Now shes disappeared from her new husband, sonny, a violent vietnamese smuggler and. Vu tran has written a thrilling and cinematic work of sophisticated suspense and haunting lyricism, set in motion by characters who can neither trust each other nor trust themselves. She reappears in las vegas with a new husband, sonny, a violent vietnamese gambler and smuggler. Robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the enigmatic vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. The book turns on a few weary confessional speeches, but what people write is usually much more important. Dragonfish, vu trans first novel, is a story of exile and loss strapped into the cockpit of a thriller. Every description was vivid, from life in a refugee camp, to the 247 neon lights of vegas, vu tran really masterfully crafted an environment of suppression, hopelessness, and one of lost love. Written by vu tran, the novel is part noircrime thriller and part literary memoir. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. A new york times notable book of 2015 vu trans dragonfish is that rare hybrid marvela literary thriller, a narrative of migration and loss that upends the conventions of any form. Dragonfish matches any of the best in the ranks of noir novels, and its a spellbinding meditation on migration, loss, and love. Vu tran s debut thriller, dragonfish, surprises in ways that readers may not initially expect. Read free book excerpt from dragonfish by vu tran, page 1 of 2.
Dragonfish by vu tran meet your next favorite book. Dragonfish by vu tran, 9780393077803, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Vu tran has written a thrilling and cinematic work of sophisticated suspense and haunting lyricism set in motion by characters who can neither trust each other nor themselves. It is titled dragonfish and is the debut work of vu tran, who teaches creative writing to a very fortunate group of students at the university of chicago. Henry and being a finalist for the vilcek prize for creative promise. Suzy, a mysterious vietnamese woman, leaves her police officer husband, robert, and her home in oakland, california. Dragonfish opens with a brief letter written by a vietnamese immigrant named hong thi pham, also known as suzy.
The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. Henry prize stories, the best american mystery stories, best of fence, and other publications. Trans thriller debut revolves around an elusive woman who seems lost in her own privateand hauntedworld. A missing person mystery is delicately entwined with a heartbreaking story of migration and loss. Dinaw mengestu, author of all our names robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the enigmatic vietnamese wife who left him two years ago.
The vietnam of the past and the las vegas of the present are vividly evoked in this debut novel in which hardboiled noir is seamlessly blended with reminiscences of exile. Vu tran reads from his debut novel dragonfish together. He is the winner of a whiting award, and his short stories have appeared in many publications, including the o. Vu tran was born in saigon, vietnam, and raised in oklahoma.
That said, dragonfish was very much a pageturner for me. The vietnam of the past and the las vegas of the present are vividly evoked in this debut. Read dragonfish, by vu tran online on bookmate that rare hybrid marvel a literary thriller, a narrative of migration and loss that upends the conventions of any form dinaw mengestu, author o. She was one of many boat people, and this aspect of the story might well be modeled after vu trans reallife experiences where he and most of his family were refugees at pulau bidong before passage to oklahoma. The expression, its a vietnamese thing is uttered more than once in dragonfish, vu trans odd, transfixing existential thriller. Dragonfish, by vu tran, represents a new departure. Vu trans first novel, dragonfish, was a ny times notable book and a san francisco chronicle best books of the year. This remarkable debut is a noir pageturner resonant with the lasting reverberations of lives lost and lives remade a generation ago.
Henry prize stories and the best american mystery stories. Vu tran author of dragonfish meet your next favorite book. He teaches creative writing at the university of chicago. Dragonfish is a strong first novel for its risk taking, for its collapsing of genre, for its elegant language and its mediation of a history that is integral to post1960s american identity yet often ignoredabove all, trans novel is a refreshing and entertaining story. Written by vu tran, audiobook narrated by adam sims. At the heart of both stories is suzy, a vietnamese woman haunted by her past and her own inability to find true happiness with either of the men in her life. She recounts the first night of their escape from communist vietnam, in a small, overcrowded boat, soon to be wracked by thirst and hunger, sickness and death.
Vu tran, author of dragonfish author vu trans debut novel reflects his own experiences escaping vietnam as a child. The spoken word doesnt count for much in vu trans hardhitting debut novel, dragonfish. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading dragonfish. Suzy is a mystery no one can solve, particularly the people turning all their.
He was born on september 17, 1975, six months after the fall of saigon. At its core, this richly satisfying work is pure noir. From seemingly out of nowhere and with little advance fanfare comes a book you must read. These tenuous connections will cross paths over her disappearance. Robert ruen, an oakland cop, has spent several years and a. Dragonfish novel, the 2015 debut novel by vietnameseamerican writer, vu tran. Vu tran author vu tran was born in saigon, vietnam, and raised in oklahoma. Dragonfish, by vu tran, represents a new departure, a renegotiation of terms in which the past is not a place of nostalgia but one that carries all the trauma of war, and the present is not. In this, his first novel, he maintains a mysterious presence himself as a writer, employing a. In dragonfish, suzy writes about leaving vietnam with her daughter, and arriving on an island before finally being resettled in the united states. Roberts exwife has disappeared and her new husband is blackmailing robert into finding her for him. Dinaw mengestu, author of all our name s robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the enigmatic vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Dragonfish is the 2015 debut novel by writer vu tran. In 1980like the novels characters suzy and her daughter maivu tran, with his mother and sister, escaped vietnam by boat and ended up.
Dragonfish is a remarkable debut, a noir pageturner. A san francisco chronicle best book of the year noteperfect. Dragonfish vu tran, read by tom taylorson and nancy wu. On earth were briefly gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Profounda polished dagger of a novel that will cut out your heart. A thrilling work of sophisticated suspense set amid the vietnamese unde. Now shes disappeared from her new husband, sonny, a violent vietnamese smuggler and gambler whos blackmailing robert into finding her for him. Poet ocean vuongs debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling. Vu tran has written a thrilling and cinematic work of sophisticated suspense and haunting lyricism, set in motion by characters. Robert ruen, the firstperson narrator, is a fortyfiveyearold oakland policeman, two years divorced from his vietnamese wife, suzy, a woman who left him the day after he slugged her in the face. Written when the speaker, little dog, is in his late 20s, the letter unearths a familys history that began before he was born a history whose epicenter is rooted in vietnam and.
Now shes disappeared from her new husband, sonny, a. Some aspects of trans own life are present in dragonfish. Las vegas is the setting but vietnam is the backdrop of dragonfish, a noir tale told by university of chicago professor vu tran. Vu tran has been building a substantial literary reputation with his short stories, winning awards such as the o. Vu tran robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the enigmatic vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. In vu trans debut novel dragonfish, released this week, the gray zones of uncertainty loom large for six characters all linked to one woman, a vietnamese refugee who, almost two decades after arriving in the u.