THE PLOT: ‘Wandering Souls’ by Cecile Pin is a literary novel about Vietnamese refugees in the UK. After the last American troops leave Vietnam, siblings Anh, Thanh, and Minh begin a perilous journey to Hong Kong with the promise that their parents and younger siblings will soon follow. But when tragedy strikes, sixteen-year-old Anh becomes the caretaker for her two younger brothers. From overcrowded camps to resettlement centres, they end up in a London plagued by social inequality and raging anti-immigrant sentiment. Told through lyrical voices from lost family and notes by an unnamed narrator, ‘Wandering’ Souls captures the lives of siblings relentless in the pursuit of a better future.

RATING: This was a beautiful book and it touched my soul. The writing is visceral and you can feel the emotion written into each page. Though the novel ostensibly follows the familiar pattern of many refugee stories, the author elevates the narrative by using techniques that make you question the idea of what it means to be a witness to history. You almost feel the author is intentionally playing on some tropes to make you question the universality of the refugee experience while balancing the need to see each refugee’s individuality. I’ve seen some criticisms of the use of magical realism and an un-named narrator to frame the novel, but its exactly these elements which make me feel this is an intentional skill that brings out the themes of the novel perfectly. Overall, it’s four and a half stars from me, and I’m very keen to see how the author develops in future.

GOOD BITS: When I read the conclusion of the first chapter, I wept and started the whole book again from the beginning. This ‘re-read’ of the opening allowed me to appreciate the wider context of the ‘reveal’ and shifted this book into a new category for me. This feels like an author with something to say. Someone who has studied the craft of writing so they can tell their story. It’s a book with purpose. Yes, I loved the characters and felt invested in what would happen to them. But it’s more than that. As the unnamed narrator reflects, this is a book about the need to tell our family stories as immigrants and refugees, the need of 2nd generations to be a witness.

NOT SO GOOD BITS:  I’ve seen some criticisms of the use of magical realism in this novel, but I feel it elevates the narrative. The contrast between the ‘magical-ish’ elements and the un-named future narrator feels intentional and demonstrates a lot of skill. My only reservation and the reason it’s not quite a five star is that the balance of scene and summary felt a little bit off to me. There were times when I felt a key development was rushed whereas I would’ve wanted to ‘see’ it happen in scene.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to lovers of ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ by Christi Lefteri, ‘We Are All Birds of Uganda’ by Hafsa Zayyan, ‘Dazzling’ by Chikodili Emelumadu, ‘My Life As A Chameleon’ by Diana Anyakwo, and ‘Dust Child’ by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. This is a wide range of comparison titles, but I would say there’s something about the vibe of all of these books – the melancholy of the narrator or the need for the main character to grow up too soon, among contexts that are too hard – that really appeals to me.

You can purchase this book with a discount and support @aminasbookshelf via my bookshop.org account.