The Headmaster's Wager [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Vincent Lam (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 14, 2012

A superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affecting debut novel about one man’s loyalty to his country, his family and his heritage
 
   Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English academy in 1960s Saigon, and he is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his school. Fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, he is quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country, though he also harbors a weakness for gambling haunts and the women who frequent them. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, but when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. 
   In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage whom he is able to confide in. But Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.
   Graced with intriguingly flawed but wonderfully human characters moving through a richly drawn historical landscape, The Headmaster's Wager is an unforgettable story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] sumptuously plotted first novel... Lam goes for the jugular, combining an operatic love story…with evocations of Vietnam’s occupation by the Japanese and the later horrors of the Vietcong’s persecution of the city of Hue… His most provocative character is the shadowy Teacher Mak, Chen’s longtime aide-de-camp, whose shifting masks of comrade and adversary potently embody the intricate survival tactics required of aliens afloat in a country of fractured allegiances.” –New York Times Book Review

“A vivid, palpable and lyrical document evoking a forgotten segment of modern Vietnamese history. An unforgettable portrait of love, betrayal and sacrifice.” –Shelf Awareness

"A masterfully paced exploration of a world convulsed by war, wherein faith and reason no longer hold sway...Lam marshals his characters with humor suspense, and tenderness as the fall of Saigon looms...[and] depicts a world caught in an implacable cycle of violence, leavened only by the grace of a father's love." – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Lam, winner of the Scotiabank Giller prize for his short story collection Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures, has created a tour de force that reaches from the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong to the American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“With The Headmaster's Wager, Lam has produced a grand, sweeping saga that vividly re-creates 40 crucial years of Asian history from Japanese invasion to the “freeing” of South Vietnam.” —San Antonio Express
 
“In his first novel, Lam provides both an unusual perspective on the Vietnam War and a sweeping story of one man’s brutal education in realpolitik.” —Booklist
 
 “Lam writes tellingly about intrigue, political collusion and the clash of cultures.”  —Kirkus

“A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival Chen, a Chinese schoolmaster in Vietnam.  This extraordinary book made me weep.  Read it.” – Janice Y.K. Lee, author of the New York Times bestseller The Piano Teacher

“Set in 1960s Saigon, this debut follows a haughty, corrupt school official whose grave mistake makes him a target of the Vietcong.” –Entertainment Weekly

“Hugely impressive…powerful and engrossing…The Headmaster’s Wager has the makings of a masterpiece.” – The Globe and Mail
 
“A novel of many twists and turns, full of people who aren’t what they appear to be…Lam has created a hypnotically tragic tale, epic in scope.” – The Toronto Star
 
“It’s [the] street-level view of a story we’re more accustomed to viewing in panorama that ultimately makes Lam’s novel so effective and affecting. In stages so subtle they’re scarcely noticeable until he’s got you fully in his grip, Lam combines elements of historical fiction, political thriller and domestic drama to present one of the 20th century’s defining stories in a whole new way.” – The Montreal Gazette

About the Author

DR. VINCENT LAM is from the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam, and was born in Canada. Dr. Lam did his medical training and is an emergency physician in Toronto. His first book, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, was awarded the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Hogarth (August 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307986462
• ISBN-13: 978-0307986467
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #608,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Readers,

I'm Dr. Vincent Lam, a writer and a physician.

* Hot Off The Presses *

The Headmaster's Wager, my latest book and my debut novel, is about Percival Chen, a Chinese compulsive gambler and headmaster of an English school in Saigon during the Vietnam War. Percival is inspired by my grandfather, though the book is a work of fiction. This novel is a war story, a love story, and a story of fathers and sons. It inhabits 'the war that was going on beneath the surface of the Vietnam War'.

The Headmaster's Wager is published in America by Hogarth Prees, in Canada by Doubleday, and in the UK and Australia by Fourth Estate.

* About Me *

My family background is the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam. I was born in Canada. I did my medical training in Toronto, where I am now an emergency physician and a Lecturer at the University of Toronto. I've also worked in international air evacuation and expedition medicine on Arctic and Antarctic ships.

* Other Writing *

My first book, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, won the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and has recently been adapted for television and broadcast on HBO Canada. It is a collection of linked short stories about medical students, physicians, and the journey of learning how to care for others.

