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Dust Child  By  cover art

Dust Child

By: Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Narrated by: Quyen Ngo
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Publisher's summary

In 1969, two sisters from rural Việt Nam leave their parents’ home and travel to the bustling city of Sài Gòn. Soon their lives are swept up in the unstoppable flames of a war that is blazing through their country. They begin working as ‘bar girls’ in one of the drinking dens frequented by American GIs, forced to accept that survival now might mean compromising the values they once treasured.

Decades later, two men wander through the streets and marketplaces of a very different Sài Gòn: modern, forward-looking, healing. Phong – the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman – embarks on a search to find his parents and a way out of Việt Nam, while Dan, a war veteran, hopes that retracing the steps of his youth will ease the PTSD that has plagued him for decades.

When the lives of these unforgettable characters converge, each is forced to reckon with the explosive events of history that still ripple through their lives. Now they must work out what it takes to move forward in this richly poetic saga from Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai at her very best.

©2023 Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (P)2023 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Dazzling. Sharply drawn and hauntingly beautiful." (Elif Shafek, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Island of Missing Trees)

"Achingly honest and ultimately hopeful." (Library Journal, starred review)

"Another triumph! Powerful and deeply empathetic. A heartbreaking tale of lost ideals, human devotion, and hard-won redemption." (Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer)

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What an incredible book. A must listen for sure!

Absolutely amazing book. The writing is beautiful, the characters rich and compelling. So much tragedy and pain, and hope as well. The narrator is just incredible... she brings it all to life, especially the parts in Vietnamese. I was completely gripped. Each storyline is richly fleshed out, and tugs at your heart strings. These important stories need to be told over and over again. This will stay with me a long time 💜

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