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We Should Never Meet: Stories
The eight linked stories that comprise Aimee Phan's chilling debut are inspired by "Operation Babylift," the evacuation of thousands of orphans from Vietnam to America weeks before the fall of Saigon. Moving effortlessly between the war-torn homeland and Orange County's "Little Saigon," Phan chronicles the journeys of four such orphans. Passionate and beautifully written, We Should Never Meet is an utterly fresh reconsideration of the Vietnam War for a new generation and heralds the arrival of one of "the very best of the new wave of Asian-American authors" (David Wong Louie).
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
About the author
Aimee Phan
5 books64 followersAimee Phan is the author of The Reeducaion of Cherry Truong (2012) and We Should Never Meet (2004.) She is chair of the undergrad Writing and Literature program at California College of the Arts. She is married to the poet Matt Shears (10,000 Wallpapers, Where a Road Had Been.)
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February 28, 2016
Aimee Phan's debut collection of stories centers around the aftermath of Operation Babylift - the airlift of Vietnamese orphans during the Vietnam War, after the fall of Saigon. The operation evacuated about approximately 4,000 children, of whom more than 2,000 were transported to America.
We Should Never Meet consists of eight interlinked stories, moving swiftly between the U.S. and Vietnam, and lives and fates of their protagonists intertwine and are linked: a major character in one story will be appear or be mentioned in the other, often in a very different position and circumstances. This is an interesting approach and one which I quite enjoy, and which made the stories more memorable and effective.
The collection begins with a powerful combination - a birth preceded by violence;, in Miss Lien, the eponymous young mother makes the difficult choice of leaving her baby at the local convent, hoping that it'll give her child a better life; the following stories are centered around a group of Vietnamese youths in America and people both in the U.S and Vietnam whose lives crossed with theirs. The young Vietnamese characters grew up in foster homes or adoptive families and are just entering adulthood, struggling with the feelings of rejection and alienation, being torn between a country they don't know and a country they don't feel they belong in, which leaves them full of rage and a sense of hopeless injustice which might never be set right.
The eponymous story introduces the two protagonists, Kim and Vinh. They were both raised in foster homes and grew up together, and form an uneasy relationship. Although outwardly tough, Kim long for familiarity and acceptance, which is why she stays with Vinh despite not wanting to owe him anything; everything changes when she sees an older Vietnamese woman at a small, local store, and thorough a small act of kindness becomes convinced that she could be her birth mother. After observing the woman for a while Kim tries to become closer to her, which leads her to hopes which set up in motion a chain of events which she might not be able to stop.
Vinh is a protagonist in another story, though we discover him via the eyes of another character, we gain a better understanding of his personality and the anger which drives him, which leads to a shocking conclusion. Emancipation is the story of Mai, who has just turned 18 years old; contrary to Vinh and Kim, Mai has been raised by a foster family, which leaves her with a sense of guilt about being privileged over her best friends. At the same time Mai can't help but feel dissatisfied with the experience of a foster family, longing to be a real daughter to real parents.
Not every character is Vietnamese, and not every story takes place in America. In Gates of Saigon, Hoa has to make a choice: evacuate her two sons from falling Saigon to uncertain future in a distant country, or wait for even more uncertain return of her husband from war? Bound is the story of Bridget, an American volunteer who helps take care of children in Vietnam at the cost of her deteriorating marriage and relationship with her own daughter. In Motherland, Huan, adopted son of an American GI travels to Vietnam on a trip with his adoptive family and Mai, his friend, where they try to reconcile their experiences and form a sense of closure by visiting the old orphanages where they grew up.
We Should Never Meet is a well written collection and an impressive debut for its author, who was just 26 at the time of publication. If the subject matter interest you, I would also like to recommend Robert Olen Butler's A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, which is a collection of stories about Vietnamese immigrants and refugees and their experiences of post-war life in America, for which the author has been justly awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
We Should Never Meet consists of eight interlinked stories, moving swiftly between the U.S. and Vietnam, and lives and fates of their protagonists intertwine and are linked: a major character in one story will be appear or be mentioned in the other, often in a very different position and circumstances. This is an interesting approach and one which I quite enjoy, and which made the stories more memorable and effective.
The collection begins with a powerful combination - a birth preceded by violence;, in Miss Lien, the eponymous young mother makes the difficult choice of leaving her baby at the local convent, hoping that it'll give her child a better life; the following stories are centered around a group of Vietnamese youths in America and people both in the U.S and Vietnam whose lives crossed with theirs. The young Vietnamese characters grew up in foster homes or adoptive families and are just entering adulthood, struggling with the feelings of rejection and alienation, being torn between a country they don't know and a country they don't feel they belong in, which leaves them full of rage and a sense of hopeless injustice which might never be set right.
