The Literary Memoir of One of America's Greatest Writers-- Viet Thanh Nguyen

 

A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Fourandsixty, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for providing me with an advanced copy of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s incredibly entertaining and stimulating memoir A Man of Two Faces. Much like The Sympathizer and Ellison’s Invisible Man, Thanh uses this kind of duality of identity to explore what it means to be Vietnamese American. I absolutely loved this book. I’m a huge fan of Nguyen’s other books and have attended talks by Nguyen, so when I found our about his memoir, I was doubly excited to not only read a new book of his, but also learn more about his life, how he came to writing, and more in general about one of America’s most important writers and thinkers. Like The Sympathizer and other works, Nguyen plays with styles and genres ultimately adapting them to not so much tell his story as immerse readers in his world. At first, I found his narrative a little strange, but ultimately appreciated how he used first person to engage readers and share his perspective. It further highlights how he is not only concerned with sharing his experiences, but also making them more relevant to his audience. While my family experience was very different from Nguyen’s, I could relate to the video store as our pre-internet source of knowledge and information. Nevertheless, Nguyen’s examination of how Vietnam is remembered (or maybe misremembered) in the 80s in not just films but also books and memoirs enabled me to better examine how popular culture not only shapes our understanding of the current world, but also past events and history. I also realized this from The Sympathizer’s scenes with the auteur and consulting about the war movie. What’s most enjoyable about his writing is not just the engaging use of narrative techniques, but Nguyen’s combination of keen social analysis with irony and humor. Not many writers can incorporate this kind of analysis and entertainment, but Nguyen is one of the most entertaining social critics and writers. In addition to being an insightful critique, A Man of Two Faces is also a great story about family and culture, and how, in particular, Nguyen’s parents provided so much for him. Too often, we don’t always realize what our parents have done for us until we are older and have gained some perspective. While it didn’t seem that Nguyen was ungrateful as an adolescent, he does this memoir to provide some thanks to his parents for their amazing journey to America and the sacrifices they made as shop owners. I really enjoyed this memoir on so many different levels- from Nguyen’s family story, to his care for his mother in her later years, and seeing how these experiences inspired his writing. What was most enjoyable, though, was learning how he became a writer, and how he battled doubt to eventually write The Sympathizer, The Refugees, and The Committed. I loved reading about his experiences in seminars and how challenging it was to gather his experiences and ideas into writing. This memoir provided great insights into the creative process, as well as sharing the experiences of an immigrant family in America. Furthermore, Nguyen retells his story in such a unique and critical voice—one that is not condescending or grating, but rather compassionate and grateful. I have been recommending this book to friends and others and am looking forward to reading this again.