Kien Nguyen
Encyclopedia
Kien Nguyen born in Nha Trang
, South Vietnam
, 1967, is an author. Kien was born to a Vietnamese mother from a once wealthy family and an American civil engineer. His mother's family, who had lost their wealth when the French left Vietnam, lived among neighbors who treated them as pariahs because of their colonialist background. Kien, a child of mixed race, was especially ostracized from the community. He left Vietnam in 1985 through the United Nations
"Orderly Departure Program
." After spending time at a refugee camp in the Philippines
, he arrived in the United States and became a dentist. He lives in New York City.
A childhood memoir, written in first person, with the reader seeing the boy grow, in South Vietnam, until the book's ending at age 18, on his way to the U.S. The Unwanted shows a much ignored history of American Vietnamese "half-breeds" that were left behind by American soldier fathers, after the United States left Vietnam. Although the title is a tribute to these kids, the book focuses on what Kien saw as a child. This death is exemplified as Kien depicts a woman on the side of the road with her dying child still attached by the cord. This happens as the family is attempting to leave the country as the north are unifying with the south (the capitalist allies of the United States). They failed to leave. After the Vietnam crisis slowed down for and eventually ended for the United States, Kien describes how the north entered the city with music playing and paper posters of their leader, commonly referred to as Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Mihn). After the United States left Vietnam, Kien shows the system that was put in place, an attempt for the government to create a perfect society of equals. As their childhood progresses, Kien's mother (a former hand model while the United States was still around) attempted to make shop and sell goods in the local market, this was shut down by the crew of young volunteers whose job was to clean up the "mess" the capitalists left. The justification was that prices would inflate. This is a book that shows life in Vietnam. It has love, death, hate, torture, hope, despair and near death experiences for Kien. It is very graphic and detailed.
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
, South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, 1967, is an author. Kien was born to a Vietnamese mother from a once wealthy family and an American civil engineer. His mother's family, who had lost their wealth when the French left Vietnam, lived among neighbors who treated them as pariahs because of their colonialist background. Kien, a child of mixed race, was especially ostracized from the community. He left Vietnam in 1985 through the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
"Orderly Departure Program
Orderly Departure Program
The Orderly Departure Program ' was a program to permit immigration of Vietnamese refugees to the United States of America, instituted in 1979 under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees...
." After spending time at a refugee camp in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, he arrived in the United States and became a dentist. He lives in New York City.
Published works
- The Unwanted, a Memoir of Childhood, Little Brown & Co. (2001) ISBN 0-316-05554-9
- The Tapestries, Little Brown & Co. (2002) ISBN 0-316-05554-9
- Le Colonial, Little Brown & Co. (2004) ISBN 0-316-28501-3
A childhood memoir, written in first person, with the reader seeing the boy grow, in South Vietnam, until the book's ending at age 18, on his way to the U.S. The Unwanted shows a much ignored history of American Vietnamese "half-breeds" that were left behind by American soldier fathers, after the United States left Vietnam. Although the title is a tribute to these kids, the book focuses on what Kien saw as a child. This death is exemplified as Kien depicts a woman on the side of the road with her dying child still attached by the cord. This happens as the family is attempting to leave the country as the north are unifying with the south (the capitalist allies of the United States). They failed to leave. After the Vietnam crisis slowed down for and eventually ended for the United States, Kien describes how the north entered the city with music playing and paper posters of their leader, commonly referred to as Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Mihn). After the United States left Vietnam, Kien shows the system that was put in place, an attempt for the government to create a perfect society of equals. As their childhood progresses, Kien's mother (a former hand model while the United States was still around) attempted to make shop and sell goods in the local market, this was shut down by the crew of young volunteers whose job was to clean up the "mess" the capitalists left. The justification was that prices would inflate. This is a book that shows life in Vietnam. It has love, death, hate, torture, hope, despair and near death experiences for Kien. It is very graphic and detailed.