Khuê Pham
Brothers and Ghosts
Brothers and Ghosts by Khuê Pham | © Scribe Publications
“In countries that have very strong rules of censorship, literature and poetry indeed can play an important role to vent thoughts and experiences and pose questions that are not so easily addressed in public discourse.”
Journalist turned novelist Khuê Pham’s debut novel “Brothers and Ghosts” lifts the lid on Vietnamese families to reveal their diasporic angst as a result of the displacement from their war-torn home country.
By Prathap Nair
Diasporic families are often hoarders of generational trauma. Nobody knows this better than Vietnamese-German journalist and author Khuê Pham. Broadly based on her own family history in fictionalised form, Khuê Phạm’s debut novel “Brothers and Ghosts” trains the lens on a family scattered across the Atlantic due to the Vietnam war. Tackling hefty themes like cultural identity and diasporic belonging, the novel reaches back into generational family histories to reveal riveting layers of secrets and dangerously consequential loyalties.The novel is told through second-generation Vietnamese-German Kiều, her father Minh, who came to Germany during the Vietnam war, and her uncle Sơn, who fled to America after. Kiều, who calls herself Kim for ease of pronunciation by fellow Europeans, is forced to confront her family’s past when her estranged uncle contacts her - her grandmother is dying and has left a will. The will needs to be opened in the presence of all family members, and she would have to go to California. In California, Kim communes with her estranged family and becomes privy to new revelations that throw light on her fractured family history. A novel where the personal and political seamlessly intertwine, Brothers and Ghosts is an important work of literary merit.
As a journalist, Pham has traced the origins of political movements in Germany, interviewed celebrities and literary superstars like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the legendary fashion magazine editor Anna Wintour. As a novelist, she researched for over four years and brought the story to life by interviewing affected people, adopting the role of an oral historian to capture crucial details.
In this interview, Pham tells us more about the book and her writing process.
Your novel approaches the themes of identity, displacement, and generational trauma through the lens of the Vietnamese-German experience. As a Vietnamese-German yourself, how did your personal background and experiences shape the writing of the book?
Growing up as both Vietnamese and German meant that I was very often an outsider who had to explain herself. And this profound sense of alienation from my surroundings was definitely an important part of writing the novel and creating the main character, Gio. I was also heavily influenced by the stories of my relatives and other people, such as witnesses of the Vietnam War. It is certainly their experiences of displacement, violence and starting a new life that have shaped my book.
You mentioned it took you four years to research and write the novel. Did you encounter any particular challenges while working on such personal and historical themes?
As a journalist by training, I have always done extensive research. For the novel, I wanted to explore the historical aspects of the Vietnam War. Rather than focussing on headcounts, military outposts or goals, I was interested in describing everyday lives and experiences of normal people. So, I conducted numerous interviews, not only in Vietnam but also in Cambodia, where one of the chapters is set. Through these conversations, I found out about the kind of clothes people wore, the food they ate, the system of rationing, and more. A lot of little details from these personal talks and interviews, something that I hadn't seen in any of the big documentaries about the Vietnam War, added to the authenticity of the book.
How do you see literature playing a role in preserving or shaping cultural memory, especially when writing across two cultures?
I feel that this is particularly important for cultures still processing trauma, like that of the Vietnam War. It is also crucial for countries with very strong rules of censorship, where public discourse or what we in Germany call Vergangenheitsbewältigung (processing the past), is much more difficult. Literature and poetry can become a medium to express thoughts, experiences and questions that are often hard to address in public discourse. And I feel, as a writer, it is particularly important (to address this) because our history remains undocumented. Through writing, we can capture our own experiences and make memories and stories visible that would otherwise stay invisible.
What was your involvement in the translation process of Brothers and Ghosts? Were there any particular phrases, scenes, or cultural concepts that were difficult to translate?
The translation was done by two translators I've worked with before, so we were familiar with each other’s writing style. They translated the first draft, and I read the whole text to edit it. I quickly realised that the English version had to have its own sound, speed, and rhythm, distinct from the German original.
Certain stylistic elements like repetitions, or little plays with long German words, didn't quite work in the English version. So, we worked collaboratively, focussing on passages that sounded too German or too close to the original, and ultimately rephrasing them into English. I felt that this process of shifting from a direct translation to a literary translation was both important and challenging. However, I didn't find English particularly difficult to convey certain cultural concepts.
Who do you consider has been an influence for you in writing a novel soaked in themes of cultural identity and history?
There are a number of writers I greatly admire. For example, poet Ocean Vương from the Vietnamese diaspora. Even though I don't write poetry, I feel that he's found a unique and yet universally understandable language for encapsulating the themes of cultural identity. Another influence is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose novel Americanah is one of my favourite novels of all times. It straddles two cultures and takes place in the US and Nigeria, while also exploring the role of women very well. There are many other writers I look up to, but these two stand out for me.
Are there any up-and-coming Vietnamese writers on your watchlist whose works are being translated into English?
I wish I could suggest whom to look out for. Unfortunately, I don’t read Vietnamese and hence, cannot read literary texts that have not translated yet. However, I enjoyed Elevator in Saigon by the Vietnamese writer Thuân, translated by Nguyen An Lý (unfortunately it's banned in Vietnam). Another book is Remembering Water by Tuan Phan, a Vietnamese American writer living in Saigon, exploring city life as well as his childhood escape.
Have you read Indian literature in English? If so, tell us some of your favourites?
I've read Arundhati Roy, like probably many others, and I recently read China Room by Sanjeev Sahota, a British Indian author. His novel also pendulates between Britain and India, reflecting upon the search for one’s own family history. I guess that is a theme that many second-generation writers reflect upon, no matter where they come from.
