How Do We Remember War and Conflict? Viet Thanh Nguyen
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Viet Thanh Nguyen, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, looks at how we memorialise war – especially the Vietnam War – in fiction and in real life.
Nguygen discusses his new novel, The Committed; Vietnam, the US and France; how we remember war and conflicts; and French colonialism and racism. He talks about the Vietnam War in cinema; writing spy thrillers and novels of ideas; Frantz Fanon and other influences; personal identity; and refugees and immigrants. He also discusses how his books have been received; writing for peace; and what’s next, including the third volume in the trilogy that began with The Sympathizer (his debut novel) and a memoir.
In conversation with Bristol Ideas director Andrew Kelly.
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Committed is published by Little, Brown. Buy a copy from our partners Waterstones.
Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. His debut novel, The Sympathizer, was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He is also the author of the short-story collection The Refugees; and the nonfiction book Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War. His new book is The Committed, the follow-up to The Sympathizer.