A touching and intimate reading experience.
I was born in ‘69, and while I don’t remember the Vietnam War, I do remember the fall-out, years later. The songs of Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen touch the deepest parts of me, and Paul Hardcastle’s 19 was an iconic song in my formative years.
From the beginning, the story of Trang (pronounced Shjang) and her younger sister Quỳnh (pronounced Gwinne) enchanted me. Trang’s POV was, for me, the pivotal perspective of the story and the sisters’ circumstances illustrated the wider consequences of war so poetically.
Phong’s story, as a child of a Vietnamese woman and American GI was heartbreaking. So desperate to make a better life for himself and his family, Phong bounces between barely suppressed aggression when anyone tries to cross him, and a more gentle, compassionate and loving nature which shines through in his love for his family and the woman who raised him. There were parts of his story that almost felt reported at points; at times it read more like a documentary than a work of fiction. I felt like we skipped over some of his very formative stages in his late teens, and would have appreciated a fuller immersion, although I appreciate this would have had a big impact on the overall length of the book.
The author’s note reveals that this story is a result of her PhD research and based on the stories of the people she interviewed for her PhD, which explains the documentary feel at points in this story.
I loved the final chapters and the way the protagonists stories intertwined.
This was an insightful, educational and touching story.
Written by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and narrated by Quyen Ngo, Dust Child was published on 1 May. With grateful thanks to Bolinda audio and NetGalley for the ARC.

set in Vietnam during the American conflict this is the story of love, loss and conflict and the consequences of decisions made during desperate times. There are two main stories two sisters who go to the city to find work and send money home and how they cope with the life that is laid out in front of them, the choices, the discoveries, the angst. The other story is that of abandoned mixed race babies who search for their birth parents all their lives to try to piece together where they came from and why their life journey was as it was. Beautiful writing and it must have taken years of research to understand the full impacts of that time. the writing flows and the stories unfold, the characters develop and you cannot help but become emotionally connected. Tragic and sad, uplifting and hopeful there are no winners during wars, everyone suffers and generations are affected. True reflection of the kindness and generosity of the Vietnamese people, despite everything they went through can still display acts of selfless love. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

I wasn’t sure if Dust Child was connected with The Mountains Sing so I listened to that first. It definitely helped set the background for the setting and plot of this book. I feel like the historical market is saturated with WW2 books and there are a lot of other stories to tell. I’ve also long been interested in the history of AmerAsian children, those brought up in the US but even more so those left behind. I appreciate the author‘s academic background on this subject and think I’d have liked this book more as a non-fiction compilation of her research.

I think this book would have worked better for me if it had been a bit more linear, or if the jumping back and forth in time and POV was done less frequently. It was hard for me to settle into the story or perspective at times. I didn’t really like Dan’s interior monologue either so I’d have preferred having only Trang and Phong’s POVs.
I loved the authentic narration by Quyen Ngo for both books!
*Thanks to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook copy for review

Loved this book and can highly recommend it especially as an audiobook because the Vietnamese language isn’t easy to get your tongue round. Listening to it spoken by a native speaker was delightful and the whole expression and inflection which is so important was all done for you.
The tale is long and very sad in parts. The realisation of how the innocent are always the biggest victims made me think more about the. Vietnam war than I ever have. It felt like there were very few winners in this book. However it was uplifting too and the characters were entertaining dispute them all coming with warts and all so to speak.
I’ve already got my daughter to order the audiobook and I just know she will love it too.
Good long listen too which is great for my long dog walks.

Dust Child (bụi đời ) or the dust of life is a derogatory term for children of mixed race, specifically those with American parentage, in Vietnam.

This historical work of fiction is based around a young boy called Phong who was abandoned at an orphanage as a baby , a young man called Dan who returns to Vietnam years later to find his girlfriend and son.We also encounter two young Vietnamese women who find themselves working in bars to entertain American soldiers. None of the above wish to be in the situation they find themselves in .

The story spans multiple generations and we get an insight into how the war affected everyone both at the time and its aftermath.

This was very well researched ( 7 years) and the historical aspect was flawless. I did find some of the scenes during chapter 14 between Dan and his girlfriend didn't work well. The characters of Dan and his wife were also very unlikable and I willed them to own up to their past wrong treatment of Trang,Quỳnh and Phong. This was a fictional story based on true facts.The last two chapters reveal how the author's own life experiences verifies this authentic account.

Thanks to #netgalley and #bolindaaudio for the ALC

Dust Child
by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

I have read several books this year set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war. There's something intriguing about historical fiction when it is set in one's own lifetime. Since then I have only had the Hollywood version of the war and it's aftermath, so I feel like I'm building a more accurate narrative through reading the own voice experience, and this book is no exception, written as it is by this award winning Vietnamese author.

