by Khusbu Hossain

Book Review

For many of us, war is simply a concept in history books but for some this is a lived experience and a powerful memory that impacts the way they think in this world. This book of short stories The Refugees dives deep into the different complexities of pain and struggle, whilst implementing bits and pieces of the Vietnamese war. In one of the stories we follow the arrival of a young man, Liem, who has been sent to San Diego in hopes of becoming his family’s lifeline to a stable life. He is welcomed by two men, Parrish and Marcus, at the airport, who we later find out are a couple, making this Liem’s first encounter with the concept of homosexuality. The story unfolds with Marcus and Liem having an affair in the absence of Parrish. The story ends on what could arguably have been the climax, leaving us wanting more. However, this sense of incompletion lasts throughout all the stories as Thanh delivers an incredible build-up of emotions in a very short number of pages but concludes them with quick and short endings. In another story The Transplant we are introduced to a friendship whose root lies in the donation of a liver, from Louis to Arthur. Louis who is a seller of counterfeit goods of luxury brands like Chanel and Versace, stores his products in Arthur’s garage. Despite Arthur’s discomfort and unease in contributing to the illegal activity, his immense gratitude towards his friend outweighs it. The ending of the story reveals the shocking truth that Louis was never the actual liver donor but took advantage of Arthur’s loyalty. Nguyen’s stories hold a lot of history and depth. Each character is given a clear background and there is an understanding of the person’s origin and upbringing. Some of these backstories turn out to be the element that makes the stories so interesting, however as soon as the characters and plots are introduced, the story quickly comes to an end with often a single paragraph sealing the story shut. All things considered, the book contains an excellent collection of stories in which the writer beautifully embeds the left-over emotions of the Vietnamese war and its history, something which he may have taken from his own parents and childhood.