“As the eldest son, he had duties, and he was used to working, having done so since leaving school at the age of twelve to shine the boots of American soldiers. 'He'd known them since he was eight, when he… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“He had a Minnesotan’s admiration for resourcefulness in the face of hardship, bred by generations of people one very bad winter away from starvation… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“When was the last time an American president found it worth his while to write a speech on the importance of art and literature?… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“We don't succeed or fail because of fortune or luck. We succeed because we understand the way the world works and what we have… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“Innocence and guilt. These are cosmic issues. We’re all innocent on one level and guilty on another. Isn’t that what Original Sin is all… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“After all, nothing was more American than wielding a gun and committing oneself to die for freedom and independence, unless it was wielding that… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“She wondered what, if anything, she knew about love. Not much, perhaps, but enough to know that what she would do for him now… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“One could choose between innocence and experience, but one could not have both.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“then, to present myself as just another immigrant, glad to be in the land where the pursuit of happiness was guaranteed in writing, which,… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“He was more embarrassed and discreet about sex than about things I thought more difficult, like killing people, which pretty much defined the history… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“While it is better to be loved than hated, it is also far better to be hated than ignored” — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“Every full bottle of alcohol has a message in it, a surprise that one will not discover until one drinks it.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“We shared a passion for words, but I preferred the silence of writing while she loved to talk. She” — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“Are you going to be the kind of person who always pays the asking price?” my mother demanded. “Or the kind who fights to… — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
“Even if they found themselves in Heaven, our countrymen would find occasion to remark that it was not as warm as Hell.” — Viet Thanh Nguyen Copy Share Image
