Nguyen Qui Duc (1958–2023)

The stories here are full of atmosphere, containing some gems of characters and language. Each one brings in a different perspective and a slightly different take on location, so there's a great variety within the book, even with the focus on Vietnam and Vietnamese authors. The most powerful pieces are actually the ones that have less of a concentration on physical place, though, as these tend to be the stories that evolve with more attention to complex characters within the larger social or political scheme of things.

All together, though, this is a step away from the average collection, and certainly something of a trip in itself. I'd recommend it to interested readers, and I'll certainly be looking up more books in the 'Traveler's Literary Companion' series.… (more)