This was one of my books of 2023. I talk about it all the time. I knew nothing of the history behind Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's research and she weaves the different stories BRILLIANTLY. It's an extremely touching (but challenging) read. As a person who teaches Miss Saigon (the musical), I have found this book an extremely helpful counterpoint to some of the unhelpful messaging around it. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bolinda Audio and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Simply put this book is about the aftermath of a war, the people left behind, the land left behind and the culture left behind - all hurt, bleeding and yearning for closure. The Vietnam war stories I have heard and seen have always have been as expected from the American POV - for nothing but the obvious reason that the media in general is the western media which is the American media. Every time we see a war begin and 'end' (in the eyes of politicians and western media - because in reality in never ends) I always wonder about the people left behind to deal with the consequence.

I have heard that 'the impacts of a war will last the life times of at least 2 generations - the children born during the war and their children. This book puts it simply and clearly through the main character Phong, an Amerasian born from a Black American GI and a Vietnamese woman, he is in search for his roots to find his birth parents. Parallelly we also follow the story of 2 Vietnamese sisters Trang and Quỳnh who were cheated into working as 'bar girls' in the city to pay off the debts for their family in their village. The 2 timelines slowly merge bit by bit heartbreakingly creating a full circle. We get to see the world through the eyes of the sisters, their struggles, beliefs, hope and resilience and we get to Phong who was forever ostracised for being a dust child that too one with darker skin and how other duct children were treated.

The way our world truly and completely tortures children in different phases of life for no reason than that they exist - we are seeing that now in Palestine and we have seen it in a lot of places. For a group of animals that constantly speaks about procreating and maintaining bloodline we are truly ruthless to the children that are alive today. In the ping-pong between the 1969 and the 2016 there is a lot of heartbreak and resilience, hope and love.

This is truly one of the most heartfelt books I have read!!

This book had me engrossed from the start to the end and I found myself listening to it at every opportunity.
I enjoyed the 3 interacting stories of the main characters, set across the past and present.
The two sister's story was harrowing made even more poignant by the fact that similar must have happened to so many young Vietnamese girls during the Vietnam War.
The treatment of illegitimate children of mixed race, born from American soldiers and Vietnamese girls, described throughout the book was was distressing and heartbreaking.
However, compassion shown throughout the story by various characters was uplifting and brought a few tears to my eyes.
The Vietnam war is an area where I do not have a lot of knowledge, but listening to this book has definitely piqued my intertest and I have already ordered, and look forward to reading, The Mountains Sing by the same author.

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai's "The Dust Child" is a profound and emotionally charged novel that deep-dives into the enduring scars of the Vietnam War. Set across dual timelines, it intertwines the fates of four characters: sisters Trang & Quỳnh, who leave their rural home in 1969 to work as "bar girls" in Sài Gòn, Dan, a war veteran, and Phong, an Amerasian searching for his roots, in the present day.

The sisters' story is one of sacrifice and survival, highlighting the difficult choices made during wartime. Decades later, Dan's and Phong's narratives explore the lingering trauma and the quest for identity in a rapidly changing Vietnam. The emotional depth of these interconnected stories paints a vivid picture of love, loss, and resilience against the backdrop of Vietnamese culture and history.

Quyen Ngo's narration of the audiobook adds an evocative layer to this already powerful tale, capturing the distinct voices and emotions of each character with remarkable authenticity. The author's note at the end provides valuable insight into the historical context and personal inspirations behind the novel, enriching the reader's understanding of the narrative's significance.

"The Dust Child" is not just a story about war, but a testament to the human spirit's capacity for healing and hope. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai masterfully blends history and fiction, creating a poignant saga that stays with you long after the final page. For anyone interested in multi-perspective narratives, war trauma, and the rich tapestry of Vietnamese culture, this book is an absolute must-read.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Bolinda Audio, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC in audiobook format and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

If you are interested in other of my book reviews, make sure to follow me on GoodReads! #TheDustChild #NetGalley #LifeLongLearning

It took me forever to listen to this audiobook. This is partly down to the slow pace and partly to the predictability of the plots. After a while I didn't feel the urge to go on - I knew already what we were heading to. Nevertheless, I finished the book.

