Vu tran has written a thrilling and cinematic work of sophisticated suspense and haunting lyricism, set in motion by characters who can neither trust each other nor trust themselves. Dragonfish employs the tropes of the crime novel and the noir noveltwo genres that revolve around the endless permutations and consequences of violenceto dramatize how the violence of war moves far beyond the battlefield in time and place, how it seeps into the ongoing lives of its victims and can make criminals and refugees of us all. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading dragonfish. Jun 25, 2015 author and university of chicago professor vu tran shares his literary influences and bestloved books. These tenuous connections will cross paths over her disappearance. Dragonfish is the 2015 debut novel by writer vu tran. A san francisco chronicle best book of the year noteperfect. Aug 02, 2016 trans novel is filled with this sort of inspired meticulousness, and reading it is to enter its world. At its core, this richly satisfying work is pure noir.
The book turns on a few weary confessional speeches, but what people write is. Trans novel is filled with this sort of inspired meticulousness, and reading it is to enter its world. Vu trans splendid first novel will quickly engage you with its suspenseful story of marital discord, told in duplicate, and set. Profounda polished dagger of a novel that will cut out your heart. Dinaw mengestu, author of all our names robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the enigmatic vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Dragonfish vu tran, read by tom taylorson and nancy wu. Vu trans novel, dragonfish, is partly mystery, partly an immigrant story, and partly about loss and heartbreak. On the pure joyous level of great storytelling, dragonfish is a top notch mysterynoteperfect. In the spring of 1980, tran, his mother, and his sevenyearold sister escaped vietnam by boat, spending five days at sea.
Vu tran, who teaches in the creative writing department at the university of chicago, sits in the book filled living room of his hyde park home. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Vu tran was born in saigon in 1975, five months after the city fell to the north vietnamese and five months after his father, a captain in the south vietnamese air force, was forced to flee the country. He is the winner of a whiting award, and his short stories have appeared in many publications, including the o.
Vu tran is the winner of a whiting award recognizing exceptional talent and promise, and he teaches creative writing at the university of chicago. Suzy, a mysterious vietnamese woman, leaves her police officer husband, robert, and her home in oakland, california. Unable to forget the mysterious vietnamese wife who left him and blackmailed by her second husband into searching for her, a rugged oakland cop infiltrates the sleazy gambling dens of las vegas to uncover his exs painful past in a malaysian refugee camp. Vu trans first novel, dragonfish, was a ny times notable book and a san francisco chronicle best books of the year. Aug 29, 2015 a complicated, suspenseful thriller mixes poignance and violence. Hes an acclaimed short story writer who teaches creative writing at the university of chicago, and he tells nprs scott simon that he was attracted to the. Vu tran reads from his debut novel dragonfish together with. Aug 16, 2015 dragonfish, by vu tran, represents a new departure, a renegotiation of terms in which the past is not a place of nostalgia but one that carries all the trauma of war, and the present is not. As vu tran s debut novel, dragonfish, opens, suzy vietnamese name, hong has disappeared from her vegas home. Dragonfish is a strong first novel for its risk taking, for its collapsing of genre, for its elegant language and its mediation of a history that is integral to post1960s american identity yet often ignoredabove all, tran s novel is a refreshing and entertaining story. A missing person mystery is delicately entwined with a heartbreaking story of migration and loss. The spoken word doesnt count for much in vu trans hardhitting debut novel, dragonfish.
An immigrants experience, recast as noir, in dragonfish august 1, 2015 author vu trans debut novel reflects his own experiences escaping vietnam as a child. He teaches creative writing at the university of chicago. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2. She was one of many boat people, and this aspect of the story might well be modeled after vu tran s reallife experiences where he and most of his family were refugees at pulau bidong before passage to oklahoma.
Written by vu tran, audiobook narrated by tom taylorson, nancy wu. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Jul 27, 2015 vu trans first novel, dragonfish, was a ny times notable book and a san francisco chronicle best books of the year. In dragonfish, suzy writes about leaving vietnam with her daughter, and arriving on an island before finally being resettled in the united states. This or any desert would become the second chapter of dragonfish, trans debut novel, a ny times notable book and a san francisco chronicle best books of the year.
