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Dragonfish: A Novel
Dragonfish: A Novel | Vu Tran
7 posts | 12 read | 14 to read
A New York Times Notable Book of 2015 "Vu Tran's Dragonfish is that rare hybrid marvela literary thriller, a narrative of migration and loss that upends the conventions of any form." Dinaw Mengestu, author of All Our Names Robert, an Oakland cop, still can't let go of Suzy, the enigmatic Vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Now she's disappeared from her new husband, Sonny, a violent Vietnamese smuggler and gambler who's blackmailing Robert into finding her for him. As he pursues her through the sleek and seamy gambling dens of Las Vegas, shadowed by Sonny's sadistic son, "Junior," and assisted by unexpected and reluctant allies, Robert learns more about his ex-wife than he ever did during their marriage. He finds himself chasing the ghosts of her past, one that reaches back to a refugee camp in Malaysia after the fall of Saigon, as his investigation soon uncovers the existence of an elusive packet of her secret letters to someone she left behind long ago. Although Robert starts illuminating the dark corners of Suzys life, the legacy of her sins threatens to immolate them all. 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. This remarkable debut is a noir page-turner resonant with the lasting reverberations of lives lost and lives remade a generation ago.
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Tex2Flo
Dragonfish | Vu Tran
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“...my father used to tell me—usually after one of my mother‘s fits throwing dishes or books or whatever—that women lose control when they‘re afraid and me lose control when they‘re in love.”

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Matilda
Dragonfish | Vu Tran
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57 likes2 stack adds
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rachellayown
Dragonfish | Vu Tran
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Have I mentioned that I *LOVE* my library?

EvieBee Nice!! 7y
Julsmarshall So nice to have a good library! ❤️📚 7y
rachellayown Yes, I agree @Julsmarshall ! 7y
70 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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ReadingGrrl
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"America, Mr Robert, is not the melting pot you Americans like to say it is. It's oil and water. Things get stirred, sure but they eventually separate and settle, and the like things always go back to each other. " - this quote felt a little too much like the conservative right these days

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Jokila
Dragonfish | Vu Tran
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Mehso-so

A Vietnamese refugee loses her husband to war and, unable to escape the ghosts of her past, abandons their daughter. New marriages, homes and names can't erase her trauma and again and again, she disappears from people's lives. Tran plays deftly with our genre expectations but, I never felt a connection to the work on a nonclinical level. I never cared about Robert or Suzy and the thriller aspects of the story felt underdeveloped & unentertaining.

Megabooks Great review! 8y
Jokila Thank you so much! @Ebooksandcooks 8y
2 likes2 comments
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HardcoverHearts
Dragonfish | Vu Tran
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This audiobook is grabbing me in immediately!! I think thrillers are a great thing to listen to on audio format.

ReadingEnvy Thrillers are great in audio I agree! My favorite was You by Kepnes. Creepy perfect narrator. 8y
squibblesreads dang I NEEEED this! 😍 8y
HardcoverHearts @ReadingEnvy : thanks for the recommendation! I'll add it to my wish list at the library. And yes, @squibblesreads - you do!! 😉 8y
17 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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DocBrown
Dragonfish | Vu Tran
Pickpick

Haunting love story well written. Works on several levels, not least as a tightly wound mystery. But it is so much more. It reveals the long-term impact of trauma, loss, bonding, and memory. I appreciated lucid prose, intercutting plot threads, and straightforward exposition. Highly recommended.