The eponymous story introduces the two protagonists, Kim and Vinh. They were both raised in foster homes and grew up together, and form an uneasy relationship. Although outwardly tough, Kim long for familiarity and acceptance, which is why she stays with Vinh despite not wanting to owe him anything; everything changes when she sees an older Vietnamese woman at a small, local store, and thorough a small act of kindness becomes convinced that she could be her birth mother. After observing the woman for a while Kim tries to become closer to her, which leads her to hopes which set up in motion a chain of events which she might not be able to stop.
Vinh is a protagonist in another story, though we discover him via the eyes of another character, we gain a better understanding of his personality and the anger which drives him, which leads to a shocking conclusion. Emancipation is the story of Mai, who has just turned 18 years old; contrary to Vinh and Kim, Mai has been raised by a foster family, which leaves her with a sense of guilt about being privileged over her best friends. At the same time Mai can't help but feel dissatisfied with the experience of a foster family, longing to be a real daughter to real parents.
Not every character is Vietnamese, and not every story takes place in America. In Gates of Saigon, Hoa has to make a choice: evacuate her two sons from falling Saigon to uncertain future in a distant country, or wait for even more uncertain return of her husband from war? Bound is the story of Bridget, an American volunteer who helps take care of children in Vietnam at the cost of her deteriorating marriage and relationship with her own daughter. In Motherland, Huan, adopted son of an American GI travels to Vietnam on a trip with his adoptive family and Mai, his friend, where they try to reconcile their experiences and form a sense of closure by visiting the old orphanages where they grew up.
We Should Never Meet is a well written collection and an impressive debut for its author, who was just 26 at the time of publication. If the subject matter interest you, I would also like to recommend Robert Olen Butler's A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, which is a collection of stories about Vietnamese immigrants and refugees and their experiences of post-war life in America, for which the author has been justly awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
May 4, 2016
This is one of the most beautiful collections I have ever read. Aimee Phan spoke with such beauty of the struggles of Vietnamese, refugees or still living at home before the Fall of Saigon, her words were magically woven, or so it seemed. I cannot wait for her to publish more short stories, maybe not so emotional, since nearly all of them made me weep, and maybe not all connected, so as I don't fall apart by the reading of her beautiful words.
July 9, 2023
I so deeply enjoyed this collection of short stories which were all intertwined and related in some way, yet all distinct and powerful in their messages. I liked how the writing and themes in some of the stories were more understated than in others.
I appreciate how A. Phan explores an array of different narrators, perspectives, and contexts throughout her stories, while anchoring them all around Operation Babylift and the long-lasting effects of the Vietnam War. The raw, genuine, and honest nature of A. Phan’s storytelling and characters made many of the stories heartbreaking and moving to read, demonstrating the harsh legacies of the war in both Vietnamese and Vietnamese American communities.
I appreciate how A. Phan explores an array of different narrators, perspectives, and contexts throughout her stories, while anchoring them all around Operation Babylift and the long-lasting effects of the Vietnam War. The raw, genuine, and honest nature of A. Phan’s storytelling and characters made many of the stories heartbreaking and moving to read, demonstrating the harsh legacies of the war in both Vietnamese and Vietnamese American communities.
August 9, 2007
A hopscotch style short story collection that doesn't over-sentimentalize the experience of transracial/transnational adoptees, which is why it's on my recommend list for everyone. It employs the historical event known as Operation Babylift where thousands of Vietnamese orphans, mixed race children, or others considered to be in danger, were airlifted to the United States before the Fall of Saigon. Of course, these babies and orphans were then adopted into many families that had no idea of their cultural histories or ethnic backgrounds. Regardless, the stories link up in a complicated quilt that because it doesn't actually patch up nicely together makes the short story collection one of the finest in Asian American literature (and of course ostensibly American literature too!).
February 22, 2023
The book includes a number of short stories, some of which clearly interconnected and the others vaguely so. The stories are about Vietnamese/Vietnamese-American children conceived, born, adopted, or taken to the United States. It reviews the perception of the War in Vietnam by those in Vietnam or those in the US and the way they have to navigate their ways around orphanhood, separation, life in a new country, or within the borders of homeland that has been torn apart.
Despite the interesting themes though, the narration is not easy to read and the text is too experimental. It includes no quotation marks and the cut-aways are at times just too many.
Despite the interesting themes though, the narration is not easy to read and the text is too experimental. It includes no quotation marks and the cut-aways are at times just too many.
April 16, 2024
4.5/5. very good collection of intertwined short stories about operation baby lift and transnational adoption, how trauma manifests in the amerasian babies from the vietnam war.
June 9, 2016
Aimee Phan has a new fan in me. ;)
wonderful collection of short stories that haunt and radiate so much light and beauty.
wonderful collection of short stories that haunt and radiate so much light and beauty.
