Lauren Le

Dr. Bindman
ETEC 545
14 April 2022

Collection Development: Vietnamese American Books for Young Adults

Rationale of Selection Process

I teach Modern World History and initially wanted to find books on decolonization. After
searching on Google, I was overwhelmed with the number of books found and felt that the
collection on decolonization would have been too broad. Then, I started to think about
narrowing it down to a specific group of people. For my book reviews for this class, I have read
some books on Vietnamese Americans and it helped me create a better understanding of myself
and my culture. Additionally, I teach Vietnamese students and think that creating this collection
will also help them be more understanding of who they are. I also believe that the theme of
understanding one's identity as a result of being a refugee is a complex concept that younger
readers will not understand.
The process included using Google as a starting point. The first set of terms that I
searched was “decolonization books for young adults.” As I was weaving through websites and
looking at books, I learned that there are a lot of books on this topic and thought that
decolonization would have been too broad. A link that I stumbled upon is:
https://www.versobooks.com/lists/4384-decolonization-and-anti-racism
As I explored the list, there were a lot of different types of decolonization books that I have not
learned much about. I know that if I was a librarian, I would be creating collections on topics
that I am not confident with. However, I did not want to pursue these books because of the
unfamiliarity with the density of the topics.
I then thought to shift my focus to creating a collection on Vietnam War refugees. Next, I
searched “Vietnam War refugee books” and found that there were books about families who
have fled Vietnam and they were mostly adult books. This does not match my target audience.
For example, I found this website:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/these-vietnamese-refugee-writers-
control-their-own-narratives/
I started to look up the books to see the target audience for the books using Titlewave. The
Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong, and The
Gangster We Are All Looking For by Le Thi Diem Thuy are all adult books. The content in the
books is heavier and darker than the young adult audience.
I reconsidered the topic of my collection development and thought that I wanted to ensure
that the books were for high school students to cater to my student population. Therefore, I
searched “Vietnamese American books” on Google. There has been more success with this
search, especially for young adults. A great link that helped with this collection development is:
https://magicalreads7.wordpress.com/vietnamese-books-authors/
The link above only gave me 8 book titles. The Best We Could Do was a book that I had prior
knowledge about. I had to explore Google again for a 10th title. I typed in “best Vietnamese
books ya” and I explored GoodReads’ booklist and it populated numerous lists. I selected
“Books by Vietnamese/Vietnamese-Diaspora Writers.” I find my last title, Paradise of the Blind
on this list.
I used Follet, a library management system, while I was doing my fieldwork hours. I
learned that there are reviews on Follet Titlewave, the part of the system which librarians could
order books from. I was taught that there are more credible reviews to look for when building a
collection. I remember Booklist being one of them but decided against using Booklist because it
needed an account for its website. I looked up different book review organizations and settled
with Kirkus and Publishers Weekly since they did not require an account to access and provided
reviews for all of my titles. There are about three titles in this collection that are not on both
Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. If it was, I provided both reviews.

List of 10 Resources:
1. Book: Dao, Julie. Song of the Crimson Flower. New York: Philomel Books, 2019.
ISBN:
Price: $16.95 (Amazon- Hardcover)
Review(s):
● Kirkus Reviews (September 10, 2019)
The return to the kingdoms of Feng Lu relies heavily on the richly detailed
East Asian worldbuilding. Eight prosperous years after Empress Jade and Lord
Koichi completed their quest to defeat the evil Empress Xifeng, a terrifying
bloodpox outbreak and the illegal trade of forbidden black spice has left the
kingdom on the brink of war. Bao is a gentle-spirited orphan and a physician’s
apprentice whose heartbreak over Lan, the royal minister’s marriageable
daughter, drives him to seek out a river witch. The witch turns out to be his
vengeful aunt, who curses Bao with blood magic—casting a spell that traps him in
his beloved flute. Lan deeply regrets her harsh words to Bao and vows to help him
break the curse. A sincere declaration of love before the next full moon will break
the spell, so the two embark on an epic journey to find answers. Lan and Bao’s
story is a stand-alone tale, but fans of the Rise of the Empress duology will
appreciate the entourage meeting up once again with Commander Wei, Wren,
Jade, and Koichi. In this latest quest, characters are literally and figuratively
transparent, and mentions of the long-dead Xifeng’s rise to villainy only makes
readers long for more intriguing characters. Unfortunately, this companion title is
weak in character development and engaging dialogue. An ambitious premise that
does not live up to previous entries in complexity and depth. (Fantasy adventure.
12-16)
■ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/julie-c-dao/song-of-
the-crimson-flower/
 ● Publishers Weekly (September 26, 2019)
Tam Huynh never visits his betrothed, Lan Vu, and won’t set a wedding
date. Lan maintains that Tam is just shy and prefers to show his devotion with
nightly serenades. In truth, the songs come courtesy of an orphaned physician’s
apprentice, Bao, who lives with the wealthy Huynhs. When Bao confesses, it
shatters Lan, who dismisses him as a peasant. Bao then seeks out a river witch to
erase his memories so that he might more easily “start a new life far away,” but
instead, she curses him to spend eternity inside his flute, unless he can find love
before the full moon. A remorseful Lan finds the instrument, temporarily frees
Bao, and joins him on a perilous quest to reverse the witch’s spell. Dao’s latest
fuses beats of Cyrano de Bergerac with elements from her Rise of the Empress
duology to create an East Asian–influenced tale of love, greed, politics, addiction,
and found family. The plot is slight, and the bulk of the conflict comes late, but
nuanced characters and tender romance buoy the book to a gratifying conclusion.
Ages 12–up.

