This is a beautifully written, incredibly moving story with strong characters. Their character development was beguiling. I found it thought provoking and intense but also an enjoyable read. I will be looking out for this author.

This epic read is told from three different POV, both during and after the Vietnam war …
Phong, the son of a Black American GI abandoned by his mother outside an orphanage.
Trang, a young Vietnamese woman working as a bar girl ‘entertaining’ the troops in order to support her family.
Dan, an American veteran returning to Vietnam to right his wrongs.

Having read a couple of other books recently about this period I’d say this was the most enlightening. I had no idea about the plight of the Amerasians and the discrimination they face, this brilliantly written book is a timely reminder of the after effects of war

A hauntingly beautiful book about the legacy of war and generational trauma. Poetic writing that breaks your heart and heals it too

The story is told over a dual timeline and multiple perspectives. The story is beautifully written and is so lyrical. It’s so emotional

Another stunning historical fiction. I love this author for creating incredible characters that I connect with and can’t wait to read more about

'Dust Child’ is a novel beautifully written by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. I thought Que Mai did an excellent job of portraying the brutal reality of the Vietnam war, for everyone involved. The story is in turns heartbreaking and uplifting. I loved it and can't wait to read more of Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s work. Do stay tuned for the Author’s Note at the end where Que Mai talks about her process and further resources, should you wish to read more about the themes within the book.

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai has done it again, what a fantastic read this is. I devoured it in 24 hours...which isn't easy with a 3 month old! That's how gripping it was!

After absolutely loving The Mountains Sing, I was so excited to read this next novel and it certainly met my expectations. 

The story centres around the children of Vietnamese women and American soldiers during the war - known as Amerasian, a term I hadnt heard before. They were known as 'children of the dust', seen as illegitimate and associated with the enemy. 

This is a very emotive novel which gently educates on the history of the Vietnam war and the legacy it has left for all involved. Because of the clever way the plot is designed, we learn about the impact of the war on the women, the men and the children.

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is certainly on my list of favourite authors, can't wait to read the next one!

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Multi-point-of-view story from the perspectives of an American GI, a teenage girl, and a mixed heritage (Black and Vietnamese) Amerasian man during and after the "Vietnam War".

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai crafts an intricate, twisty, messy set of narratives that join up in ways I was not prepared for. Themes include guilt, shame, PTSD, anti-Blackness, anti-Asian hate, war, sexism, sex work, poverty, border and immigration politics.

So rich in telling this achingly sad story in which none of the characters win. A must read for colleagues and students interested in Miss Saigon.

Easily one of my books of the year.

Such an interesting book and the authors note at the end explained why. Having done so much research this was guaranteed to lead to a detailed story. It felt like being right inside what was happening.
It was good to have the chapters split between times and characters as this gave a nice rounded view.

Another FANTASTIC novel from Nguyen Phan Que Mai. She writes exquisitely of Vietnam and its people - having lived in Vietnam, I always feel like I'm transported back when I read her novels <3

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bolinda audio for approving me for an ARC of this book.

🪷Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war we are given a story that is not only beautiful but devastating too.

😢It’s impossible not to shed a tear or two when reading this. Whilst the characters are entirely fictional you know that the story is based on real events and many faced these awful circumstances.

⌛The multiple POVs and switching between past and present gave the story the pace it needed. Whilst I had figured out some of the end results I was still left with one or two surprising twists at the end.

⭐Overall this story will give you many perspectives of not just the Vietnam war but the aftermath too. It will show the devastation, turmoil and hope they all faced whilst giving you characters to root for. A truly emotional book filled with a lot of heart.

I ran out of time to read this before the archive date, but I was fully gripped by the opening on the book and the overall premise. I plan to purchase the book and finish reading it, as I think it’ll be a great read!

Powerful, beguiling novel.
This book is so well written, there are three main story lines, the first one is about Phong a Amerasian left as a newborn at an orphanage, second one is about two sisters Trang and Quynh who gt work in a bar to help their parents get out of debt, thirdly Dan, a war veteran and his wife Linda, who go to Saigon for a holiday, but Dans underlying purpose is to find his child.
The story is gripping leading one to believe Dan is the father of Phong, there is a breathtaking moment when they meet, but this leads to disappointment on both sides.
The sisters are well bought up and revere their parents who have got themselves into debt, when a friend suggests they accompany her into the city to get work they go with her only to find it is bar work entertaining American G.I.s, the only real money they can make is by accompanying men to private rooms. Although at first Quynh the older one is more sensible, she falls in love with Dan and moves into an apartment with him. The pressures of the war start to take their toll on Dan and he gets moody and violent. When Quynh reveals that she is pregnant he leaves her.
Phong applies for a visa to go to America, but is refused, he want to go to find his Father and for a better life for his children, he talks to Dan and Linda but refuses their money at first before getting to know them better.
This is a story of sadness, hope, racism and war. It has made me keen to find out more of the background to the war.
Thank you Nguyen and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this excellent book.

