In Thong Tran's Vietnam, everyone is at war and no one is who they seem. But even a conflicted heart needs a home. Yearning for a true father and a cause to give himself to, Thong chooses independence, liberty and happiness –his tutor and the Viet Cong. It is a choice with karmic consequences he will spend the next half century criss-crossing the Pacific to outrun. Can Thong set down the bones rankling in his heart? And at what cost?
A lyrical journey of self-discovery and identity ... Audrey Chin has written a powerhouse of a novel that forces the reader to feel every beat of its thumping heart.—Sung J. Woo, author of Everything Asian
Audrey Chin's expert weaving of this many-layered tale admirably illuminates Vietnam's complex history. It gives insight into the web of divided loyalties and allegiances, both political and emotional, that blighted the lives of so many people in the fight for independence. This is an absorbing and enlightening book, and a tour de force in storytelling.—Meira Chand, author of eight novels and A Different Sky (Random House, 2011)