Howard Myers
asked
Viet Thanh Nguyen:
I am in a history class and would like to know your feelings and opinions on the May Lai incident in 1968. Do you think all of war was brutal like that incident?
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Not all of war is brutal like this, but I think war inevitably produces brutal incidents like this. Whether or not we hear about them is another matter. War is by its nature both human and inhuman, and we can't pretend that we can conduct war without letting the inhuman out. The full explanation of why I think war is both human and inhuman, and why we are all capable of both humanity and inhumanity, is in my book Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War.
More Answered Questions
tinaathena
asked
Viet Thanh Nguyen:
I quite literally just finished the last pages of your book, and as you've hoped, the book has shaken me. Has this book been translated to Vietnamese? I am first-gen Viet-Canadian and this is the first time I have ever read anything that echoes the self-loathing & criticism of Vietnamese people that my father has raised me under. I would be very excited to have him read this, but can't imagine VN gladly selling it.
Robin
asked
Viet Thanh Nguyen:
I'm still working my way through The Sympathizer and I'm enjoying it thoroughly, but it's the message that the book is conveying (or that I think it is) which is really hitting home. My question is; did you write this knowing that societies issues of representation and acceptance are such important talking points at the moment? Was this your way of using past events to illustrate current struggles? Or am I way off?
Lg
asked
Viet Thanh Nguyen:
I am deeply amazed by this book, while only on page 131. Coincidentally, last night I heard Allan Johnson speak on race and the concept of systemic perpetuations of power over/exclusion of "the other," including the example of films that diminish the characters of "non-whites" - so precisely depicted in your interchange between the narrator and the film director. Are you aware of Johnson's writings?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more