July 13, 2021
Realizing I love books with multiple narrators that connect!
"That's why Vietnamese gangs robbed their own people. Gangs knew their people wouldn't trust the police to protect them. Police in Vietnam were a step below street merchants, they were so corrupt. They had no reason to believe the Americans, who couldn't understand their accents anyway, would be any better." (107)
"Steven shook his head. We need to get them out of here. This place will kill them.
He was grieving. He was in shock. It was not the time for Hoa to tell him that the place he regarded as death was what she still considered home." (127)
"Ho Chi Minh City is a land for bargains, anything and everything on sale, an ideal match for Huan's mother, an avid shopper. Yesterday, Gwen was throwing up in the hotel bathroom all afternoon from a dubious rice pudding purchased from a sidewalk peddler. Today, fully recovered, she happily haggles with a vendor over a plastic replica of the palace." (215)
"The bus is quiet. They are normally a noisy, awkward band of travelers: a mix created solely by coincidental vacation times." (216)
"They look out onto the street again. The cruisers, so proud and happy. They are young, born after the war. They only know Ho Chi Minh City, while Saigon is a memory that their parents and grandparents speak of...A young man and woman slowly ride past the café...The woman's arms are wrapped around the man's waist, not because she needs to, but because they are obviously in love." (243)
"That's why Vietnamese gangs robbed their own people. Gangs knew their people wouldn't trust the police to protect them. Police in Vietnam were a step below street merchants, they were so corrupt. They had no reason to believe the Americans, who couldn't understand their accents anyway, would be any better." (107)
"Steven shook his head. We need to get them out of here. This place will kill them.
He was grieving. He was in shock. It was not the time for Hoa to tell him that the place he regarded as death was what she still considered home." (127)
"Ho Chi Minh City is a land for bargains, anything and everything on sale, an ideal match for Huan's mother, an avid shopper. Yesterday, Gwen was throwing up in the hotel bathroom all afternoon from a dubious rice pudding purchased from a sidewalk peddler. Today, fully recovered, she happily haggles with a vendor over a plastic replica of the palace." (215)
"The bus is quiet. They are normally a noisy, awkward band of travelers: a mix created solely by coincidental vacation times." (216)
"They look out onto the street again. The cruisers, so proud and happy. They are young, born after the war. They only know Ho Chi Minh City, while Saigon is a memory that their parents and grandparents speak of...A young man and woman slowly ride past the café...The woman's arms are wrapped around the man's waist, not because she needs to, but because they are obviously in love." (243)
November 22, 2023
I devoured this stunning collection of short stories linking Vietnam and America through children.
It made me think a lot about a conversation we had in my “Developing Vietnam” class —we’re heading to Saigon in just a few days. One of my classmates talked about how diasporic Vietnamese literature is necessarily tragic because a major reason why a Vietnamese diaspora exists is because of the war… The war is perhaps felt more continuously and acutely in diasporic communities because you’re reminded, simply by living in America or wherever else, that you’re there because you fled the violence and destruction of your homeland (and whether you blame the Americans or the communists is another story). Since I’ve never lived in Vietnam, I’m not sure what the people living there have to say about that idea — I’d imagine anyone dealing with the effects of Agent Orange is also acutely aware of the war, but thinking about perceptions of war in diasporic communities is definitely a powerful idea. Also, suffering is not a competition.
Anyway, would absolutely recommend this book — so beautifully written.
It made me think a lot about a conversation we had in my “Developing Vietnam” class —we’re heading to Saigon in just a few days. One of my classmates talked about how diasporic Vietnamese literature is necessarily tragic because a major reason why a Vietnamese diaspora exists is because of the war… The war is perhaps felt more continuously and acutely in diasporic communities because you’re reminded, simply by living in America or wherever else, that you’re there because you fled the violence and destruction of your homeland (and whether you blame the Americans or the communists is another story). Since I’ve never lived in Vietnam, I’m not sure what the people living there have to say about that idea — I’d imagine anyone dealing with the effects of Agent Orange is also acutely aware of the war, but thinking about perceptions of war in diasporic communities is definitely a powerful idea. Also, suffering is not a competition.
Anyway, would absolutely recommend this book — so beautifully written.
September 2, 2008
I hadn't previously read any detailed accounts of children orphaned as a result of the Vietnam war and who came to the United States (e.g., Operation Babylift), but I felt this book--even though fiction--gave me an idea of how it might have affected various people involved. These people include the children themselves, some of whom were adopted and some of whom were not, their birth parents, their adoptive parents, and Americans and Vietnamese who worked in orphanages caring for the children.
