Quotes from Kien Nguyen

Take a close look at your life if you dare. Do you understand why you allow your children to harass mine? Jealousy, that's why. You are jealous of the fact that all of your fourteen children could never measure up in Daddy's eyes as much as one half-breed of mine. It hurts, doesn't it? Knowing that your children can never be good enough. But how could they? Just look at them, and the parents that gave life to them. I sincerely hope that I never have to see your face again.

In the sallow afternoon, I watched her get dressed.

What happened to you, boy? Miss the boat to Heaven, so you stop to visit Hell instead?

As soon as she opened the door to her office and invited us in, a blast of cold wind from the air conditioner swallowed me in its gentle, westernized embrace. I took in a deep breath, and suddenly, America was inside my lungs. Next to me, my mother began to cry.

If you want to ever achieve happiness, don't dwell on the past. Instead, start living. What is the point of obsessing over something that has already happened, and that you cannot change? Live! And be merry.

In the dense air, a gong reverberated. I wondered if it was to announce the end of my journey or the beginning of a new one.

The city was like a fish dying on hard pavement, hopelessly gasping for air.