If you're interested in the origins of Canadian universal health care, I wrote a biography of Tommy Douglas, who was a Canadian politician and the father of Canadian universal health care. He's also Kiefer Sutherland's grandfather. It is published by Penguin Canada as part of Extraordinary Canadians series.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read all summer! July 17, 2012

By Susan Blumberg-Kason VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is an amazing novel and one I'm not going to forget. Vincent Lam is a fabulous storyteller and an emergency room physician when he's not writing. The headmaster is Percival Chen, an overseas Chinese who settles in Saigon's Cholon (Chinatown) district with his Hong Kong-born wife. The two have a child, Dai Jai, who is eight when they divorce.

Percival gambles, drinks, and visits brothels. At his side is his trusted friend and colleague, Mr. Mak. It's Mak who convinces Percival to open an English language institute. One night, while trying to win back his debt at a high stakes mahjong game, Percival bets on a wager that will alter the course of his and his family's lives.

I love how Vincent Lam weaves both Vietnamese and Chinese history into this novel. He also elegantly incorporates the backstory of Percival's early years in Shantou, his high school years in Hong Kong, and his father's rags to riches story in Vietnam. The story is thrilling to the very last word. Although many of the characters are flawed (aren't we all?), I sympathized with most of them, especially Mak. I can't wait to read more from Vincent Lam!!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Vietnam revisited. July 8, 2012

By Vital Spark VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Set in South Vietnam during the war, it tells the story of a Chinese man, the headmaster of a private "English Academy" attended by the children of wealthy parents who want their kids to get jobs as translators with the U.S. forces.

Percival, the headmaster, is not without his faults, and, when presented with a choice, he invariably makes the wrong one.For instance, he is so busy making money, that he chooses to ignore the war until it is too late for him and his loved ones.

The novel is extremely well written and presents the tragedy of Vietnam from a fresh and different point of view. It is not a depressing novel. It may seem unlikely that a positive, life-affirming message could emerge from this story, but one does , one which I found deeply moving.Highly recommended.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sons and fathers August 21, 2012

By Friederike Knabe VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Sometimes in his dreams Chen Pie Sou returns to his childhood in Shantou, China, and to the day of his father's first departure for the "Gold Mountain" in Indochina. His father, Chen Kai, had tied a small good luck charm around his neck: a tiny rough lump of gold, found long ago by an ancestor. It symbolizes the promise of wealth and good fortune, left without inscription because the fortunes can take different forms for each wearer. Several times over his youth the father returns with more money; the growing Chen Pie Sou ponders: "... Chen Kai had an empty space [within him] that needed to be filled, but [he] could not understand what must be obtained to satisfy that void and bring his father home [for good]." The grown Chen Pie Sou, now known as Percival Chen, having followed his father to Saigon and living more than comfortably in Cholon, the Chinese part of town, "felt the same void, all money and distractions, could not fill it..." His position as Headmaster of the Percival Chen English Academy, the prestigious English Language School he established in his father's house, seems to be a part-time distraction at best; his main occupation being that of a wheeler and dealer par excellence, a bon-vivant, a gambler, womanizer, and a powerful representative of Vietnam's wealthy Chinese minority. His good luck charm that has served him well is now tied around the neck of Dai Jai, his beloved son... With it Chen not only passes on a family symbol he instils in his son the pride he holds for their Chinese heritage and traditions.

THE HEADMASTER'S WAGER is Canadian Vincent Lam's eagerly awaited first novel, following the author's 2006 Scotia Bank Giller Prize for his story collection com/Bloodletting-Miraculous-Cures-Vincent-Lam/dp/1602860564">Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures. Inspired by his own family background and, in particular, his grandfather's life in Vietnam, Lam has created a powerful and absorbing story of love, loyalty and betrayal, violence and tenderness, self-importance and naďveté and, eventually, hope and redemption. Set against the politically turbulent times in nineteen sixties and seventies divided Vietnam, Lam confidently balances the private and intimate sphere of one man's family story with the depiction of changing realities affecting them. At one level, he, like others in the Chinese community, shows a somewhat naďve belief that his personal influence will ensure successful negotiations with any new political power players, on another his unwavering belief in the protective guidance of the family's ancestors on his and his son's behalf, even when Dai Jai attracts the attention of the Vietnamese "quiet police". More often than not, however, Chen relies on his colleague and friend, the teacher Mak, who, while Chinese but raised in Vietnam, is the complete opposite to Chen: quiet, reserved, without apparent vices. We learn about Chen's background and his friendship to Mak, in flashbacks. Lam gives us enough context to understand how events have shaped the two friends over time and opens a perspective on the Vietnam of the time that we have rarely seen or read about.

