Khuê Pham’s novel centres on a Vietnamese German woman Kiều. Based in Berlin, where her affluent, middle-class parents also live, Kiều’s ambivalent about her Vietnamese heritage, even renaming herself Kim to make it easier to fit into German society. Then Kiều’s grandmother dies forcing a reunion with her father’s estranged siblings in California, headed by his younger brother Sơn. Kiều’s stay in California unexpectedly prompts her to reevaluate her ties to Vietnam and Vietnamese culture. A process that partly stems from a journey into her family’s past. One which reveals the origins of the rift between Sơn and Kiều’s father Minh.

Pham’s narrative moves backwards and forwards in time, charting Minh’s last days at home in Saigon at the height of the Vietnam War, then following him as he moves to East Germany to study. Meanwhile Minh’s parents and siblings are left behind in Vietnam: the American forces evacuate, the war ends and the country’s taken over by the North’s communist regime. In Germany it’s 1968, a politically turbulent time, news of the My Lai massacre radicalises Minh who joins a wider group of anti-war protestors. In Saigon, Sơn’s traumatic experiences take him on a vastly different path, as he and his wife Mai flee communist Vietnam, eventually settling in California’s famous Little Saigon district. The large Vietnamese community there makes it easier for Sơn and his family to sustain their links to Vietnamese culture. Time passes, Sơn becomes a successful business owner and eventually an ardent Trump supporter.

Pham’s novel’s semi-autobiographical, partly inspired by her own past and partly by stories told to her by family members. I found Pham’s novel slightly uneven, not that unusual for a debut. It’s well-written but the style sometimes felt a little too matter-of-fact, and the structure lacked a certain drive - something which may connect to Pham’s background as a journalist. I found the sections centred on Minh in Germany, and then Sơn in Saigon, the most engaging, particularly the depiction of everyday life in Vietnam directly after the end of the war. I also liked how Pham used the brothers’ vastly different experiences to explore the interplay between place, personal identity and historical events. But I was much less invested in Kiều’s present-day storyline. It sometimes felt too much like a framing device enabling Pham’s broader reflections on heritage, diaspora and family history. However, despite my reservations, this was still a more than worthwhile read. Pham’s a writer I’ll definitely look out for in future. Translated by Charles Hawley and Daryl Lindsey

Rating: 3.5

I really wanted to like this one but I DNF at 36%. The main character annoyed me big time and surprise pregnancies are not my thing. I really wanted to know more about her dad's side of the story but I just didn't want to pick this up at all, I tried several times. I might be in the minority here, though. Thank you for the advance copy.