I adored The Mountains Sing so it was great to read more from this author. This book was so rich in detail, for both the characters and location. A really beautiful and memorable read.

This book is very interesting and gives a great insight into people's lives in Vietnam during the war and afterwards. Very upsetting at the treatment and abuse suffered.

This sweeping novel is a rich tapestry of stories, deftly woven together into a shimmering whole by this extraordinarily talented author. In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh have chosen to leave their rural village to find work in Sai Gon and support their parents: warily, they decide to become bar girls, flirting and eventually sleeping with American soldiers for tips, slowly eroding their strongly-held sense of morality. In 2016, veteran helicopter pilot Dan is visiting Vietnam with his wife and childhood sweetheart Linda, supposedly on a trip to experience the country he was deployed to as a young soldier and hopefully ease the PTSD he’s been experiencing ever since. Secretly, he’s planning to somehow track down Kim, a bar girl who he fell in love with and lived with while stationed in the country – and perhaps Kim’s child, who he abandoned, along with Kim, upon learning of the pregnancy. Alongside Dan’s modern day tale we meet Phong, the son of a Vietnamese woman and a Black American soldier: abandoned by both his parents, looked down on by Vietnamese society, and desperately trying to navigate an unsympathetic system in the hope of a new chance in America for him and his young family. The book’s title is a reference to bụi đời – meaning "dusty life” or “life of dust" or "dusty life" – and refers to the mixed race children born during and after the Vietnam War. As the narratives unfold, we learn how the characters enmesh, and start to get a glimpse of the true cost of war as it ripples down the generations. A stunning, unmissable read.

An absolutely beautiful read! The descriptions of place and time made me feel like I had been transported there. The characters were also beautifully written and I was so invested in the storyline. Thank you so much for this arc

This book absolutely blew me away. The Mountains Sing has been on my shelf for a while and I keep putting it off because I've heard such amazing things I was worried I would be let down. After reading Dust Child I have absolutely no fear I will be let down.

In 1969 two sisters leave their rural village with the hope of earning enough money in Sài Gòn. They don't quite get the job their parents thought they would. Instead they are flirting with American soldiers in a bar, but at least after a short while their parents will be sorted for life.

We then enter 2016, with two synchronized time lines. The first of Phong, he is the son of an American Soldier and a Vietnamese women who worked in one of the bars similar to the two sisters. The second follows Dan and his wife Linda. Dan was stationed in Vietnam during the 60s and has been struggling with PTSD since. Linda thought a way to help him would be to revisit, little does Linda know that Dan was one of the American soldiers who had a child whilst in Vietnam. There is also added timelines as all characters reflect on the past.

We follow the main three timelines throughout the book, jumping between the two present ones and the 1969 timeline. *Small spoiler* Throughout the book I thought the story was really obvious, however this took away none of the beauty of the story. Without giving too much away I was wrong
*spoiler over*.

The way that the story was written made me so invested in all of the characters. The jumps between timelines worked in such a way that I was always desperate to keep reading because at least one timeline was left with a question unanswered. I thought the timeline of Dan and Linda was beautiful for allowing me to visualize Vietnam, as Linda sees everything for the first time I was able to imagine I was also seeing it (it's also made me desperate to actually visit). Alongside the lavish time they are having we examine the poverty and hardship that Phong has faced in life due to the discrimination in Vietnam against Americasians. The 1969 storyline also enabled us to examine the war through different perspectives and link this back to present day.

I hope I have been able to do this beautiful book enough justice. You must pick it up when it comes out. I will definitely be picking myself up a physical copy as this is definitely a book I will be returning to.

I absolutely loved this book! So well written with memorable characters and stories. It made me laugh and cry and opened my eyes to a part of history I didn’t know much about. I would definitely recommend for fans of historical fiction.

A beautiful, haunting story following the Vietnam war. Many Vietnamese girls were abandoned pregnant as the US military deployed. Phong is one of these children known as a Dust Child because of his Vietnamese and African American mixed race.

A back story follows sisters Trang and Quỳnh who travel from their small village to Sài Gòn and take jobs as bar girls drinking with American GI’s,

Dan and his wife Linda about to embark on a journey to Vietnam, where they hope Dan can recover from the PTSD that plagues him following his duty. He privately wants to find a girl he left pregant and reconcile with the guilt he has carried.

Beautifully written evoking many emotions this is a wonderful read.