Solo Book Club: Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Although anyone and everyone is welcome to join a meeting, it is strongly encouraged to have completed the book beforehand, or at least 75% of it. With everyone being on the same page (haha!), members can freely discuss the book without spoiler warnings or taking time out of the discussion to explain the plot.

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Join our online Readalong on Storygraph! Share your reactions and reflections with fellow readers as you progress through the book.

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Novels can be purchased in-store or through our online platforms

Bookshop (physical & e-books)

Librofm (audiobooks)

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In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village and become “bar girls” in Sài Gòn, drinking, flirting (and more) with American GIs in return for money.

As the war moves closer to the city, the once-innocent Trang gets swept up in an irresistible romance with a young and charming American helicopter pilot, Dan. Decades later, Dan returns to Việt Nam with his wife, Linda, hoping to find a way to heal from his PTSD and, unbeknownst to her, reckon with secrets from his past.

At the same time, Phong – the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman – embarks on a search to find both his parents and a way out of Việt Nam. Abandoned in front of an orphanage, Phong grew up being called “the dust of life,” “Black American imperialist,” and “child of the enemy,” and he dreams of a better life for himself and his family in the U.S.

Past and present converge as these characters come together to confront decisions made during a time of war – decisions that force them to look deep within and find common ground across race, generation, culture, and language.