Vu Tran Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

An interview with Vu Tran author of Dragonfish, a cinematic work of suspense set in motion by characters who can neither trust each other nor trust themselves.

Can you explain the title, Dragonfish?
Dragonfish was my editor's suggestion, and I initially balked at it because I didn't like the word "dragon." It sounded too familiar—too generically Asian, I guess. I was also very close to the original title, This or Any Desert, which I had used for all five years that I worked on the novel. But I've come to like the sound of the title and see some interesting symbolic value in it too. It's a direct reference to the illegal and expensive Asian Arowana fish that Junior points out to Robert early in the novel when they're in his father's underground aquarium lair. Junior explains that these fish are often called Dragonfish and are supposed "to bring good luck, keep evil away, and bring the family together," which is everything they end up not doing in the novel. I kinda like that irony. The title also refers to actual Dragonfish, these very monstrous-looking fish that live in extremely deep parts of the sea, at depths of up to 5,000 feet. They're quite small but are apparently ferocious predators that can stay hidden from their prey. Little more is known about them because of their dark and remote habitat. I think, to some degree, all these ...