Skip to Main Content

Big Read 2018 - The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen: Book Discussion Questions

In celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month of May, Highline College is reading Nguyen's book, The Refugees.

Questions to Ponder

General Questions

1. What does the term refugee mean?  How does it compare to expat or immigrant? [question from BookChatter]

2. Nguyen dedicates this book, "For all refugees, everywhere." What are the ways in which people can be refugees? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]

3. Who are the ghosts in each story?  Why is it important to remember them? [question from BookChatter]

4. Nguyen quotes James Fenton from the German Requiem in the prologue: “It is not your memories which haunt you.  It is not what you have written down.  It is what you have forgotten, what you must forget.  What you must go on forgetting all your life.”  How does this quote resonate with the stories contained in the book?  How do forgotten memories haunt characters within these stories? [question from BookChatter]
 

 

Story-Specific Questions

"Black-Eyed Women"

  1. What is the significance of this title? Who are the "black-eyed women"? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  2. The unnamed daughter of the story asks us, "Was it ironic, then, that I made a living from being a ghost writer?" Of course it is…but why? [question from LitLovers]
  3. When the narrator wishes she died instead of her brother, he replies, "You died, too. You just don't know it." What does he mean? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]

“The Other Man”

  1. Liem sees his mirror image and does not recognize himself.  Why? [question from BookChatter]
  2. When Liem talks about not telling his parents he loved them, Marcus tells him, “that’s all in the past…The best way you can help them now is by helping yourself.” Liem thinks this is a very American attitude. Do you agree? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  3. Compare and contrast Liem and Marcus. What does “The Other Man” mean? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  4. At the end of the story, Liem stands at the window and wonders if the world is watching him. What does this signify? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]

"The War Years" [questions from New & Noteworthy Book Club]

  1. What is the significance of the title?
  2. The first sentence mentions that Mrs. Hoa "broke into our lives." Why "broke into"? What does this suggest?
  3. What does the narrator's mother give him at the end of the story? What does this represent?

"The Transplant"

  1. Talk about the irony of the title and the fact that Arthur received a new kidney from a Vietnamese immigrant. [question from LitLovers]
  2. Discuss all the "transplants" in this story. [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]

"I'd Love You to Want Me"

  1. Why is the main character known only as "Mrs. Kahn"? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  2. What do Mrs. Kahn's memroies about her escape reveal about her? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  3. In what way is Mrs. Khanh a refugee in her marriage? [question from LitLovers]

"The Americans"

  1. Why is this story, about an American-born man and his daughter, included in a collection about Vietnamese refugees who have settled in America? Who is the refugee in the story? [question from LitLovers]
  2. Why is Carver so angry? What is he losing? What does he realize at the end? Does it alleviate his anger? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  3. What does this statement mean in “The Americans”:  “Smiling at your relatives never got you far, but smiling at strangers and acquaintances sometimes did.”  Why does Claire feel more at home in Vietnam than she did in America? [question from BookChatter]

"Someone Else Besides You"

  1. What does the title refer to? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  2. Do Sam and his ex-wife have any future together? Is this their final goodbye? [question from LitLovers]

"Fatherland"

  1. Why does the father name his first and second set of children the same names? [question from BookChatter] What does it mean to be a replacement Vietnamese child? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  2. Why does Vivien misrepresent herself? How is this the same or different from Mrs. Kahn from "I'd Love You to Want Me" or Marcus from "The Other Man"? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club] Had she not confessed to Phuong, would her lies have made any difference; would they have done any harm? [question from LitLovers]
  3. What is the author attempting by including a story of a man who leaves America and returns to build a new life in Vietnam? [question from New & Noteworthy Book Club]
  4. Vivien tells Phuong that she lacks respect for their father. Why? [question from LitLovers]
  5. Later, Phuong studies one of the photos she took of Vivien and her father; she is certain that her father prefers Vivien over his other children. Why does she think so? Do you think she is correct? [question from LitLovers]
  6. Why does Phuong burn the photos at the end? What is the significance of the ashes vanishing into the sky—"an inverted blue bowl of the finest crystal, covering the whole of Saigon as far as her eyes could see"? [question from LitLovers]

Submit Discussion Questions

What are some questions about The Refugees that you would like the group to discuss on May 30? Please email your suggestions to Kelle Rose at krose@highline.edu.