Book Summary and Reviews of My Documents by Kevin Nguyen

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labmom55

Prescient
I only became aware of My Documents when it was chosen as the book selection for our week at Chautauqua. But how eerie that this book, which obviously had to have been written even before Trump was elected, has become so prophetic. The premise is that after a terrorist event, for which several Vietnamese men are responsible, the US passes a bill calling for the internment of all Vietnamese living in the U.S. Nguyen draws as his inspiration the Japanese internment during WWII, the refugee camps after the Vietnamese War and current day immigration centers (although Alligator Alcatraz was not yet conceived at the time). But it’s not just the idea of rounding people up. There’s a whole segment on Google and how it’s in collusion with the government. Paramount, anyone?

The story tracks five relatives - 2 full blooded Vietnamese siblings who are detained, two half-Vietnamese siblings who receive exemptions and their father who goes on the run. Their stories are interspersed with the reports Ursula writes.
A few things struck me. The willingness of Ursula, the reporter, to publish things she has to know will backfire on her relatives. Yet, her ambition consistently wins out. The fact that she’s only half Vietnamese and can “pass” as white also figures into the story. Meanwhile, her half-sister, Jen, is left to pick up the pieces of her life at the detention center and after.

Nguyen does some clever things, like making the guards Hispanic. And all along, many folks, even those running an underground delivery service, do things just because it’s a job and they’re getting paid. His commentary on how quickly things pass from the public’s ability to care hits home.

The story slows once the internment is undone and I was less impressed with the final quarter. The story is dark, poignant, terrifying, yet at times humorous. I can’t wait to hear the author discuss it.

I only became aware of My Documents when it was chosen as the book selection for our week at Chautauqua. But how eerie that this book, which obviously had to have been written even before Trump was elected, has become so prophetic. The premise is that after a terrorist event, for which several Vietnamese men are responsible, the US passes a bill calling for the internment of all Vietnamese living in the U.S. Nguyen draws as his inspiration the Japanese internment during WWII, the refugee camps after the Vietnamese War and current day immigration centers (although Alligator Alcatraz was not yet conceived at the time). But it’s not just the idea of rounding people up. There’s a whole segment on Google and how it’s in collusion with the government. Paramount, anyone?

The story tracks five relatives - 2 full blooded Vietnamese siblings who are detained, two half-Vietnamese siblings who receive exemptions and their father who goes on the run. Their stories are interspersed with the reports Ursula writes.
A few things struck me. The willingness of Ursula, the reporter, to publish things she has to know will backfire on her relatives. Yet, her ambition consistently wins out. The fact that she’s only half Vietnamese and can “pass” as white also figures into the story. Meanwhile, her half-sister, Jen, is left to pick up the pieces of her life at the detention center and after.

Nguyen does some clever things, like making the guards Hispanic. And all along, many folks, even those running an underground delivery service, do things just because it’s a job and they’re getting paid. His commentary on how quickly things pass from the public’s ability to care hits home.

The story slows once the internment is undone and I was less impressed with the final quarter. The story is dark, poignant, terrifying, yet at times humorous. I can’t wait to hear the author discuss it.