We Should Never Meet: Stories

Aimee Phan in 'We Should Never Meet' masterfully weaves different chronological moments in time to create a complex insider perspective on what it was like to be a player in the Vietnam-America story. The tangible, earthy images of Vietnam, bare feet in warm soil, conical hats beating off scorching heat, blend with the identity confusion experienced by Vietnamese transported to America after the Vietnam War. Violence and anger and betrayal are presented blatently, yet in such a way as to inspire compassion and understanding for these characters, caught in a bigger story over which they have very little control. At its heart, this brilliant piece of writing is about what it is to be human, the strange tension in each of us between love and hate, anger and trust, rejection and acceptance, identity and confusion.

Great for anyone interested in the relatively unknown story of Vietnamese-Americans, post-war era. Also for lovers of character studies, the human condition, the general plight of life as presented through the angle of immigrants in a politically-charged atmosphere. The short story format enables smooth and easy reading, without being simplistic in subject or prose. Yet the author maintains a common and fluid thread between the varied stories.

Aimee Phan's multi-dimensional characters really tell the stories of Operation Babylift orphans / adoptees / Viet kieu without flinching. She doesn't offer easy resolutions or romanticized storylines, but these people are REAL in all their complexity.

I am big fan of short stories and this collection is absolutely superb and truly unique. Each story is thought provoking and leaves you wanting to know more about the particular character involved. I can only hope that Ms. Phan writes a sequel to the book so that I can find out what happened to each of these characters.

This book blew me away. It was one of those books I was planning to just pick up and read a bit of each weekend but ended up scrapping my weekend plans to finish on the second day. Excellent read for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of identity or for people who just like to get wrapped up in intriguing stories.