Lam always provides just enough detail to set the scene or build the drama to place events, such as the day of the first TET Offensive (1968), without moving outside of his narrative stream or his characters. The portrayal of the effect on civilians during that night could not have been more affecting. In the Offensive's aftermath the powers have shifted in Saigon and Chen's kind of gambles and bribes are less than successful and even ineffective. When another crisis concerning his son throws him off his routines, Percival has to call in all his favours and wager even more. His father's motto: "... never wager more than you can afford to lose. Leave yourself room to recover..." is profoundly tested. Will the lump of gold, the voice of the ancestors save them?

Percival Chen is not an easy character to like. He gets away with too much in his dealings; he can be too casual and insensitive. His ancestor worship, while plausibly conveyed, seems too naďve and at times like an excuse for Chen to stand on the sidelines of political and societal events; he is convinced that he can do business whatever the political system in Vietnam. Yet, there is a kinder and gentler man underneath it all and this side of Percival is endearing and attracts sympathy when endangered. Lam touches on this side of Chen on and off in the earlier parts of the novel. Eventually it comes fully to light with the unexpected love for a beautiful woman and all that develops from then on in his life...

Vincent Lam's novel is written mostly in a detached tone, his protagonist's story told in the third person. The author also takes some time in the beginning, for some readers maybe too much, to carefully build his central characters and to describe the context in which Chen and they operate in Saigon. But once the scenarios are set and the primary characters have been fully introduced, the narrative tension rises and rises towards some extraordinary drama that remains unforgettable. I find it important not to even hint at some of its elements... other than to say, the patience in the beginning is richly rewarded as the story unfolds and moves towards a conclusion that is as logical within the story as it is likely surprising for the reader. [Friederike Knabe] Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lucky Chen? October 12, 2012

By Daniel Myers VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This début novel, as at least one other reviewer has pointed out, has a unique historical perspective as its strong point: Vietnam as seen from the eyes of the wealthy Chinese who inhabited it during the war years. By "war years" I don't mean simply the time that the Americans were involved - though that time period will no doubt be of most interest to the majority of American readers - but most of the Twentieth Century. Vietnam was occupied by, successively, the Chinese, the French, the Japanese, the French again and finally the Americans. This historical sweep, as embodied in the personal vicissitudes of the life of the main character, Percival Chen, is a very well-penned and stark reminder of the ebb and flow of fortune, of how one may go from penury to wealth, wealth to penury and back again on very short notice indeed.

As for the story of Percival Chen himself: Again, it's competently penned. It illustrates the value of family ties, the fragile nature of stability, the tragedy of loss. But, to be frank, I found something missing in his character - not his visits to brothels etc. which actually enrich it and make him more human and believable - but rather in the way he seems to bumble and muddle through life until tragedy strikes, when he does show exemplary courage and self-denial. There is one adjective that no reviewer has used to describe this novel: Poetic. And, indeed, there is none of the powerful prose that one finds in a truly spellbinding opus such as, say, War and Peace or Moby-Dick. Rather, Chen functions as a sort of Everyman, subject to the petty vices and able to rise to the self-sacrifices that we all are when threatened with loss of family members.... Though he does make an important wager in a brothel/gambling den which changes his life; considered in the round, Chen comes across as more a bauble on the tides of historical fortune than a man in charge or even control of his life and his relations with others. More to the point, the prose itself has no ebb and flow, no ups and downs, but rather a competent, pedestrian quality to it in which no risks are taken.

So, competently-told, historically accurate, at times painful to read, but, stylistically, lacking in the verve and in the depth which give true literature a local habitation and a name. Read more ›