The Headmaster's Wager: Summary and book reviews of The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam, plus links to an excerpt from The Headmaster's Wager and a biography of Vincent Lam.

A superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affecting debut novel about one man's loyalty to his country, his family and his heritage Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English academy in 1960s Saigon, and he is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his school. Fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, he is quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country, though he also harbors a weakness for gambling haunts and the women who frequent them. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, but when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage whom he is able to confide in. But Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see. Graced with intriguingly flawed but wonderfully human characters moving through a richly drawn historical landscape, The Headmaster's Wager is an unforgettable story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.

BookBrowse

Vincent Lam’s masterful story about the Chinese experience in Vietnam from 1966 to 1975 is both an exploration of the dangers of nationalism and a testimony to the power of love. It captures how difficult it is to know how political/world events are going to end and what we can do to protect ourselves and those we love. I found it to be both captivating and heartbreaking.  (Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).

Full Review (1268 words).

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews Lam writes tellingly about intrigue, political collusion and the clash of cultures.   Booklist In his first novel, Lam provides both an unusual perspective on the Vietnam War and a sweeping story of one man’s brutal education in realpolitik.   Publisher's Weekly Starred Review. Lam depicts a world caught in an implacable cycle of violence, leavened only by the grace of a father's love.   Library Journal Starred Review. Lam, winner of the Scotiabank Giller prize for his short story collection Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures, has created a tour de force that reaches from the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong to the American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975.   Shelf Awareness A vivid, palpable and lyrical document evoking a forgotten segment of modern Vietnamese history. An unforgettable portrait of love, betrayal and sacrifice.   The Globe and Mail (Canada) Hugely impressive… powerful and engrossing… The Headmaster's Wager has the makings of a masterpiece.   The Toronto Star A novel of many twists and turns, full of people who aren't what they appear to be… Lam has created a hypnotically tragic tale, epic in scope.   Quill & Quire (Canada) Lam has created a genuine page-turner. The author takes full advantage of the inherent suspense as the fall of Saigon looms and Chen finally realizes that he and his family may not survive the violence of the Viet Cong. The Headmaster's Wager is a novel full of surprises and excitement.   The Montreal Gazette It's [the] street-level view of a story we're more accustomed to viewing in panorama that ultimately makes Lam's novel so effective and affecting. In stages so subtle they're scarcely noticeable until he's got you fully in his grip, Lam combines elements of historical fiction, political thriller and domestic drama to present one of the 20th century's defining stories in a whole new way.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Carmen S. (Elkins, Arkansas)
Deeply moving
A beautiful, well told story.

Rated of 5 by Michael F. (Providence, RI)
A beautiful debut
Strikingly original and beautifully written, The Headmaster’s Wager is a brilliant and heartbreaking first novel. Percival Chen, the imperfect, barely likeable protagonist, is often frustratingly blind to his own circumstances as he attempts...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Carole V. (West Linn, Oregon)
Best book all summer!
This books takes place in Viet Nam at the end of the war; Percival is the headmaster of an elite school teaching English to students so they can be translators for the Americans. Percival turns a blind eye to events around him until it is too...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Diane S.
The Headmaster's wager
This was an amazing and original take on a historical novel because it is told from the viewpoint of a Chinese schoolteacher in Vietnam. Percival is a gambler, a womanizer, oblivious and frustratingly obtuse, yet I could not quite dislike him...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Erin G. (Dulles, VA)
Brilliant
I rarely say this, but I think this book was just about perfect. The story was expertly plotted and so tense I sometimes had to put the book down for a moment and take a deep breath, my fear for the characters was so real. Percival Chen is such a...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Susan B. (Sarasota, FL)
Reality in Vietnam
Perceval Chen has a story to tell of being Chinese in Vietnam. He arrives there to find his father and life takes him along a path of being headmaster in a school teaching English to students who then become translators for the Americans in...   Read More

...14 More Reader Reviews

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