Vu Tran's new novel is Dragonfish.From his interview with NPR's Scott Simon:
SIMON: You have me convinced after reading this novel that noir is a very good genre to tell the stories of immigrants.--Marshal Zeringue
TRAN: In my view, noir or crime - whatever you want to call it - there's always that interplay between what is knowable and unknowable. And there's always that aspect of stories that are hidden from people. And I think the story of the immigrant is similar. I think all immigrants have stories that they're either willing to tell or unwilling to tell. And I think the reasons for them not wanting to tell those stories have always been interesting to me.
SIMON: Can I get you to talk a bit about your background?
TRAN: I was born outside of Saigon. And I was born in 1975 in September, which was actually four months after the fall of Saigon. My father left Vietnam before I was born. He was a captain in the South Vietnamese air force. In 1980, my mother took my sister and I, and we escaped Vietnam by boat. We...[read on]