The storytelling is emotional and beautiful but also depressing. Tears are flowing throughout the book, which is just natural given the topic.

I enjoyed the narrator's authentic performance with the local language, names and lullabies, and I strongly recommend the audio version.

What I definitely didn't like is the arrogant US perspective, the patronizing tone and the sugar coated ending.

Dust Child is not a war story per se, but it is a story resulting from war. During the Vietnam war, many soldiers became fathers to half American/half Vietnamese children. The story is told in two timelines, in 1969 during the war and in 2016 when Dan, a veteran heads to Vietnam to put closure to his experiences there. This book opens in 1969 with a family in a small village who were victims of fraud and are now struggling. The father came back from the war with mental health issues, and their two daughters, Trang and Quỳnh, are working in the rice fields trying to support their family as well as pay off debts. They are convinced by another young woman from their village to move to Sài Gòn and become "bar girls". Trang develops a relationship with a US soldier and becomes pregnant. He leaves Vietnam and goes home, before he knows she is pregnant. The second storyline introduces us to Phong, an Amerasian, the son of a Vietnamese woman and a Black American GI, who grew up as an orphan without ever knowing his parents. He’s in Sài Gòn with his wife and children hoping to discover the identity of his parents and a way for his family to reach America. He is called bụi đời, the “dust of life,” by the Vietnamese, thus the title of this book. Phong has been discriminated against and mistreated all his life and wants a better life for his children. As the story progresses, these two storylines come together, but not in the way I expected.

This is another book where I learned about a time and event in history, as well as one of the major results of those events. I knew there were mixed race children born at the end of and after the Americans pulled out of Vietnam, but had no idea what their life was like. As well, once again, we see veterans who were suffering from PTSD and almost 50 years later were still looking for closure. This was a well written book, with well developed characters and descriptions that enabled me to picture the setting, events, emotions and characters. This was a very emotional book, poignant and one that made me think. I know I thought about the characters long after I finished this book. I did a read listen with this book and enjoyed both formats. The narrator, Quyen Ngo, did a fantastic job with the story and the characters. Another book I am glad to have read and one I recommend.

I listened to the audiobook recording of ‘Dust Child’. It's beautifully written by Nguyen Phan Que Mai and superbly narrated by Quyen Ngo. 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.

I fell in love with Nguyễn's tender and unfiltered portrayal of life and human suffering and the memorability of her characters when I first read The Mountain Sing, which became one of my top favourites, and Dust Child shines similarly, although it starts off a bit slow in terms of pacing.
"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."

Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, Nguyễn tells a beautiful tale that follows the lives of four distinct characters, each with their own unique struggles. Dan, a veteran who has been scarred by the traumatic experiences of war, is haunted by the memories of the past. Phong, a mixed-race orphan, embarks on a journey to find his birth parents. Trang and Quỳnh, sisters burdened with their parents' debt, move to Sài Gòn in search of a better life.

Through their stories, Nguyễn explores themes of loss, resilience, hope, love, and identity. She takes us on a journey from present-day Hô Chí Minh City to the Mekong Delta and back to Sài Gòn in 1969, revealing the interconnectedness of these characters' lives and the profound impact of a single event from the past.
I found myself gravitating towards the chapters of the sisters, Trang's love story, and the heartbreaking scenes of the dust children from Phong's perspective.
Imagine being spurned, blamed, and abused for the actions of their parents.

In this book, you will find it all: the joy, the anguish, the utterly passionate moments, and the pain and rejection. It's so emotive and insightful, and I highly recommend it.

A moving intelligent story of misplaced family and those who lived through the war in Vietnam. A great read for someone of my generation (millennial) who was not alive at this time and who knew little of what happened there. I would really recommend it as a moving but essential piece of fiction.

"Life is a boat," Sister Nhã, the Catholic nun who had raised Phong, once told him. "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 compassion, and enough curiosity, you will be ready to weather all the storms of life." ~ Dust Child, Nguyen Phan Que Mai.

