese people during and after the war painfully real, while moving forward to reconciliationAchingly honest and ultimately hopeful; essential reading.'

-- Library Journal (starred review)

'A family epic to remember...Dust Childbrings together an unforgettable cast of characters whose lives have forever been changed by past violence. Spanning decades and disparate lives, the book deftly explores the ways we both inherit trauma and redefine our own paths forward.'

-- Chicago Review of Books

'Once again, Nguyn Phan Qu Mai has written a beautiful novel that shines a light on the history of Vietnam...Dust Childis simply stunning.'

-- Eric Nguyen, author of Things We Lost to the Water

'A heartbreaking, beautifully told, utterly unique story of love, loss, and longing that speaks to the very heart of the human experience.'

-- Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars

'Qu Mai shows us the capacity we hold to confront our pasts, for the purpose of life is not to remain intact, but to break open, to let loss be a guide, to face the echoes of longing. InDust Child, rupture leads to emotional richness and pain creates the pathways worth walking. Itruly cannot wait for the rest of the world to celebrate this book.'

-- Chanel Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Know My Name

'Well-researched, realistic, and compassionately written... This eye-opening and fascinating novel is a must-read!'

-- Le Ly Hayslip, bestselling author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places

'Nguyn Phan Qu Mai is one of the most unique storytellers of our time...She creates plots which are Dickensian in their breadth and mastery, while bravely probing the complex emotional challenges of living in a modern world full of disruption and displacement.'

-- Natalie Jenner, internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society

'An evocative tale that sheds lights on a legacy of the Vietnam war that more should know about,Nguyns love for her country and its citizens shines through the pages ofDust Child.'

-- Jing-Jing Lee, author of How We Disappeared

'Scenes of past and present Vit Nam come alive in these pages... With her generous heart and unmatched ability to write across languages and cultures, Qu Mai is the perfect guide for the wounded who search for home and healing.'

-- Thi Bui, author of The Best We Could Do

'From the author of the bestselling bookThe Mountains Singcomes this epic story of those who lived through the Vit Nam conflict or were otherwise deeply affected by it decades later.'

-- Ms Magazine, 'Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2023'

'Through compelling multilayered fiction, Nguyn intimately humanizes war's victims, regardless of nationalities Nguyn deftly wields her own polyglot talents to reclaim lives too long overlooked.'

-- Shelf Awareness

Author Bio

Nguyn Phan Qu Maiis an award-winning Vietnamese poet and novelist. She is the author of eleven books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Her debut novel and first book in English,The Mountains Sing, is an international bestseller and runner-up in the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Winner of the Blogger's Book Prize 2021 and the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award among other awards. For more information, visit: nguyenphanquemai.com