The book includes eight interconnected "stories." Each is written in the third person but focuses on a different main character, though the characters involved in the different stories overlap. I found the book well-written. For some reason, the author omits quotation marks for dialogue--I've seen this before and I'm not sure why authors do it (e.g., in the Piano Tuner, which I recently read). To me, it makes the writing seem sort of stream of consciousness and obscures a bit whether the dialogue is actually being said, or whether the main character is imagining the dialogue. However, sometimes it can be a bit confusing to keep track of what is being said. In a number of chapters, the author effectively lets the reader imagine what has happened rather than describing it. For example, the chapter involving Bridget, an American orphanage worker in Vietnam who wants to adopt Huan, ends with the revelation that there is a problem with Bridget's paperwork and with Bridget desperately imagining that she will be able to adoption Huan and reconcile with her estranged husband. But the next chapter begins with an adult Huan traveling with his mother Gwen. (Also, a previous chapter mentioned Huan living in California, not where Bridget lived.) So the reader is left imagining Bridget's coming anguish.
Two of the stories seemed almost parallel to each other (to the point that I almost wondered if both characters were necessary in the book)--Vinh and Kim both grew up in foster care, both are angry, both are briefly befriended by parental figures in the community, but in both cases, these parental figures end up accepting the brunt of the Vinh and Kim's rage.
The book raises interesting issues about responsible motherhood. One mother in the novel are so desperate for their children to be adopted that they shove their infants through the bars of the orphanage gate, resulting in contusions and concussions for the infants. I am sure many mothers felt that surrendering their children to the orphanage was their children's only chance for survival. Another (Bridget) "abandons" her biological child in America for 3 years to take care of the hundreds of Vietnamese orphans who need her. A Vietnamese woman never becomes a mother, breaking her engagement to work in an orphanage becomes inured to babies' cries b/c the orphanage doesn't have enough formula to feed them. (Her former fiancee accuses that this is evidence she would have been a terrible mother.) A Vietnamese mother of 3 who works in an orphanage refuses to send 2 of her sons without her to America on the babylift, saying that her family needs her in Vietnam. A white adoptive mother adores her Vietnamese son (Huan), always forgiving him and trying hard to do the right thing, but she seems like a "colorblind" mom who is not aware of issues related to transracial adoption. Another couple are exemplary parents--except that they won't adopt their foster daughter (Mai) b/c they want to help as many children as possible. What is a parent's responsibility? To keep their biological children with them regardless of the situation? In what situations is it better to relinquish (even if temporarily) one's child?
The contrast between Huan and Mai's situations seems to be an example of the difference adoption *might* make for a young person. On p. 241, Phan writes: "Huan can never really complain about his parents. They always showed him love, even during his angry years when he threw their devotion into their faces, sneering that they treated him like a charity case, their trendy Vietnamese baby whose life they rescued. How could they really love him? They didn't even know him. They forgave him for all of this. They continued to love him, even when he couldn't believe it or accept it." In contrast, "[Mai] did everything to demonstrate that she'd make a nice daughter. She listened to them, never disobeyed house rules, and always respected curfew. The Reynoldses talked about how proud they were of Mai, what a fine person she was. That was where their admiration ended. They had so many years to make her a legitimate part of their family, but the possibility was never even discussed. (p. 158)" When Mai comes home upset a few hours late the evening of her 18th birthday, her foster father is initially warm and concerned but when Mai becomes even more upset, he turns his back on her. Mai feels guilty comparing her difficulties to those of her friend Kim, who bounced through multiple foster homes, but it's clear the situation is difficult for everyone--really for everyone involved in the story in any capacity.
It's worth noting that this book includes some graphic and grim descriptions, including the violence in the chapter about Vinh and the desperate conditions in the orphanages in Vietnam. It's one thing to read a psychology text about the attachment cycle in which an infant develops trust when an adult (usually a parent) reliably fulfills an infant's needs when he cries, and about how attachment disorder can develop when those needs aren't fulfilled. But it's another thing to read about how babies crying for milk initially continue crying after being fed watered-down milk but eventually stop after receiving nothing more to fill their tummies because people who sincerely want to help them have nothing else to give them. This book makes you think not only about the effect on the babies, but about the adults in this terrible position.
The book includes eight interconnected "stories." Each is written in the third person but focuses on a different main character, though the characters involved in the different stories overlap. I found the book well-written. For some reason, the author omits quotation marks for dialogue--I've seen this before and I'm not sure why authors do it (e.g., in the Piano Tuner, which I recently read). To me, it makes the writing seem sort of stream of consciousness and obscures a bit whether the dialogue is actually being said, or whether the main character is imagining the dialogue. However, sometimes it can be a bit confusing to keep track of what is being said. In a number of chapters, the author effectively lets the reader imagine what has happened rather than describing it. For example, the chapter involving Bridget, an American orphanage worker in Vietnam who wants to adopt Huan, ends with the revelation that there is a problem with Bridget's paperwork and with Bridget desperately imagining that she will be able to adoption Huan and reconcile with her estranged husband. But the next chapter begins with an adult Huan traveling with his mother Gwen. (Also, a previous chapter mentioned Huan living in California, not where Bridget lived.) So the reader is left imagining Bridget's coming anguish.
