Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
“When you depart from your first anchor – your mother’s womb – you will be pulled away by unexpected currents. If you can fill your boat with enough hope, enough self-belief, enough compassion, and enough curiosity, you will be ready to weather the storms of life.”
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, acclaimed Vietnamese writer and author of The Mountains Sing (2020) delves into the lives of Amerasians – the children born to American GIs and Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War – in her latest novel, Dust Child (2023). This poignant and multilayered narrative weaves together the stories of three individuals, exploring themes of war, trauma and the quest for closure.
Dust Child revolves around two sisters who relocate from their rural hometown to Saigon in order to assist their parents in repaying a substantial debt incurred from deceitful moneylenders who threatened to seize their farmland. Trang, the older sister, and Quỳnh, her junior by a year, secure employment as hostesses at a bar, courtesy of their neighbor and friend, Han. To alleviate their parents' worries, the sisters falsely inform them that they are working in an office for an American company. Exploitation, prostitution and the hidden burdens carried by Amerasians seeking their roots are sensitively portrayed by Nguyễn, who displays a deep understanding of Vietnamese women’s treatment during the war.
“She had tried to live an honest life, but the war had given her no choice. It had forced her to make up a version of herself which was acceptable to others. In a way, making up stories had been the basis of her survival and her success.”
Knotted within this storyline are two modern narratives, each offering a unique perspective. One perspective follows Phong, a Black Vietnamese Amerasian, while the other revolves around a couple named Dan and Linda. Phong's journey begins with being abandoned by his mother and subsequently raised by a nun. He endures years on the streets alongside fellow Amerasians and fails to secure a visa to migrate to the United States. Eventually, he marries a Vietnamese woman and becomes a father to two children. Nevertheless, the profound trauma from his childhood persist, perpetuated by the enduring prejudice he faces from his fellow Vietnamese compatriots. The title Dust Child refers to the derogatory terms hurled at him throughout his life.
“Everyone came from dust and would one day return to dust. Life is transitory, after all.”
In a parallel contemporary narrative, Vietnam War veteran Dan and his wife Linda embark on a trip to Vietnam in 2016, driven by Linda's intention to help Dan heal from PTSD. However, Dan harbours a secret of his own, having fathered a child with a Vietnamese woman during the war. Nguyễn masterfully explores the dynamics of race, guilt and the search for identity through these interconnected stories of various characters.
Drawing from seven years of doctoral research on Vietnamese Amerasians, Nguyễn adeptly explores the consequences of the American presence during the war, her expertise shining through in the meticulous crafting of her narrative. Through Phong’s perspective, readers witness a lifetime of poverty, anguish and racial discrimination.
Nguyễn’s writing displays an intimate and detailed understanding of Vietnam’s history and culture. She expertly incorporates Vietnamese dialogue and proverbs, painting a vivid picture of the country’s atmosphere both during the war era and in contemporary times. Despite occasional stilted dialogue, the novel captivates readers with the grace of a page-turner, shedding light on a neglected subject. It’s worth noting that this desire for further exploration of this period in history reflects my personal engagement with the novel, speaking to the overall high quality of the storytelling.
Dust Child presents a tale of broken families spanning continents and decades. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s exploration of the Amerasian experience, war and the quest for closure is insightful and moving. If you are interested in thought-provoking literature that tackles important themes with emotional depth, Dust Child is captivating and will surely leave a lasting impression.
Emma is a British-born Hong Kong-Chinese writer. She contributes to The Mekong Review, The Hong Kong Review, Being Asian Australian, HerCanberra, Aniko Press, and Books + Publishing. Emma is the Senior Content Manager at Future Women and is devoted to amplifying Asian voices within the Australian literary landscape. She is also passionate about advocacy work in the migrant women's space. You can find her on IG @emmapeiyin