● https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5247-3835-8

2. Book: Lai, Thanhha. Butterfly Yellow. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019.

Price: $24.99 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (June 10, 2019)
The day after Hằng arrives in Texas from a refugee camp, she heads
toward Amarillo to find her little brother. On that same day in 1981, an 18-year-
old aspiring cowboy named LeeRoy is traveling to Amarillo to pursue his rodeo
dreams. After some helpful meddling from a couple at a rest stop, LeeRoy finds
himself driving Hằng on her search instead. They make an odd pair, a white boy
from Austin and a determined Vietnamese refugee on a mission. But their
chemistry works: Hằng sees through LeeRoy’s cowboy airs, and LeeRoy
understands Hằng’s clever English pronunciations, cobbled together from
Vietnamese syllables. When they find Hằng’s brother and he remembers nothing
about Vietnam, Hằng and LeeRoy settle in at the ranch next door. Hằng’s
heartbreaking memories of the day her brother was mistakenly taken by
Americans at the end of the war, her harrowing journey to America, and the
family she left behind are all tempered by LeeRoy’s quiet patience and
exasperated affection. It is their warm and comic love/hate relationship,
developing over the course of the summer into something more, that is the soul of
award-winning Lai’s (Listen, Slowly, 2015, etc.) first young adult novel. Every
sentence is infused with warmth, and Lai shows readers that countless moments
of grace exist even in the darkest times.
 Masterfully conjures grace, beauty, and humor out of the tragic wake of
the Vietnam War. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 13-18)
● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/thanhha-lai/
butterfly-yellow/

● Publishers Weekly (July 18, 2019)

Lai (Listen, Slowly) centers her remarkable YA debut on two
18-year-old protagonists: Ha˘'ng, a determined Vietnamese refugee, and LeeRoy,
an aspiring cowboy. Just after her arrival in Texas from Vietnam in 1981, Ha˘'ng
sneaks out of her uncle’s house to look for her younger brother, who was
evacuated by American troops years before. Armed only with an address in
Amarillo, she sets off on a bus, and, at a rest stop, collides with hopeful LeeRoy
when strangers convince him to drive her, and their lives become further
intertwined after they both find work on a ranch near Ha˘'ng’s brother’s adopted
home. In chapters that alternately focus on the protagonists’ perspectives, the
layered narrative gradually unwinds Ha˘'ng’s tremendous guilt about her brother,
the trauma of her journey from Vietnam, and the intensity of the pain caused by
her brother’s indifference. Lai ably sketches the chemistry between Ha˘'ng and
LeeRoy; he interprets her English and helps her relate to her brother, she models
dedication and loyalty, and the two slowly become friends and more. Told with
ample grace, Lai’s finely drawn narrative and resilient characters offer a
memorable, deeply felt view of the Vietnam War’s impact.
● https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-222921-2

