Saigon fell to the Viet Cong on April 30, 1975. Kien Nguyen watched the last U.S. Army helicopter leave without him, without his brother, without his mother, without his grandparents. Kien was more at risk than most because of his odd blond hair and his light eyes—because he as Amerasian. He was the most unwanted.
Told with stark and poetic brilliance, this is a story of survival and ultimately a story of hope. It is a moving and personal record of a family's journey to America and of a tumultuous and important piece of history.
Told with the author's unique perspective—Kien Nguyen was born in Nhatrang, South Vietnam, in 1967, to a Vietnamese mother and an American G.I. father—this memoir continues the legacy of unforgettable Vietnam stories such as Full Metal Jacket and Platoon.
A brilliant and very moving book, told with no self pity which left this reader wanting more. The author will be publishing his first novel, The Tapestries in October 2002 but sadly, at the time of writing, there are no plans for a second installment of memoirs.
Media Reviews
USA Today
He writes with a voice of innocence that takes us into the heart and spirit of one person's undeserved and tragic childhood.
Publishers Weekly
Although his writing lacks the lyricism of recent memoirs like The Liar's Club or Angela's Ashes, Nguyen's voice is clear and strong, and he is adept at capturing both the broad sweep of life under the Vietcong and the peculiarities of growing up in a colorful and emotionally dysfunctional family during a jarring and vicious revolution.
Kirkus Reviews
In this compelling memoir, the son of an anonymous American GI and a wealthy Vietnamese woman relives ten years of hell in South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Nguyen delivers a suspenseful tale rather than a sob story anyone looking for a firsthand insight into America's tangled relations with Vietnam will not be disappointed.
Library Journal
Ultimately, his tale is one of extraordinary courage and human will, for Nguyen and his mother held their family together in the face of great hardships. Beautifully written and inspirational, this memoir is highly recommended.
Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies and Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and author.
Kien Nguyen's The Unwanted is a haunting memoir of both nightmarish agony and redemptive self-discovery destined to become a literary classic. Written by a Vietnamese immigrant storyteller whose mesmerizing prose is reminiscent of Frank McCourt and Alfred Kazin, The Unwanted is a cultural experience you won't easily forget.
Marlene Chamberlain
The unwanted in the title refers to the American children who resulted from U.S. involvement in Vietnam from the late 1950s to 1975. Kien has blond hair and blue eyes and is only eight when Saigon falls to the communists in the spring of 1975. He is at the American embassy with his mother and other family members waiting for the last helicopters to leave Vietnam. However, one helicopter crashes and the other flees, leaving hundreds of Vietnamese stranded in hostile territory. His mother, once a wealthy banker, is left with nothing after her house is given to a Communist Party member; and Kien and his brother are considered half-breeds by the conquering North Vietnamese and by their own neighbors and some relatives. Together with his mother, younger brother, grandparents, and a former servant, Kien learns to survive by trying to grow up early. When an attempted escape turns tragic, Kien becomes a prisoner in Vietnam. This is a moving memoir by someone who was forced out of childhood by war and its many disruptions.
Lan Cau, author of Monkey Bridge and Everything You Need to Know About Asian American History (with Himilce Novas)
Compellingly told, Kien Nguyen's story of an Amerasian boy and his mother unfolds dramatically page by page. It not only touches the heart but contributes to our understanding of the history of postwar Vietnam.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Lubna It makes me cry ! I couldn't stop reading the book. When i was reading the book it seemed like i was going through the time with the writer. It touched me deep in my mind. Thanks Nguyen for sharing this horrible past.
Rated of 5
by Mar The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen This book left me heartbroken and stunned. There have been only a few books that have impacted me the way this book has. The poverty, abuse and tenacity of his spirit, leaves me ashamed of my own comfortable life. I wish there was a way to reach... Read More
Rated of 5
by Clif McCracken Unwanted: Feeling of Superiority Having just completed The Unwanted, I write this review with humiliation and disgrace. My sorrowful state is not for Kien Nguyen and the unwanted Ameriasian children of Vietnam, but for my own spoiled nature and the sheltered existence that I have... Read More
Rated of 5
by Kim
Well written and highly recommended....
Rated of 5
by Teena
Kien's life story was told with such reminiscence and brilliance that will truly touch any reader’s heart. I love this book. I recommend this book to everyone. Great job Kien!
Rated of 5
by Angela
At first when I the first few words of this book, I was engrossed from the start. It tells a story of a young boy and his struggles to fit in. It is history told in a wonderful exciting way.
A passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people.
In the Country of Men is a stunning depiction of a child confronted with the effects of Libyan strongman Khadafy's 1969 September revolution. But above all, it is a debut of rare insight and literary grace.
These are 2 of the 9 readalike suggestions for The Unwanted. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
read more
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
read more
Can an wiser, older narrator view the past with more wisdom than he might have possessed forty years earlier in the summer he was thirteen? Ordinary...
read more
U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
Full Story
BookBrowse
Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies and Professor of History at the University of New Orleans and author.
of 5
by Lubna
Write your own review!
