The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen -

Book Review

I had heard about this author, who won a Pulitzer for his first book, The Sympathizer (2015). I went to look for that book when I was in LA (The Last Bookstore), but it wasnʻt there. I bought his most current book, The Committed (2021), which I did not finish (I think it was a sequel, so I couldnʻt get into it. Iʻll give it another chance though.) But I found The Refugees at my local bookstore, Kona Bay Books, and it emerged from my book stack recently. It is a collection of short stories about the Vietnamese refugee experience in the US. This collection makes you glad there is such a form as a short story, so many different depictions, different experiences of life. Being a refugee is one thing, but being a human being, living a human life, with all these layers of events that formed those lives — is so compelling. The one story that stands out for me right now is “Iʻd Love You to Want Me,” in which a woman has to care for her husband suffering from dementia and he starts to call her by a former loveʻs name. Wow. I still think about this story and how it unfolds and what it reveals. There are other great stories. Recommend! I did find The Sympathizer yesterday so thatʻs next.