Nguyen, Kien 1967-

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Nguyen, Kien 1967-

PERSONAL: Born 1967 in Nhatrang, South Vietnam; immigrated to the United States, 1985; son of Khuon (mother, a banker and a civil engineer). Education: New York University College of Dentistry, D.D.S., 1998.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Little, Brown, Adult Trade, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. E-mail—spiritnyc@aol.com.

CAREER: Practiced dentistry in New York, NY; New York University College of Dentistry, New York, clinical instructor in general dentistry and management science.

AWARDS, HONORS: Grinzane Cavour Prize, 1998.

WRITINGS:

The Unwanted: A Memoir, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

The Tapestries: A Novel, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

Le Colonial: A Novel, Little Brown (Boston, MA), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Kien Nguyen's first book, The Unwanted: A Memoir, grew out of recurring nightmares associated with the fall of Saigon in 1975 and its effect on him and on his family. Nguyen and his younger brother were the sheltered children of a wealthy banker living in Nhatrang, South Vietnam, whose livelihood was taken from her by the communist government that took over after the sudden withdrawal of American troops and personnel on April 30, 1975. Because her children were Amerasian, Nguyen's mother was not allowed to work under the new regime, and she and her sons sought refuge with her embittered relatives, who abused them no less than did the government.

The horror of Nguyen's experiences include internment and torture in a re-education camp, after an attempt to escape Vietnam failed. Nor do Nguyen's painful experiences end with his farewell to the country in 1985 when he is finally allowed to leave under the United Nation's Orderly Departure Program. Indeed, "during parts of the book, it's hard to believe that any more tragedy and heartbreak can befall Kien and his family," remarked Gil Asakawa in Nikkei View. The beauty with which Nguyen writes about his arduous past impressed reviewers, who compared The Unwanted to such acclaimed memoirs as Angela's Ashes and The Liar's Club. "Perhaps the most engaging aspect of his memoir is its portrayal of the ironies that ensue when the old order collapses and the social hierarchy is turned upside down," proclaimed a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. For other reviewers, it was not the ironies but the tragedies in Nguyen's story that struck home. Jana Siciliano wrote for Teenreads.com: "Nguyen's odyssey makes for compelling and emotional reading, and The Unwanted will make you turn page after page with each beat of your empathetic heart until you won't believe you've finished the whole thing." For still others, Nguyen's struggle to survive the years from 1975 to 1985 make for a suspenseful read. Library Journal contributor A.O. Edmunds called the story "one of extraordinary courage and human will."

In reviewing Nguyen's The Tapestries: A Novel, a Publishers Weekly reviewer concluded that "he proves he is at least as talented a writer of fiction as nonfiction." Drawing on Nguyen's grandfather's life, as told to him by the older man, Nguyen sets the story in the 1920s and begins with seven-year-old Dan Nguyen entering an arranged marriage with the family's twenty-seven-year-old housekeeper, Ven. When Dan's grandfather, father, and other family members are murdered, Ven sells him to the man who ordered the murders, Mayor Toan, certain that he will be safe and undiscovered until he is old enough to avenge his family. As the boy grows, however, he falls in love with Tai May, the mayor's granddaughter. Kristine Huntley wrote in Booklist that The Tapestries "is a thrilling tale based on an extraordinary life."

Le Colonial: A Novel begins with French Jesuit Pierre de Behaine enticing Francoise Gervaise, a young artist who is fleeing from a misdeed, into entering the priesthood. He in turn invites desperately poor Henri Monange to join them in their missionary work in Annam, now Vietnam. Upon arriving, de Behaine announces that he has been made a bishop and will begin the process of annexing Annan as a French colony. The two younger men and their followers escape a sentence of death for the parish's failure to pay its taxes when Gervaise leaves the church and embraces Buddhism. As the country is caught up in a civil war, de Behaine and Monange become part of the court of Prince Anh of the South, where Monange falls in love with a girl who becomes the prince's concubine. Huntley described Le Colonial as "a lush, exciting epic." Library Journal contributor Barbara Hoffert noted that in addition to providing a history of a country with which we were once engaged in conflict, "Nguyen … delivers a rich, satisfying tale."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Nguyen, Kien, The Unwanted: A Memoir, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

PERIODICALS

Book, March, 2001, Jeff Ousborne, review of The Unwanted, p. 79.

Booklist, January 1, 2001, Marlene Chamberlain, review of The Unwanted, p. 908; October 1, 2002, Kristine Huntley, review of The Tapestries: A Novel, p. 302; September 15, 2004, Kristine Huntley, review of Le Colonial: A Novel, p. 209.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2002, review of The Tapestries, p. 1168; July 15, 2004, review of Le Colonial, p. 653.

Kliatt, May, 2002, Claire Rosser, review of The Unwanted, p. 33; January, 2004, Claire Rosser, review of The Tapestries, p. 19.

Library Journal, March 1, 2001, A.O. Edmunds, review of The Unwanted, p. 108; September 15, 2002, Rebecca Stuhr, review of The Tapestries, p. 93; September 1, 2004, Barbara Hoffert, review of Le Colonial, p. 141.

Publishers Weekly, January 22, 2001, review of The Unwanted, p. 311; August 26, 2002, review of The Tapestries, p. 39; August 30, 2004, review of Le Colonial, p. 34.