Two of the stories seemed almost parallel to each other (to the point that I almost wondered if both characters were necessary in the book)--Vinh and Kim both grew up in foster care, both are angry, both are briefly befriended by parental figures in the community, but in both cases, these parental figures end up accepting the brunt of the Vinh and Kim's rage.
The book raises interesting issues about responsible motherhood. One mother in the novel are so desperate for their children to be adopted that they shove their infants through the bars of the orphanage gate, resulting in contusions and concussions for the infants. I am sure many mothers felt that surrendering their children to the orphanage was their children's only chance for survival. Another (Bridget) "abandons" her biological child in America for 3 years to take care of the hundreds of Vietnamese orphans who need her. A Vietnamese woman never becomes a mother, breaking her engagement to work in an orphanage becomes inured to babies' cries b/c the orphanage doesn't have enough formula to feed them. (Her former fiancee accuses that this is evidence she would have been a terrible mother.) A Vietnamese mother of 3 who works in an orphanage refuses to send 2 of her sons without her to America on the babylift, saying that her family needs her in Vietnam. A white adoptive mother adores her Vietnamese son (Huan), always forgiving him and trying hard to do the right thing, but she seems like a "colorblind" mom who is not aware of issues related to transracial adoption. Another couple are exemplary parents--except that they won't adopt their foster daughter (Mai) b/c they want to help as many children as possible. What is a parent's responsibility? To keep their biological children with them regardless of the situation? In what situations is it better to relinquish (even if temporarily) one's child?
The contrast between Huan and Mai's situations seems to be an example of the difference adoption *might* make for a young person. On p. 241, Phan writes: "Huan can never really complain about his parents. They always showed him love, even during his angry years when he threw their devotion into their faces, sneering that they treated him like a charity case, their trendy Vietnamese baby whose life they rescued. How could they really love him? They didn't even know him. They forgave him for all of this. They continued to love him, even when he couldn't believe it or accept it." In contrast, "[Mai] did everything to demonstrate that she'd make a nice daughter. She listened to them, never disobeyed house rules, and always respected curfew. The Reynoldses talked about how proud they were of Mai, what a fine person she was. That was where their admiration ended. They had so many years to make her a legitimate part of their family, but the possibility was never even discussed. (p. 158)" When Mai comes home upset a few hours late the evening of her 18th birthday, her foster father is initially warm and concerned but when Mai becomes even more upset, he turns his back on her. Mai feels guilty comparing her difficulties to those of her friend Kim, who bounced through multiple foster homes, but it's clear the situation is difficult for everyone--really for everyone involved in the story in any capacity.
It's worth noting that this book includes some graphic and grim descriptions, including the violence in the chapter about Vinh and the desperate conditions in the orphanages in Vietnam. It's one thing to read a psychology text about the attachment cycle in which an infant develops trust when an adult (usually a parent) reliably fulfills an infant's needs when he cries, and about how attachment disorder can develop when those needs aren't fulfilled. But it's another thing to read about how babies crying for milk initially continue crying after being fed watered-down milk but eventually stop after receiving nothing more to fill their tummies because people who sincerely want to help them have nothing else to give them. This book makes you think not only about the effect on the babies, but about the adults in this terrible position.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2022
This was a really beautifully-written novel highlighting a point in recent history that I was incredibly unaware of. This story joins together the separate and connected lives of various characters who were part of “Operation Babylift”, an outcome of the Vietnam War, where many Vietnamese children were sent to be adopted and fostered in North America. I admire Phan’s ability to weave so many unique, but parallel, stories of humans who are overcoming the most disastrous and yet remarkable circumstances.
February 4, 2022
This book looks at a slice of life of the different parties involved in “Operation Babylift” after the fall of Saigon. The many perspectives and timelines give the events surrounding the operation a nuance that it otherwise would not have had. Each chapter focuses on a different character and their stories are told in a manner where I end each chapter wishing I could learn more about them.
November 7, 2023
8 connected short stories about the children born out of the vietnam war (from american soldiers and vietnamese women). So heartbreaking and a must-read
October 21, 2021
These stories will break you wide open but I think we need to hear some of the reality of the Vietnam War - the results of our actions years down the road - the families destroyed, the babies who survived despite incredible obstacles. Knowing the truth only expands our understanding.
July 8, 2015
I was on a mission in the Houston Public Library to pick up a book I had reserved, one of the Love and Rockets graphic novels, when I came across WE SHOULD NEVER MEET by Aimee Phan. I was intrigued. So I punched it into my phone and when I read it was her debut novel, I knew I had to get it. So I checked it out too.
