Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora (Paperback)

by Andrew Lam (Author), Richard Rodriguez (Foreword) "When I was eleven years old I did an unforgivable thing: I set my family photos on fire..." (more)
Key Phrases: viet kieu, boat person, reeducation camp, Hong Kong, Viet Cong, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Lam writes with the honesty of a true journalist and the feeling of a born storyteller." -- Maxine Hong Kingston, author

Product Description
Winner of the 2006 PEN/Beyond Margins Award

A Book Sense Notable Book December 2005

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Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Heyday Books (October 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597140201
• ISBN-13: 978-1597140201
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #242,712 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STRIKINGLY HONEST AND TRUE, November 13, 2005

By	Mr. Wynn (State of Confusion) - See all my reviews

As I read this collection of essays, I almost felt as if it were my own memoir. Lam's feelings of growing up in two different cultures struck a cord in me and made me realize that someone else out there felt the same way I did growing up in America.

This is an important piece of literature because it truly captures the sentiment of the Vietnamese-American torn between two cultures, betweeen the contemporary and the traditional, between two separate generations, between war and peace.

For anyone who grew up feeling not really accepted by either your heritage culture or the current one, this is the book for you. Lam truly captures the Vietnamese-American experience and I highly recommend this book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andrew is a gifted writer and a gate keeper / historian for Vietnamese Americans , December 14, 2006

By	Tony T. Tran (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Perfume Dreams is a must read book for all Vietnamese Americans. Andrew is a gifted writer, a gate keeper / history teller for Vietnamese American who are living in America. He has never lost his touch with his root.

The Perfum Dreams touches all sides of experiences the Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. The "haves and not haves, the fortunate and unfortunate" lives of Vietnamese-Americans.

I am looking forward for more of his future books. We should all feel proud to have someone like Andrew to keep us in touch with ourselves and remind us of the challenges in living in America.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important, poignant essays, May 28, 2006

By	Quang X. Pham (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Andrew Lam has been writing about the Vietnamese diaspora longer than anyone I know. Since the early 1990s his works have appeared in national publications. "Perfume Dreams" is the amalgamation of his perspectives, ones that many of us former refugees can relate in our own lives. I had the pleasure of taking part in book events in NYC and LA with Andrew. In a way we've come full circle since our last elementary school day in Saigon when a defecting South Vietnamese jet bombed the Presidential Palace a few hundred meters across the street. Pick up this must-have book to better understand the Vietnamese identity in America.