3. Book: Le, Loan. A Pho Love Story. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2021.
Price: $11.26 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (November 12, 2020)
Two high school seniors navigate a long-standing familial rivalry.
Vietnamese American teenagers Linh Mai and Bảo Nguyễn have not talked to
each other aside from a charmingly memorable but fleeting interaction as kids. In
fact, they have gotten explicit instructions to avoid one another. Why? Both the
Mais and the Nguyễns have quite the competitive streak as proprietors of dueling
phở restaurants located across the street from one another. It’s a simmering
rivalry, however, consisting mostly of active avoidance and devoid of direct
confrontation. One night, though, Bảo sees an overwhelmed Linh struggling to
hold it together when her family’s restaurant is short-staffed, and he offers to
assist—incognito—by waiting tables. What should have been a one-time fluke
encounter turns into the start of a secretive working partnership—and, of course,
blooming feelings. Chapters alternate in first-person narration, and the swap in
voices brings just the right amount of tension and energy, especially in shared
 scenes between the two protagonists. Despite some pacing issues, debut author Le
creates a warm, full-bodied take on the star-crossed-lovers rom-com genre.
Universal growing pains and questioning of identity are explored alongside the
experiences of being children of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. Strong
family dynamics and community ties, and the supportive relationships they bring,
are layered and affirming.

Hearty and heartwarming. (author’s note) (Romance. 12-18)

● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/loan-le/a-pho-love-
story/

● Publishers Weekly (January 20, 2021)

Vietnamese American high school seniors Bảo Nguyễn, who has a
“fascination with strange words,” and Linh Mai, an aspiring artist, have only ever
known the bad blood between their families—especially since the Mais opened a
restaurant right across the street from the Nguyễns five years ago. Besides a brief
encounter at the Buddhist temple when they were children, Linh and Bảo have
never interacted, having been given explicit instruction not to by their parents.
Until Bảo notices Linh rushing out of her family’s restaurant one night,
overwhelmed by a flood of customers, and offers his help. What should be a brief
partnership turns into the start of school newspaper trysts and the discovery of
long-buried heartaches. Told in alternating first-person chapters, Le’s debut is an
introspective examination of struggles that children of Vietnamese refugees and
immigrants can face, as well as experiences of racism and unspoken sacrifices
made to survive in a cutthroat industry and country. The classic star-crossed
lovers recipe is updated with traditional Vietnamese dishes and smooth
integration of the author’s southern Vietnamese dialect, star ingredients of this
warm, delightful read. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich &
Bourret.
● https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781534441934

4. Book: Lee, C.B. Not your Sidekick. Interlude Press, 2016.

Price: $15.99 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (August 3, 2016)
In the 22nd century, the population includes meta-humans, those whose
dormant superhuman powers were activated by the solar flares that also sparked
World War III. Jessica Tran struggles to find her voice as a regular teen
sandwiched between an older sister who inherited their father’s ability to fly and
an intellectually brilliant younger brother. The daughter of Vietnamese and
Chinese refugees, bisexual Jess is a Nevada high school junior with two best
 friends, Bells, a Creole trans man, and Emma, who is wealthy and Latina. While
the trio avidly follow the exploits of Captain Orion, celebrity face of the Heroes’
League of Heroes, Jess has kept quiet her parents’ undercover identities as their
city’s minor local superheroes. An internship at a leading tech giant results in
another secret: the fact that she’s now working on behalf of her parents’ longtime
enemies. With her fellow intern Abby, a red-haired, blue-eyed, white girl she is
desperately attracted to, Jess gets involved in adventures far more risky than the
boring clerical job she signed on for. Although the central romance is sweet, and
Jess and her friends are appealing, the writing suffers from more telling than
showing, awkward word choices that pull readers out of the story, and
inconsistent descriptions of individual characters as well as the world of the
novel.

A superhero tale that never quite takes flight. (Science fiction. 14-18)
● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cb-lee/not-your-
sidekick/

● Publishers Weekly (October 3, 2016)

The non-superpowered teenage daughter of two minor league superheroes
ends up secretly working for their worst enemy—as an intern. Jessica Tran, 16,
would like to be a hero like her parents and older sister, but if she can't do that,
working in the Experimental Division at Monroe Industries will at least help with
college applications. Much to her surprise, it's a front for the dreaded villain
Master Mischief. Jess takes the job anyway, and she quickly comes to enjoy
working with the mysterious mecha-suited M and her longtime crush, volleyball
star Abby. Soon, Jess learns that strange things are afoot, with numerous villains
disappearing, and the Heroes' League of Heroes may be involved. Lee (Seven
Tears at High Tide) offers up a fast-paced, engaging tale set in a quasi-dystopian
22nd-century America where the line between hero and villain is often blurred.
With a diverse cast of characters, both in terms of sexuality and ethnic
background, and a wholly adorable romance for Jess, it's a lively exploration of
morality in a superpowered age. Ages 12–up.
● https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781945053030