I’m really glad I did.
It was an easy and great read. The writing is fluid and seamless. Phan does an excellent job of transforming the reader’s thought process to the thought processes of her characters. She let’s us in on the disconnect between older and younger Vietnamese generations in America, and the ways it manifested in their community in America, after America’s involvement in the Vietnamese war ended. She masterfully paints the picture of the older generation’s longing for the familiar inter-play of old and young from the old Vietnam, before the Americans arrived. She equally masterfully paints the picture of the angst and anger of the younger Vietnamese in America as they struggled to reconcile themselves with American culture, mores and attitudes.
It is an emotional work, which opens the reader’s mind to the fallout suffered by the children orphaned during the war and brought to the U.S. as part of Operation Babylift and the older Vietnamese inserted into a new environment so abruptly in April 1975.
After reading Ms. Phan’s debut, I am looking forward to reading her second book, THE REEDUCATION OF CHERRY TROUNG.
I’m really glad I did.
It was an easy and great read. The writing is fluid and seamless. Phan does an excellent job of transforming the reader’s thought process to the thought processes of her characters. She let’s us in on the disconnect between older and younger Vietnamese generations in America, and the ways it manifested in their community in America, after America’s involvement in the Vietnamese war ended. She masterfully paints the picture of the older generation’s longing for the familiar inter-play of old and young from the old Vietnam, before the Americans arrived. She equally masterfully paints the picture of the angst and anger of the younger Vietnamese in America as they struggled to reconcile themselves with American culture, mores and attitudes.
It is an emotional work, which opens the reader’s mind to the fallout suffered by the children orphaned during the war and brought to the U.S. as part of Operation Babylift and the older Vietnamese inserted into a new environment so abruptly in April 1975.
After reading Ms. Phan’s debut, I am looking forward to reading her second book, THE REEDUCATION OF CHERRY TROUNG.
January 12, 2025
Very important book! I am just not carried away by the style. Long Le-Khac offers a wonderful analysis to argue that it creates a transnarrative form as it interweaves transnational locations together and connects them, but also in the way each story connects to another story in some way in the collection. The structure and formal aspects of the book are rather brilliant. Jodi Kim offers a wonderful political analysis of it, too.
On my second reading, the transparent style that is focused almost completely on the thoughts of the characters as they are dealing with intense experiences is the vehicle for absolutely gripping reading.
On my second reading, the transparent style that is focused almost completely on the thoughts of the characters as they are dealing with intense experiences is the vehicle for absolutely gripping reading.
May 28, 2016
Nice weaving together of different narratives which are part of a larger story. The scope of the issue may have been beyond the ability of a few stories to tell, but its many different facets were explored, albeit in snapshot form. The book moves with grace, after the first couple of fumbling stories where it attempts to establish its purpose. Some stories are stronger than others. Phan does a good job of insinuating further narrative for the reader to imagine: each story tells more than it explicitly says.
March 29, 2024
Emotionally resonant while characters move forward with the throes of history. I found the writing style pithy and the ambiguous endings to each story the right amount the sit on.. as these events in real life certainly have gone.
February 19, 2018
after reading "the lotus and the storm" by lan cao this was like. taking a huge drink of water. holy water. ice cold holy water right from god himself
December 22, 2019
Such a great collection of interconnected short stories that let us see into the lives of Amerasians. A much needed book!
April 6, 2018
I'm not really sure whether to classify these as short stories, since they do (kind of) tell an interconnected narrative. There are eight stories, each with a different character as the primary focus. They alternate between war-torn Vietnam and modern-day LA, following the paths of orphans who were air-lifted out of Vietnam and promised better futures in America.
A couple of the stories are a bit weaker than the others; Mai is the least developed character and consequently the least interesting. She's an introverted, insecure honor roll student (although I couldn't help scoffing a bit at her supposed "impeccable academic record" of A-'s and B+'s that somehow allowed her to get into every Ivy League school she applied to). Overshadowed by her prettier, more charismatic friends and constantly wondering why her foster parents didn't love her enough to adopt her, Mai should've been intriguing. She was mostly boring, without any real depth.
The most powerful story, for me, was "Visitors." Initially from the point of view of an elderly Vietnamese man trying to adjust to life in another country, the narrative dramatically shifts when the reader discovers the nice young man helping him with his groceries is actually Vinh, a member of a gang with exclusively Vietnamese targets.
Phan does an excellent job of spinning up possible empathetic moments for Vinh, only to crush them with the cruelty of his decisions. It's a difficult story to read, with jagged emotional intensity.