The history of literature, great first chapters with vu tran, january 1, 2017 vu tran, author of the novel dragonfish and a professor of creative writing at the university of chicago, joins us to discuss ten great first chapters how they work, how they affect the reader, and how they fulfill their authors intentions. Vu tran is an exciting new literary voice robert olen butler new york times notable book 2015. This remarkable debut novel is a noir pageturner resonant with the lasting reverberations of lives lost and lives remade a generation ago. Robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the. Dragonfish the spoken word doesnt count for much in vu trans hardhitting debut novel, dragonfish. Charles bock, new york times bestselling author of beautiful children, dragonfish, a novel, vu tran, 9780393352870. He tells npr he was drawn to crime fiction as a way to dig into. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. He graduated from the university of tulsa with an ma, from the iowa writers workshop with an mfa, and from the university of nevada, las vegas as a glenn schaeffer fellow in fiction with a phd. Review of dragonfish by vu tran, plus backstory and other interesting facts about the book. Vu hoang tran born 1975 is a vietnamese american writer.
Want to see a bunch of authors recreate the breakfast club dance. Like his predecessors, tran sets about writing a novel of transformation and redemption that is anything but easy. Henry prize stories and the best american mystery stories. Dragonfish centers on suzy, a mysterious, scary and haunted vietnamese woman who. Vu trans dragonfish is that rare hybrid marvel a literary thriller, a narrative of migration and loss that upends the conventions of any form. Times bestselling author of beautiful children, dragonfish, a novel, vu tran, 9780393352870.
A new york times notable book of 2015 vu trans dragonfish is that rare hybrid marvela literary thriller, a narrative of migration and loss that upends the conventions of any form. Las vegas is the setting but vietnam is the backdrop of dragonfish, a noir tale told by university of chicago professor vu tran. Vu tran has written a thrilling and cinematic work of sophisticated suspense and haunting lyricism set in motion by characters who can neither trust each other nor trust themselves. Henry prize stories, the best american mystery stories, a best of fence, and other publications. Vu tran department of english language and literature. Dragonfish by vu tran read online in pdf full version. Dragonfish by vu tran the expression, its a vietnamese thing is uttered more than once in dragonfish, vu trans odd, transfixing existential thriller. He is a recipient of a 2009 whiting writers award and has received fellowships from the national endowment of the arts, bread loaf, and the macdowell colony. Aug 05, 2015 in vu trans debut novel dragonfish, released this week, the gray zones of uncertainty loom large for six characters all linked to one woman, a vietnamese refugee who, almost two decades after arriving in the u. Jul 30, 2015 las vegas is the setting but vietnam is the backdrop of dragonfish, a noir tale told by university of chicago professor vu tran. Vu tran was born in saigon, vietnam, and raised in oklahoma. Robert, is not the melting pot you americans like to say it is, a southeast asian michael corleone lectures the white hero of dragonfish.
If you like your suspense with a literary edgelook no further than dragonfish. Vu tran was born in saigon in 1975, and grew up in tulsa, oklahoma. Vu tran s debut thriller, dragonfish, surprises in ways that readers may not initially expect. Dragonfish by vu tran a thrilling work of sophisticated suspense set amid the vietnamese underworld in las vegas. The vietnam of the past and the las vegas of the present are vividly evoked in this debut novel in which hardboiled noir is seamlessly blended with reminiscences of exile. This antiassimilationist seam runs through the fabric of vu trans debut novel. Now shes disappeared from her new husband, sonny, a violent vietnamese smuggler and gambler whos blackmailing robert into finding her for him. Capitol hill reads dragonfish by vu tran district of. My first novel, dragonfish a ny times notable book and a san francisco chronicle best books of the yearis a literary crime novel that follows a white american police officers search in las vegas for his missing exwife, a troubled vietnamese woman who has escaped an abusive new marriage and is now secretly writing letters to the. A familiar noir trope the missing woman blooms darkly in dragonfish as the story of a lost people, a theme that tran renders exquisitely, rating the book a place on the top shelf of literary. Dragonfish robert, an oakland cop, still cant let go of suzy, the enigmatic vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Vu tran, author of dragonfish author vu tran s debut novel reflects his own experiences escaping vietnam as a child.
In 2008, tran was asked to contribute a short story about chinatown to the las vegas noir anthology akashic books. Dragonfish, by vu tran, represents a new departure. Her husband, a local gangster called sonny nguyen, recruits suzys exhusband, robert ruen, to track her down. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. A thrilling work of sophisticated suspense set amid the vietnamese unde.
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