5. Book: Le Nguyen, Trung. The Magic Fish. New York: RandomHouse Graphic, 2020.
Price: $12.60 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (October 13, 2020)
While Tiến is fluent in English, his Vietnamese refugee parents are not,
leaving them struggling at times for a shared language. Tiến’s mom, Hiền, asks
 him to read aloud the fairy tales he checks out from the library; they both love
them, and she can use them to practice English. When Tiến selects “Tattercoats,”
his seamstress mother tells him that there is a Vietnamese version that her own
mother told her, long ago. As he reads the story of love, longing, and travel across
a sea, Hiền is reminded of family she left behind in Vietnam while Tiến tries to
navigate his own first love, a boy he is friends with. Le Nguyen’s gorgeous,
flowing, detailed illustrations deftly weave Vietnamese and Western fairy-tale
worlds together with Hiền’s memory of her past and Tiến’s struggle over coming
out. The rich color palette highlights both the layers within each panel as well as
serving as a road map for readers by indicating whether the panels are set in the
present, the past, or within the fairy tale. This clever use of color smooths the way
for the sophisticated embedding of stories within a story that highlights the
complex dynamics between first-generation and second-generation family
members. Warm, loving family and friends are a refreshing alternative to
immigrant stories that focus on family problems.

Beautifully illustrates how sharing old stories can be the best way to learn
how to share new ones. (author’s note, notes about the illustrations, bonus
artwork)

● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/trung-le-nguyen/
the-magic-fish/

● Publishers Weekly (July 27, 2020)

Tiến Phong, 12, who “speak[s] mostly English,” and his mother, Hiến, a
refugee who “speak[s] mostly Vietnamese,” have long read fairy tales together to
bolster Hiến’s English. Tiến cherishes this bonding activity, as his mother works
long hours as a seamstress. Despite her busy schedule, though, she dreams of
taking her son to her hometown in Vietnam to meet her mother. Meanwhile, Tiến
struggles to discuss his sexuality with his parents (“The librarian and I couldn’t
find the word for it in Vietnamese”) and navigate his feelings for male best friend
Julian, even with the encouragement of best friend Claire. Alternating between
Tiến and Hiến, the narrative intertwines Western and Vietnamese fairy tales,
including “Tấm Cám”—“our ‘Cinderella’ ”—and a nuanced retooling of Hans
Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” Detailed illustrations rendered in
split complementary colors cleverly distinguish each story line. Nguyen’s
poignant debut captures the perspectives of, and essence of the bond between, a
parent and child, proving that language—and love—can transcend words. Back
matter includes author’s notes that delve into personal inspiration, the interplay
between immigration stories and fairy tales, and contextualize the illustrations.
Final art not seen by PW. Ages 12–up.
 ● https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781984851598

6. Book: Phung, Alice. Lucy and Linh. New York: Alfred Knopf, 2016.
Price: $9.99 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (July 2, 2016)
A teen finds that attendance and acceptance at an elite school are wildly
different experiences. Lucy Lam’s parents are ethnic Chinese immigrants to
Melbourne, Australia, via Vietnam. Her father works at a carpet factory, and her
mother cranks out hundreds of garments from her workshop in their garage while
her baby brother (nicknamed the Lamb) plays nearby. When Lucy unexpectedly
wins a competition for the inaugural Equal Access scholarship to prestigious
Laurinda Ladies’ College, everyone assumes the superior education she receives
there will help her lift up her family economically. As Lucy confides in a series of
letters to Linh, her closest companion, however, life at Laurinda is shot through
with careless luxury, countless microaggressions, and extracurricular expectations
that are nearly impossible for Lucy to fulfill. Three powerful white girls known as
the Cabinet seem to take Lucy under their wing, but she perceives how toxic they
are to both fellow students and faculty they deem unworthy. Observing the cruelty
and home lives of The Cabinet, Lucy begins to see her life in suburban Stanley—
where treats from the dollar store count as fancy and her family eats dinner
together on the floor using newspaper for a tablecloth—as both hopelessly shabby
and something worth protecting fiercely. Lucy’s voice is highly literary, her
observations keen, and her self-awareness sometimes actively painful.

