BOOK REVIEW: The Unwanted - A memoir of childhood - Kien Nguyen (eng ver)
⭐Rating: 4.5/5
🎞Genre
Memoir
💣Brief (spoiler alert)
A story of hope, survival, and an incredible journey of escape, 'The Unwanted' is the only memoir by an Amerasian who stayed behind in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon and who is now living in America. Kien Nguyen, born and raised in Nha Trang, is mixed-race: American dad, Vietnamese mom. His family went from extremely wealthy to poor at the dawn of the new political regime. He was one of the many Amerasians who stayed behind in VN after the fall of Saigon, wrestling with experiences and memories from the dreadful years from 1975 through 1984. Living his childhood being discriminated against and left out, Kien was among the unwanted. Kien and his family witnessed and endured years of nightmares and horrific abuse, all while clinging to his humanity and hope for a better life.
👀Thoughts
What Kien has gone through was painstakingly cruel. It hurts me even more knowing that this is not fiction, but an actual thing a kid has withstood for years. Memoirs are often filled with self-pity and seem intent on gaining the pity of others. But this one’s exceptional. Kien tried to keep an objective tone throughout the book though he himself once suffered tremendously in the past. Thus readers can learn a lot not only about him but also about his family under the Communism regime.
What I liked about it
- Compelling yet haunting at the same time, maybe a bit too extreme for some, but I think this is the only way to clearly depict the desperate circumstance at the time
- Including a fair amount of introspection and reevaluation of past events gives the story more depth instead of simply providing facts. I love learning about the past through the lens of others since it’s much more convincing and easier to sympathize with.
- It’s the dark side of what our good old history book once taught us, about how content and proud Vietnamese people felt when VN reunited in 1975. I don’t wanna dive deep into this because it's much more interesting learning it yourself.
What I didn't like about it
💖Favorite quotes
- Don't let this anger ruin your life any more than it already has. If you want to every achieve happiness, don't dwell on the past. Instead, start living. What is the point of obsessing that has already happened, and that you cannot change? Live! And be merry. - from Kien’s grandpa
- Finally, the rain stopped. The sky draped like a large, starry blanket over the world. The moonlight painted the tiny waves around me the color of my grandfather's hair. I lifted my hands and laughed hysterically. My fingers dripped lustrous, metallic water like mercury. Specks of light danced on the ocean surface, beckoning me to join them. Time melted into space, letting me flow with it into oblivion.
- Death had kissed her long and hard with its frozen lips, and her body was stiff. I held her in my arms, hoping the warmth of my body could bring her back to life. Ignoring my brother's presence, I wept uncontrollably. With Lulu in my arms, I walked toward the front lawn. I had chosen a burial site for Lulu - a strip of land under the cherry tree overlooking the street.