"The Delta" was another strong point, although I wish Phan had shown more from Phuong's point of view, rather than allowing her jilted fiance's feelings to control the narrative. I wanted to know more about why Phuong chose to leave him to become a nun, caring for abandoned children. I suppose her story was mirrored a bit in Bridget's, the American pediatrician who left her husband and young daughter behind to care for Vietnamese orphans.
Phan has a sure, capable writing style, although her lack of quotation marks for dialogue took some adjusting. I wonder if that's a stylistic choice for this book, or if that's how she always writes. I'm also curious about how she'd handle a novel; this book's four stars, not five, because few of the stories felt satisfying. I always wanted to know more. That's a point in her favor - a good writer sparks curiosity and ongoing interest - but I would've enjoyed a few arcs that felt at least a little more complete.
A couple of the stories are a bit weaker than the others; Mai is the least developed character and consequently the least interesting. She's an introverted, insecure honor roll student (although I couldn't help scoffing a bit at her supposed "impeccable academic record" of A-'s and B+'s that somehow allowed her to get into every Ivy League school she applied to). Overshadowed by her prettier, more charismatic friends and constantly wondering why her foster parents didn't love her enough to adopt her, Mai should've been intriguing. She was mostly boring, without any real depth.
The most powerful story, for me, was "Visitors." Initially from the point of view of an elderly Vietnamese man trying to adjust to life in another country, the narrative dramatically shifts when the reader discovers the nice young man helping him with his groceries is actually Vinh, a member of a gang with exclusively Vietnamese targets.
Phan does an excellent job of spinning up possible empathetic moments for Vinh, only to crush them with the cruelty of his decisions. It's a difficult story to read, with jagged emotional intensity.
"The Delta" was another strong point, although I wish Phan had shown more from Phuong's point of view, rather than allowing her jilted fiance's feelings to control the narrative. I wanted to know more about why Phuong chose to leave him to become a nun, caring for abandoned children. I suppose her story was mirrored a bit in Bridget's, the American pediatrician who left her husband and young daughter behind to care for Vietnamese orphans.
Phan has a sure, capable writing style, although her lack of quotation marks for dialogue took some adjusting. I wonder if that's a stylistic choice for this book, or if that's how she always writes. I'm also curious about how she'd handle a novel; this book's four stars, not five, because few of the stories felt satisfying. I always wanted to know more. That's a point in her favor - a good writer sparks curiosity and ongoing interest - but I would've enjoyed a few arcs that felt at least a little more complete.
March 2, 2023
Yessss we love a good series of short stories in one in which all of the characters' lives are intertwined in some way or another!!!
Also what a great historical fiction read to better contextualize and humanize the atrocities of Operation Babylift??? Really enjoyed reading a fictional work that is based on a historical event that isn't really talked about even though it should be! We should really be highlighting how the U.S. has fucked over Vietnamese refugees, orphans, and the adverse impacts of these broad operations that are only PR stunts but can really fuck up someone's life as they are crawling out there trying their best to survive.
In particular, Vinh and Bac's story was moving just because as we're reading the story, we never suspect that Vinh is the young Vietnamese man who's helping Bac with his groceries and that Vinh is scoping out Bac's home to rob later. What a story!
Kim's story touched on so much about Eurocentric beauty standards and colorism. It was also a little cliche at times -- distraught white-Vietnamese mixed race woman who was in and eventually left the foster care system, eventually ends up with a husband she despises and kids she probably never wanted. I feel like it kinda twisted the "perfect victim" trope, but also fell into some of those stereotypes as well to make Kim's story interesting / as plot devices.
I would highly recommend! I read it in a day because it was just well-written and fascinating to absorb!
Also what a great historical fiction read to better contextualize and humanize the atrocities of Operation Babylift??? Really enjoyed reading a fictional work that is based on a historical event that isn't really talked about even though it should be! We should really be highlighting how the U.S. has fucked over Vietnamese refugees, orphans, and the adverse impacts of these broad operations that are only PR stunts but can really fuck up someone's life as they are crawling out there trying their best to survive.
In particular, Vinh and Bac's story was moving just because as we're reading the story, we never suspect that Vinh is the young Vietnamese man who's helping Bac with his groceries and that Vinh is scoping out Bac's home to rob later. What a story!
Kim's story touched on so much about Eurocentric beauty standards and colorism. It was also a little cliche at times -- distraught white-Vietnamese mixed race woman who was in and eventually left the foster care system, eventually ends up with a husband she despises and kids she probably never wanted. I feel like it kinda twisted the "perfect victim" trope, but also fell into some of those stereotypes as well to make Kim's story interesting / as plot devices.
I would highly recommend! I read it in a day because it was just well-written and fascinating to absorb!
