The unwanted kien nguyen summary. The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen 2022-10-07

The unwanted kien nguyen summary Rating: 9,7/10 1543 reviews

The Unwanted, written by Kien Nguyen, is a poignant and powerful memoir that tells the story of the author's life as a refugee, fleeing the devastation of the Vietnam War and seeking a new life in America.

Born in Vietnam in the 1960s, Kien Nguyen was just a child when the war began to tear his country apart. His family, like many others, was forced to flee their home and seek safety elsewhere. They travelled to a refugee camp in Malaysia, where they lived for several years before finally being granted permission to come to the United States.

Upon arriving in America, Kien and his family were confronted with a new set of challenges. They struggled to adjust to life in a new country, with a different culture and language. Kien himself struggled to fit in at school and make friends, feeling like an outsider in a strange and unfamiliar place.

Despite these challenges, Kien was determined to succeed. He worked hard to learn English and excelled in his studies, eventually earning a scholarship to attend college. He went on to become a successful lawyer and author, using his experiences as a refugee to inspire and help others.

The Unwanted is a poignant and moving tribute to the resilience and determination of the human spirit. Kien Nguyen's story is a testament to the strength and courage of refugees everywhere, and a reminder that even in the darkest of times, hope and possibility can still be found. Overall, The Unwanted is a thought-provoking and inspiring read that will leave a lasting impact on its readers.

The Unwanted: A Memoir by Kien Nguyen

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

A very well written description of his perception of his mother and how much she changed over A quick read - difficult to put down. A lot of the events in this book are hard to fathom and sometimes hard to read. An amazing view of a boy's strength and determination. I felt immeasurable grief afterwards. Kien writes openly about his suffering and his pain, reliving the nightmare of his childhood as he sought to free himself of it. God bless the man that poor child became. And what I remember most of all is the sense of festivity all around me as the last rays of sunlight disappeared into the ocean, just a few hundred feet away from my window.

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The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

I love how he describes Nhatrang and Saigon. Dang, fled to Saigon in an effort to escape the last days of the war — they had passports to be evacuated in case of emergency. God bless America and Texas. But overall, really a painful read. This book showed what really happened in Viet Nam before and after the Communist took over Saigon. Here, I was the one doing the pondering. The book also showed me what Vietnam was like before the communist took over the country and the people's freedom.

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Summary Of 'The Unwanted'

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

The daughter of modest restaurant owners, Kim was apolitical—she just wanted to make her parents proud and be worthy of her tuition expenses. Thank you for both comments! The old southern family struggle and face terrible obstacles but their ultimate obstacle was each other. I taught me what my grandparents and parents had to go through when they were young. References to fake news and a divisive government make this particularly timely; the only thing missing is a list for further reading. As I tried to describe the war and the politics and the culture and the atrocities, I could not help but think that these things happened to this young boy while I was here, in America, well-fed, abundantly-loved, and spoiled rotten. Certainly this man had a horrific childhood. I wanted to unde This book is both easy to read and difficult to swallow, all at the same time.

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The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen: Summary and reviews

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

All of the dust whipped out homes, towns, building, with pounds and pounds of dirt for many years. It is the author's grangfather who tries to guide Kien toward appreciating life while you have it. We entered her cloud of perfume, and together, hand in hand, we walked into the noisy brightness outside. Going from ghetto to ghetto, camp after camp, selection after selection, for many people this was a seemingly endless part of their life and Elie made the reader feel and understand that. DETAILS share BUY THIS BOOK close. This memoir begins in 1972, with the fifth birthday party for a boy whose mother is a wealthy Vietnamese and whose American father has left.

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The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

Even more so, he is half Vietnamese. As a student of memoir, I generally prefer examples that include a fair amount of introspection and reevaluation of past events. I was racing over the words to find out what would happen even though I knew he would end up on the plane. He tells us in the afterward that when he completed university and dental school, he began to wrestle with experiences and memories from the dreadful years from 1975 through 1984 when he emigrated. He was the most unwanted. They had lost everything: their fortune, home, friends, and ability to work.

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Book of the week

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

Many have it on their "to-read" lists. He didn't lament his lot in life, he didn't belabor the hatred and rejection, but he put all the facts out there and made the reader feel and understand what it was he went through. When an attempted escape turns tragic, Kien becomes a prisoner in Vietnam. I knew life wasn't easy for those who were considered enemies of that government but I never imagined the depth of the horror. He has interpreted some events later as an adult but he would not have understood what was happening when they occurred.


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International Reads: Vietnam: "The Unwanted" by Kien Nguyen

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

April 23, 2004 was the day my family departed to a foreign land, America. It is my first memory, and the happiest one from my childhood. 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. But analysis is more appropriate for some material than others. But overall, really a painful Interesting book. Five stars for sure. After a huge argument — why would she travel to the airport to make up and say goodbye? After spending time in a refugee camp in the Philippines, Nguyen arrived in the United States.

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The Unwanted: A Memoir

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

As a freshmen I thought this book was sad but good at the same time. Certainly this man had a horrific childhood. His family was not able to make it out of Saigon before the Americans pulled out at the end of the Vietnam war. The smells, the flowers, the heat, and the food are all so vivid to the reader. Because of his hope in a better life, Kien eventually made his way to America overcoming many obstacles. . Being only half Vietnamese was EXTREMEMLY politically incorrect at the time.

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THE UNWANTED

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

It also shows me how different my life could have been had I been born in Vietnam during that time instead of in the United States in the 1980s. I'm left feeling concern for the author, because despite his escape at the end, nobody could live through these experiences without being severely messed up psychologically. He travels a great distance to see her — but then he decides he hates her? Here, I was the one doing the pondering. With the purely personal goal of ""healing"" himself, Nguyen concludes by hoping that his narrative will also help other Amerasians born during the Vietnam War mourn their ""lost childhoods. I had to know exactly how it occured. I think it should be a requirement for highschoolers to read it because it's a good book to learn history. This boy's experiences are heart breaking to read about.


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Traveler Reads: The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen

the unwanted kien nguyen summary

I cannot imagine going through what Kien did and still finding hope for a better life. Amazing, true story of an Amerasian child left in Vietnam when the American soldiers left and the Communists arrived. Then I started The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood and it was the perfect book to get me out of my slump. I returned every single one of them after only a few chapters. As long as there were still parties and social banquets, there was hope. You probably know what I'm talking about - where absolutely nothing seems interesting enough to keep your mind on the book. Told with stark and poetic honesty, it is a story of survival, a story of hope, and a moving, personal record of this tumultuous time in history.

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