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The biography of an Amerasian child in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. A wonderful book - highly recommended. "He writes with a voice of innocence that takes us into the heart and spirit of one person's undeserved and tragic childhood." USA Today.
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.
If you liked The Unwanted, try these:
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong
Published 2021
Poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling.
by Vincent Lam
Published 2013
A superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affecting debut novel about one man's loyalty to his country, his family and his heritage
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.
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