July 3, 2018
I read this short story collection a few weeks ago and I LOVED it. These eight interlocking stories moves back and forth between Vietnam during the war, and Orange County, 15-20 years after the war's end, with the stories of the parents, orphans, and aid workers involved in Operation Babylift, when hundreds of orphans were evacuated right before the fall of Saigon. The first story is about a young girl who gives birth to a mixed race baby and gives him up at a small Catholic orphanage. As we meet various orphans in their teen and adult years in the following stories, part of the suspense is wondering who is the baby from the first story.
The short story structure works well with something as complicated and (still) controversial as the war in Vietnam, as it provides the opportunity for a variety of voices and perspectives. Yet the book doesn't try to give everyone "equal" voice, per se, but favors the voices that have been silenced--that of the Vietnamese and the orphans themselves. In fact, all the main characters are Vietnamese, with the exception of one short story that is focused on an American nurse at the orphanage.
Easy read, and strongly recommended for everyone!
The short story structure works well with something as complicated and (still) controversial as the war in Vietnam, as it provides the opportunity for a variety of voices and perspectives. Yet the book doesn't try to give everyone "equal" voice, per se, but favors the voices that have been silenced--that of the Vietnamese and the orphans themselves. In fact, all the main characters are Vietnamese, with the exception of one short story that is focused on an American nurse at the orphanage.
Easy read, and strongly recommended for everyone!
March 9, 2023
A beautifully-written collection of connected short stories that is hopeful yet heartrending. The connecting link between the stories is Operation Babylift that took place toward the end of the VietNam war, bringing Vietnamese orphans, many only infants, to America for adoption. Although totally innocent of the brutal war, these orphans' lives were forever affected. Most of the stories show how some of the orphans who grew up in America still suffer the pangs of loss and nonacceptance in America. And even a return visit to VietNam, their motherland and birthplace, does not seem like a homecoming. Where do they fit in, and is it possible to find love and success?
Several of the characters continue through more than one story, and even some of the adult caregivers at the Saigon orphanage have suffered effects of the war. Indeed, war is hell for innocents, refugees, and survivors, as well as soldiers, and the damage can be lifelong.
Several of the characters continue through more than one story, and even some of the adult caregivers at the Saigon orphanage have suffered effects of the war. Indeed, war is hell for innocents, refugees, and survivors, as well as soldiers, and the damage can be lifelong.
November 6, 2018
oh man, what an incredibly excellent short story collection! i really love mai especially, as she's probably the most similar to who i am in real life, but i can also relate to huan's and kim's anger. kim annoys me in a lot of ways and she is probably one of the most flawed characters in the collection, which is saying something since they're all so incredibly flawed, but she's also really interesting and complex even if her hypocrisy gives me a bit of a headache. aimee phan is an excellent writer, plus i also got to learn more about vietnam and the vietnam war which i didn't know much about before. very sad though, need to go read some happy things and make myself feel better
January 25, 2022
Heartbreaking, devastating, and beautiful. An inside look at many perspectives of those impacted by the Vietnam War's Operation Babylift, particularly the new generation of Vietnamese Americans, interlinked together in 8 fictional short stories. Phan has a very distinctive writing style that served well with the pain and struggle the stories conveyed. After so many stories I had to close the book and sit there, stunned, contemplating about what I had just read. Unlike other short story collections, all the stories are connected and interwoven, so it's helpful to read them in order.
My favorite stories were:
- Bound
- Emancipation
- Visitors
- Motherland
My favorite stories were:
- Bound
- Emancipation
- Visitors
- Motherland
September 6, 2017
A nice collection of short stories, with characters and storylines interconnected, which you seldom see in such books, but I liked it. Gave you an almost novelistic quality to the book. It is hard to read about how some take advantage of their own people, who they know to have suffered along with them, but perhaps that is human nature. My ex experienced some of these things, having been a Vietnamese orphan (though she was two when she came). I also worked alongside a family who escaped to America. There is little excitement here, but a good addition to the immigrant experience in America.
September 11, 2018
These moving linked stories traversing the past and present, Vietnam and the US tell the stories of Vietnamese parents and the children they are forced to give up during the war. They portray the pain these families suffered as well as the longing the children feel even as they live lives now estranged from Vietnam. The stories' honesty helps us understand the very personal impact of war, even for those who escaped and/or survived.
January 28, 2020
I loved this collection of stories about Vietnam and the children abandoned by the war. It sounds like it would be terribly sad and some of it was but more than that I just felt like the stories were really interesting and full and vibrant. They were so 3 dimensional. And while they were about the war and about the orphans they were also about more than just that. Or less? Hard to describe. It was really a lovely collection.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wrd9dgJ7B/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wrd9dgJ7B/
September 23, 2018
Aimee Phan’s We Should Never Meet expertly exhibits eight interwoven tales about the pain, endurance and repercussions surrounding the lives of Vietnamese American orphans and their caretakers before the fall of Saigon. The book is not to be missed.
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