This is the story of four characters:

Sisters Trang and Quỳnh, who take up work in Sài Gòn as "Bar Girls", flirting with men, especially American GIs, to encourage bar sales, and offering optional extras for even more money.

Dan, a US helicopter pilot who had an affair with Trang in 1969 and in 2016 returns to Sài Gòn with his wife in the hope that he can put some of his ghosts to bed.

Phong, a mixed race Vietnamese man who wants to save his ethnically disadvantaged kids from the racism he suffered by taking advantage of a US programme that allows illegitimate children of US soldiers to emigrate to the US.

I chose audio for this book because it is peppered with Vietnamese phrases and I was curious to hear the pronunciation. I'm so glad I did, because I was drawn into the story from the very first lines. I love the writing, it is beautifully evocative without being flowery, it is clear and contemporary which makes it accessible to all ages and tastes. While it has a Young Adult feel to it, I didn't detect the "angst" we might associate with that genre. I think she does a great job of conveying urgency, from the desperation the sisters have to get their hands on money to repay family debts, to the pressure that Phong feels to seek his paternity and the need for connection that Dan hopes will redeem his past mistakes.

Although the story is told in several timelines I never got lost. I love the way all the threads come together and there is a very satisfying ending, as unlikely as it is.

My one little quibble is with the narrator. Although she was chosen by the author because of her spoken Vietnamese, I think she brought an "All-American" feel to the dialogue that didn't fit with the time or place, particularly with the young women who were from rural Vietnam. It was a short piece though, because the story moves on quickly enough.

As the end was approaching I was testing my emotional status for star rating. I was dithering between 3 and 4 stars (I don't do halves), but then the author herself narrates the last two tracks and she completely won me over with her author's note and acknowledgements and confirmed her authenticity. I will continue reading around this complicated but interesting period in our time.

Thanks to #netgalley and #bolindaaudio for the ALC

Told during the Vietnam war and in present day, the story of two young sisters who travel to Saigon during the war, to work in a bar, frequented by American soldiers, so that they can send money back to their village for their family.

In the present day, we are touched by the story of Dan, an American veteran, who travels to Saigon with his wife, Linda, to try and lay his demons to rest. Dan hasn’t told Linda everything though and when the truth is revealed, their relationship will undergo its biggest test. They meet with Phong, a young man desperate to find his American father, so that he can travel to America to give his own young family a better life.

This beautifully written book brought out so many different emotions as I listened to the audio version. Love, hope, heartbreak, joy and so much more.

The author masterfully weaves the past and present together, skilfully combining factual history with his own fictional characters. Aside from the horrors of the war itself, tens of thousands of Amerasian children were born as a result of the war, many of them orphaned and abandoned, labelled “The Dust of Life”.

A stunning story, brilliant narrated by Quyen Ngo.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book - a part of the war history’s long term impact that I’ve not really had much of an awareness of or explored nearly enough.

The story was told across a dual timeline switching between 1969 and nearer present day to explore the impact that US presence had on those living in South Vietnam - particularly Amerasians. The chronology of 1969 was so well explored in a way that made it completely accessible for those who perhaps aren’t as well versed in the various military operations and events of the Vietnam War. I found the exploration here completely captivating and was gripped and invested in the narrative of Trang and Dan.

The present day narrative was so interesting - I really need to find out more about this aspect of Vietnamese history - it feels obvious to me now having read this story that this would have happened, but I’ve not read around the topic at all in my studies despite a dissertation focus on Veteran experience! I loved the way the author’s own experiences in becoming involved in Veteran experiences of searching for Amerasian children inspired this story.

The narration of the audio was excellent, the narrator was wholly engaging and I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. This is a story that will stay with me and that I’ll recommend wholeheartedly.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my audio copy.

4.5⭐️ Rounded up.

Dust Child is a work of historical fiction centered around individual lives impacted by the Vietnam War. Through their depiction, the reader a deeper sense of some of the many ways the War caused deep pain, both then and now- and especially for Vietnamese women and the “children of the dust”- the oft-discarded children born to Vietnamese women and American soldiers.

This book really did a great job of giving an empathetic face to those who grew up in or even from this conflict. I definitely grew to care for these characters and was eager to find out where the story would take me.

Author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai did a great job with both the historical and the fiction sides of Dust Child, providing fully realized characters, an interesting story, and a sense of deeply-researched history. The narrator, Quyen Ngo, did an excellent job with the narration as well.

*This review is based on the audiobook provided by NetGalley and @Bolindaaudio in exchange for an honest review.

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai