In this childhood memoir, Kien Nguyen recounts for us what it was like living in Vietnam as a half-Vietnamese, half-American child when Saigon fell to communism. The story that he unfolds is heartwrenching and unforgettable. The writing is simple, yet effective and though the story is a sad one, Nguyen has you turning the pages to find out if he will triumph in the end. The Unwanted tells the story not only of a child struggling to find his place and escape the horrors of a fallen country, but also what happens to people when they are pushed to their limits. Some become their worst and others rise to the occasion, finding strength they didn't know they had. Kien was raised by a mother who had considerable wealth and social standing before the fall of Saigon, but when Communism triumphed, Kien's mother was left with nothing. She was now at the mercy of the hired help she had snubbed and looked down upon. What happens from there is a journey of hardships and sadness that will leave you with many life lessons. This is a story that will stay with me.

Like many others who have left comments about this book, I too finished it in less than 24 hours. I found it difficult to put down.

I am finally thrilled to read a story such as this one. The struggle and journey to freedom for many Vietnamese refugees has not been documented enough. My family and I were fortunate to flee from Vietnam in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. My journey to freedom was less harrowing and uneventful than the author's. However, my other friends who fled the country during the second wave of the Vietnamese influx to the US in 1979 told me of bone-chilling tales of their trek to a far better life in the States.

The tragedies and misfortunes of some refugees who flee Vietnam in boats include harsh weather, a lack of food and water which ultimately leads to starvation, boat engine failures that cripples some boats to drift aimlessly in the Pacific and finally sea pirates and bandits who board these vessels to steal peoples' only possessions while raping some of the women and children. Indeed, these stories are true and more or less remain undocumented to the general public.

I am thrilled to know that stories like this one are now being told.

Once in awhile, a really good book that comes along to haunt me for days. This is the case with Kien Nguyen's memoir "The Unwanted." The book is very sad, dark, and disturbing from beginning to end. The only thing that prevents me from falling into an abyss of despair is a glimmer of hope in the final chapter of the book when his family was boarding an airplane to leave Vietnam. It is not an easy read. But it is a worthy read; it is one of the best books I have read about Vietnam. His book reminds me of Jung Chang's monumental work "The Wild Swans" and Nien Cheng's haunting memoir "Life and Death in Shanghai." It reminds me of an extraordinarily well-written and moving article on the Wall Street Journal published in 1999 to mark the 20 years anniversary of the fall of Pol Pot in Cambodia... The book also reminds me of my own experience last year walking through the prison cells and death chambers at the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp which was left intact as it was at the end of WWII... As I was standing there, I had flashbacks of my own experience in a Communist prison. All of these experiences force me think about the meanings of Fascism, Communism, human mistreatment, and human dignity. Kien Nguyen's memoir also reminds me of my own best friends in first grade - Amerasian twin brothers... Kien Nguyen's book has provided me an answer. Having been jailed at a prison in Kien Nguyen's hometown and having left Vietnam through the ODP program, I was particularly impressed with his accurate descriptions of the prison, the building, the people, and the troubles one had to go through in order to leave Vietnam. I have a great admiration for Kien who has the courage to write this book that really captures the essence of life in Vietnam during those years. His book is an excellent that will keep you awake at night turning the pages. I like it so much that I order one copy for my home library so in case later my children ask me about Vietnam... "The Unwanted" gets five stars and "Two Thumbs Up" recommendation from me!!!

This is a gem of a book with many qualities that have obviously endeared it to the other reviewers here. It's a good read for most readers, even if it suffers from several flaws.

The writing is mostly good, if somewhat artificial at times, especially when the author seemed to overreach in trying to be too lyrical. Behind the words, the story struggles to be told, even though one has probably guessed what it would be after the first two chapters. The historical background seems of uncertain authenticity and could have benefited from better research.

Somehow I wish that the author had not yielded to his editors and done things like reversing the traditional order of Vietnamese names, or making them easier to pronounce in English but unrecognizable in Vietnamese. After all, how would Americans feel if they were to read a Vietnamese book where George Bush is referred to as Bush George?

this book is rich in it's magnitude and beautiful to read. the story is compelling and the characters are so real. as the story unfolds and the locations, history and people literally exude authenticity. it is a book that will take you into a world you might not know existed otherwise, and the story both fascinates and moves readers.

I have read many books written in English about Vietnam, but found only a few that clearly reflect the soul and spirit of the Vietnamese: "The tapestries" is one of them.

The story took place between 1916 and 1932 in a small village near Hue, the Imperial City of Vietnam. This is a book about commoners, middle class people and royalty. It deals with a wicked magistrate and his granddaughter Mai but also a heroine Ven, who at age 15 was given in marriage to then seven year-old Dan. There are also a minister, a eunuch, the queen's lady-in-waiting, and a time-teller (similar to Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame).

The story then moved to Hue and we are given a glimpse of the slowly fading monarchy. There were plots, murders, injustice, hate, love, and redemption throughout of the book. The plots were as thick as the tropical jungle (like any Vietnamese story) with a twist at every corner. The author kept us guessing (wrong most of the time) and held us in suspense until the next chapter.

I found the novel remarkable and I am certain the reader will appreciate and thank the author for bringing something exotic to the American public.