Out of the Dragon's Mouth

December 15, 2014
In 1978, Chinese-Vietnamese Mai's previously wealthy family has sent her away as a first step in getting the whole family to the safety of America. She is accompanied by Uncle Hiep, who at 16 is only two years older than she is. The two survive a harrowing boat journey and fetch up on a small island called Pulau Tenga, off the coast of Malaysia, where Small Auntie, Mai's mother's sister-in-law, is to take care of them. Small Auntie and her family have been stranded there since their boat died a year ago. She can help them navigate this crowded and somewhat harsh terrain and work with the Red Cross to contact an uncle living in Chicago. But Small Auntie believes that the two have brought wealth with them, and her greed soon finds them ostracized and seeking help from other young people on their own. Based on a friend's experiences, Zeiss' first novel lacks the immediacy of an actual memoir and suffers from unevenness of tone. At times, it seems that Mai can't distinguish between large and small crises, which undercuts her otherwise real trauma. At other times, the challenges she faces are grievous and even deadly. Nevertheless, given the dearth of material about the exodus of the families that supported democracy in Vietnam, this novel has value in helping to bring home to modern readers the great costs they suffered. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-The Vietnam War changed the lives of countless people, many neither American nor Vietnamese. Mai Nguyen is the 14-year-old daughter of a wealthy Chinese rice exporter living in the Mekong River Delta. When Saigon fell to the communists, her family's genteel life ended. She is forced to flee with another relative to Malaysia and petition for refugee status in hopes of being sponsored by a Vietnamese American uncle. Mai first finds shelter with a distant relative but is rejected when tragedy strikes. She moves to another small group of friends and begins a new "family," but bad luck follows. She questions Buddha and fears the spirits she worships, making her religious outlook feel hopeless. Romance-both innocent and ill-fated-blossoms. Mai's thoughts, fears, and emotions are genuine. Much of the book focuses on her life in the refugee camp on a small Malaysian island. The tedium of surviving and waiting slows the pace considerably, but it is understandable. There is very little to do while waiting-the author uses this time to develop relationships between Mai and other characters. There are passing references to rape and other sexual behavior, but nothing graphic. Eventually, her name is called and she begins the exciting but confusing journey to America. There are some credulity-stretching events during and after her trip, but her bewilderment is real. Life in America is open to her, and the reader feels her hope. This well-written but slow-moving story puts emotions and a face to the word "refugee."-Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI

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