REVIEWS

“[Phan's] view of contemporary Vietnamese-American life rings of true originality, and her book's examination of tragedy and hope illuminate a lifetime of forgotten promises.” —New City Chicago

“An unsentimental, profoundly persuasive portrait of ordinary people making the best of extraordinary, almost inexpressible tragedy.” —Elle Magazine

“A graceful, spare debut... a wrenching, poignant collection laced with pity and horror.” —Publisher's Weekly

“Profoundly observant...an unassuming but hard-edged psychological travelogue, which memorably shows the ways humans bob and weave against ever-present alienation.” —Booklist

“There is nothing more satisfying for readers than having an author take them to a place they think they know, and then showing them how very little they actually do...” —Hartford Courant

“Remarkable....The stories are indelible yet float past you...” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Phan charts [these] journeys with acuity, sensitivity, and a wisdom that is remarkable for such a young writer.” —Los Angeles Times

“This extraordinary first book creates with eloquent dignity an intricate bridge of human stories connecting America and Vietnam.” —Lan Samantha Chang, author of Hunger

“Aimee Phan accomplishes what only a true artist can: she gives voice to the voiceless and makes them speak for us all. This is a thrillingly important book.” —Robert Olen Butler

“In gorgeously liquid prose, Aimee Phan gives us deep insight into contemporary Vietnamese-American life. There is a stark eloquence to her work that lingers within me, compelling a reconsideration of what I thought I knew about the war in Vietnam, and more important — the war's long-term effects on the people of both countries.” —Chris Offutt, author of No Heroes and Kentucky Straight

“Aimee Phan's book makes a strong contribution to the understanding of those social and cultural changes relevant to a war filled with pity and terror that concluded with sorrow and disaster. [It] is a much-needed wake up call: We Should Never Meet is an important testimony to that, although older men declare war, it is the youth who must fight and die and inherit the tribulations and sorrows.” —Shirley Peck-Barnes, author of The War Cradle: Operation Babylift—The Untold Story