A bracing, enthralling gut-punch and an essential read for teens, teachers,

and parents alike. (Fiction. 13 & up)

● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/alice-pung/lucy-
and-linh/

● Publishers Weekly (July 4, 2016)

Lucy Lam, a Vietnam War refugee, lives in a dilapidated Australian town
among families like her own: poor, hardworking immigrants who dream of a
better life for their children. Lucy gets a chance to make her parents proud when
she wins a scholarship to a prestigious private school, but when she arrives at
Laurinda, where “the beauty snuck up on you, like a femme fatale with a rock,”
it’s like landing in another world, where her parents’ work ethic doesn’t apply. At
Laurinda, power is valued over brilliance, and the school is ruled by a trio of girls,
the “Cabinet,” who brazenly torment weaker classmates and undermine teachers.
Lucy is both repelled and fascinated by these girls, but to be accepted into their
 clique means leaving her old ideals behind. In a novel filled with strong visual
images, Pung (An Unpolished Gem) draws a sharp contrast between authenticity
and deception, integrity and manipulation. Against the vividly painted backdrops
of two very different communities, she traces Lucy’s struggle to form a new
identity without compromising the values she holds closest to her heart. Ages 12–
up.
● https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780399550485

7. Book: Quach, Michelle. Not Here to Be Liked. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers,

2021.
Price: $15.39 (Amazon- Hardcover)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (July 27, 2021)
An upset in the struggle for succession at a high school newspaper sends
shock waves far beyond the newsroom. Eliza Quan has spent her high school
career in Southern California preparing to assume leadership of the Willoughby
Bugle; she’s the most qualified, and she’s sure she’s the best for the job. Her
plans are stymied, however, by Len DiMartile, a biracial (White/Japanese) ex–
baseball player who apparently joined the Bugle’s staff on a whim following an
injury and who easily wins the election for editor-in-chief. Eliza is angry—why
should likability come before dedication and well-informed goals? Determined to
contest the election results, Eliza starts a feminist movement in her high school,
forming unlikely partnerships in a quest for justice. In the process Eliza learns that
there are no simple answers when fighting for what’s right—and that even Len
may not be as bad as she believed. Maybe even boyfriend material. The narrative
tackles the complications of standing up for yourself without harming others
while also exploring other dynamics, including life in a refugee family—Eliza’s
parents are Chinese Vietnamese—and varying attitudes toward feminism as her
mother’s pragmatism is contrasted with Eliza’s push for systemic change. Eliza’s
best friend is Black, and, in a school setting that is predominately Asian, activism
at the intersection of race and gender is also addressed. Quach skillfully balances
all these elements, breathing life into this enemies-to-lovers story.

A fresh take on high school and activism. (Fiction. 13-18)

● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michelle-quach/not-
here-to-be-liked/

8. Book: West, Kasie. Lucky in Love. Portland: Point, 2017

Price: $9.99 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
 ● Kirkus (April 17, 2017)
A teen discovers that winning the lottery has an inescapable downside.
Maddie’s one of nature’s caretakers, a worrier with plenty to worry about.
Money’s tight at home; her unemployed dad and overworked mom fight all the
time; her college-dropout brother sleeps all day. On her 18th birthday, a
convenience-store clerk talks her into buying a lottery ticket, winning her a $30
million payout. Keenly aware her wealth’s unearned, Maddie’s impulse is to
make generous gifts to her parents and brother. A relative she’s never met solicits
investment in his real estate deal. As news of her win spreads, a popular classmate
persuades her to buy a sports car from her dad, curating Maddie’s makeover and
stylish do with blonde highlights. Maddie’s old friends feel discarded, but she’s
overwhelmed as her generosity’s met with envy, resentment, demands, and
betrayal, even from family. Money can’t fix what’s broken. Only Maddie’s
friendship with Seth Nguyen feels uncorrupted. Artistic, genial, observant,
confronting cultural bias with pointed humor, he’s her romantic anchor. Seth’s an
American kid of Vietnamese-American, U.S.–born parents, a rarity in teen
literature, but in their California region, where 20 percent of residents have Asian
roots, he and white Maddie inhabit the same cultural mainstream. The romantic
cover photo positions both side to, but while Maddie’s race, with her long blonde
hair and fair skin, is clearly conveyed, black-haired, olive-skinned Seth's is more
ambiguous—it's disappointing this Asian-American romantic hero isn't firmly
announced as such.
There’s a wealth of profoundly topical, thematic territory to explore in
lottery wins; this iteration, with its cast of culturally and economically diverse
characters, is especially resonant. (Fiction. 12-16)

● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kasie-west/lucky-in-
love-west/

9. Book: Bui, Thi. The Best We Could Do. New York: Abrams ComicArts, 2017.
Price: $15.29 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Publishers Weekly (December 5, 2016)
Tracing her family’s journey to the United States and their sometimes-
uneasy adaptation to American life, Bui’s magnificent memoir is not unique in its
overall shape, but its details are: a bit of blood sausage in a time of famine, a
chilly apartment, a father’s sandals contrasted with his son’s professional shoes.
The story opens with the birth of Bui’s son in New York City, and then goes back
to Vietnam to trace the many births and stillbirths of her parents, and their
eventual boat journey to the U.S. In excavating her family’s trauma through these
brief, luminous glimpses, Bui transmutes the base metal of war and struggle into
 gold. She does not spare her loved ones criticism or linger needlessly on their
flaws. Likewise she refuses to flatten the twists and turns of their histories into
neat, linear narratives. She embraces the whole of it: the misery of the Vietnam
War, the alien land of America, and the liminal space she occupies, as the child
with so much on her shoulders. In this mélange of comedy and tragedy, family
love and brokenness, she finds beauty.
● https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781419718779

10. Book: Duong, Thu Huong. Paradise of The Blind. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002.
Price: $4.96 (Amazon- Paperback)
Review(s):
● Kirkus (May 20, 2010)
A novel of contemporary Vietnam—billed as ``the first Vietnamese novel
ever published in the United States''—by a former Communist turned political
dissident whose works have been recently banned in that country. The story is
broadly of three women struggling to survive in a northern village and a Hanoi
slum. But the narrative is secondary to the evocative descriptions of life under the
Communists, of the countryside itself, and of the old customs that still prevail.
Narrator Hang, a young woman working in the Soviet Union as an ``exported
worker,'' has been summoned to Moscow by her uncle Chinh, who claims to be
dying. On the long train journey through the icy Russian landscape, Hang recalls
how Chinh, her mother's brother and a dedicated Communist, tore her family
apart and destroyed the relationship between her mother and herself. An important
Communist, Chinh brutally imposed the land-reform measures in his native
village—an act that led to Hang's father fleeing, her redoubtable aunt Tam being
impoverished, and her mother becoming a street-vendor in Hanoi. The regime
moderates its excesses in time, though it is increasingly corrupt, and Aunt Tam
rebuilds the family's wealth so that Hang will not have to suffer- -but she cannot
forgive Chinh. Hang, caught between her mother's traditional deference to male
relations—she starves Hang in order to provide money for Chinh—and her aunt's
bitterness, is finally able to break with the past after her trip to Moscow: ``I can't
squander my life tending these faded flowers, the legacy of past crimes.'' Slight,
but enriched by vivid characters and telling descriptions of life as it really was in
a place of mythic resonances in our own history. A welcome debut.

● https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/duong-thu-huong/
paradise-of-the-blind/

● Publishers Weekly (February 1, 1993)

This staunchly unsentimental, evocative novel, originally published in
Huong's native Vietnam and beautifully translated by Duong and McPherson,
offers a narrative rich in detail and free of cliche. The author, who lives with her
children in Hanoi, depicts the complexity of Vietnamese culture--the allegiance to
family and ancestors, the symbolic value of food, class distinctions and the
continuing sense of desperation mingled with pride. The protagonist, Hang, a
physically fragile young woman of the '80s, recalls Hanoi in the previous decade.
While there are subtle allusions to war and peacetime, Huong's focus is on the
shifting, uneasy relationships between modernized Hang and her traditionalist
mother, a merchant who peddles food; Hang's selfish, hypocritical uncle, a
communist peasant; and Hang's comparatively wealthy, unconditionally loving
aunt. Contrasts between young, old, urban and rural, help to convey the full
variety of Vietnamese lifestyles. McPherson's introduction provides essential
background information without spoiling the plot of Huong's unquestionably
powerful tale.
● https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780399550485