Catfish and Mandala

I just finished reading an excellent book called Catfish and Mandala.  Andrew Pham talks about his family's escape from Vietnam, his father's time spent in re-education camp, his family in the U.S., his sister's suicide, and his brothers' homosexuality. But best of all is his bicycle travelogue in Vietnam with little money, going from Ho Chi Minh City all the way up to Hanoi and back down again.

I can see why he went.  He's dealt with a lot in his life, and he got to a point where he probably felt he needed to feel a little grounded by visiting where he came from.

Usually don't like these types of books, people trying to find themselves and doing crazy stuff like riding around Vietnam on a bike for a year. This was different though.  The book was very well-written; he kept going back and forth between his bike trip in Vietnam and flashbacks to his fascinating and interesting family history.

It think it helped that I'm in Vietnam and read the book, so I can understand a lot of the situations and the scenery he writes about because I've seen some of it.

I think one other reason the book resonated with me is Andrew's discussion about being a "viet-kieu", or an overseas Vietnamese.  There are a whole host of issues and questions that Viet-kieu face in this country that I do not.  They get asked about their parents, what they are doing back here, why did they leave in the first place, etc.  I lent the book when I was done to one of our Fulbright friends here who is Vietnamese-American and has had to face some of these issues.

Incidentally, bought the book in Old Quarter.  Desperate to find something in English to read, I was approached by a vendor on a bike who had about 25 volumes to sell.  Initially he wanted 650,000 VND for the book (almost $30) but I talked him down to getting two books for 150,000 (about $6).  When I got home and looked at the book more closely, I realized it is obviously a pirated copy, so out of guilt I will buy a copy somewhere and probably donate it or keep it.  I really don't mind doing that since I enjoyed it so much.

My next book is A People's History of the Vietnan War, the other book I bought in the Old Quarter. Should be another nice pick-me-up story...