I have already stated how excited I was to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed and loved reading Mountains Sing and I enjoyed this one.
I admired how the author explored the theme of the repercussions of the Vietnam/American war; keeping malice for a long time, losing someone(by death or missing), the memories are tormenting, it leaves people in a deplorable state(mentally/physically). Not forgetting the relationship between the American Soldiers and the Vietnamese women which led to the birth of mixed-race children and in the long run created issues; rejection and being insulted; for them.

The story goes back and forth, connecting the present with the past. At some point, I got confused at how Phong's story connects with Dan but in the end, I understood it all. The writing is very simple to read and follow once you get hooked to it. I enjoyed the storytelling.
However, some parts of the book dragged and I was tempted to put it down for a while.
I read the book while listening to the audiobook given to me by @bolindaaudio through @netgalley and it was a nice experience.

Thank you! I enjoyed the small singing in the book by the narrator, lol.

After reading The Mountains Sing, I put this author on auto-buy, however, Dust Child has solidified my choice.

"Dan's body started to shake; he sensed he had been allowed to live just so that he could witness this moment when a child of war brought former enemies together."

I highly recommend!

What a beautiful, heartbreaking and companionate account of the suffering and human cost of the Vietnam War.
Even though this predominately focuses on Vietnamese people and the Amerasian children left behind, the author shows so much empathy for American soldiers and they’re families too.
This is such a well researched novel with so much emotion.

I enjoyed reading this book, and it definitely hit hard. It was a bit of a slow burn and it took me a while to get into this, and keep up with the characters, but I really started to root for them and feel for the characters. A really emotional read, definitely recommend.

Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to get hold of the audiobook version of this. I am still to read the physical copy. I will endeavour to listen to the audiobook as soon as possible and leave a review on Amazon/social media.

Having visited Vietnam a couple for years ago I wish I'd had this book to listen to on my travels, as I love to read a book about the place I am visiting.

I have not read The Mountains Sing by the author but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of this book.

Sad and tragic at times but still wonderfully written telling the story of the impact of the war from both sides and how it shapes individuals futures.

I listened to this on my daily lunchtime walk so it was a wonderful escape from the pressures of work. The author writes beautifully about Vietnam set in its recent history.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a free copy in return for a honest review

The Dust Child is a heartbreaking novel set in Vietnam during several decades. In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, leave their rural home to earn money to support their family. We also follow Phong who was left at an orphanage as a baby and struggled with a traumatic childhood. Now, as an adult he is trying to find his birth parents so he can prove his America heritage and move to the USA. At the same time Dan returns to Vietnam to face the traumatic events he witnessed as a helicopter pilot during the war.
This novel is slow paced and atmospheric while creating well rounded characters and difficult situations. It’s an interesting read about a significant time in history.

I absolutely throughly enjoyed this book. The narration truly brought the story to life.
Initially I found the story slow and contemplated giving up, however I didn't and I'm glad I continued with the book.

I definitely preferred this title to The Moutains Sing.

I was absolutely blown away by this one - I listened to the audiobook and it was just so moving.

The Vietnam War is something I know very little about; so not only was this eye-opening and emotional, it was also extremely educational for me. The author based the story lines on real life events, which was just so shocking and so sad in some instances. The character development and how the various stories interlinked was very clever and I didn’t predict the final twist!

This wasn’t a book I would normally pick up, but it was just so beautifully written and a set of wonderful stories beautifully interwoven with multiple POVs. I would highly recommend it.

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads. It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked. The title, Dust Child, translated to bụi đời ("life of dust" or "dusty life"), generally refers to the mixed race children born during and after the Vietnam War.

A well written story to acknowledge a shameful and sad history.
I love the fact this author took the time to explore and interview all victims: women, children & soldiers.

Dust Child is a story of a child to an American Solider and a Vietnamese woman who is looking to migrate to the US. It is also the story of a soldier returning the vietnam as an old man and a country woman tricked into working Ina tea house.

A stunning story of a forgotten generation left behind after the Vietnam war.

amazing. love nguyen phan que mai's works and this was no exception. highly recommend.

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.