Meet the Author #4
Khuê Phạm
In June, Maha El Hissy spoke with author and Zeit editor Khuê Phạm about her novel Wo auch immer ihr seid [Brothers and Ghosts]. As with our event with Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus, this was a hybrid session, with participants both online as well as in person at the bookshop Khan Aljanub in Berlin Neukölln.
Brothers and Ghosts was first published in German as Wo auch immer ihr seid in 2021, and recently appeared in English translation. The novel introduces its readers to an extended Vietnamese family living between Germany, California, and Vietnam. Protagonist Kiều receives a Facebook message that reunites the family after the death of her grandmother, and the novel traces the history of Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s, as well as the experience of the Vietnamese diaspora in both Germany and the USA. The story is told by characters from three different generations, weaving together the perspectives of these various family members.
Phạm’s novel is the result of extended research—interviews with relatives in Germany and Vietnam, and these stories from the basis for her novel. Throughout the process, Phạm encountered the personal trauma experienced by her relatives—stories which might otherwise never have come to light. The stories range from experiences of war and attempted flight to extended prison sentences.
Political conflicts within the family are a central theme of the novel, particularly between Kiều’s father whose time in Germany has radicalized him politically, and his siblings in the USA who rejected communism. Khuê Phạm illuminates how these political conflicts exist across many Vietnamese families, along with the important role played by the diaspora in questions of history and identity. In doing so, she acknowledges how many political impulses still come from the diaspora due to restrictions on freedom of the press in Vietnam, a reality that drives the ongoing work of many Vietnamese artists and writers living and working from abroad.
Phạm and El Hissy discussed the topic of colonial inheritance, thematized through cultural and literary references throughout the novel. Protagonist Kiều, for example, objects to her Vietnamese name, preferring to go by a Western name. In this context, the author discussed inner conflicts and the search for identity. Phạm also discussed her own experiences and observations on the differences between first- and second generations of (im)migrants. While the first generation is often more concerned with working and finding their way in a new homeland, the second generation reflects more on their own identities and the tensions between cultures.
Their discussion demonstrated the deep entanglements of cultural and political conflicts within families and communities, as well as the ways in which such conflicts shape both individual and collective identity.
Phạm’s novel is the result of extended research—interviews with relatives in Germany and Vietnam, and these stories from the basis for her novel. Throughout the process, Phạm encountered the personal trauma experienced by her relatives—stories which might otherwise never have come to light. The stories range from experiences of war and attempted flight to extended prison sentences.
Political conflicts within the family are a central theme of the novel, particularly between Kiều’s father whose time in Germany has radicalized him politically, and his siblings in the USA who rejected communism. Khuê Phạm illuminates how these political conflicts exist across many Vietnamese families, along with the important role played by the diaspora in questions of history and identity. In doing so, she acknowledges how many political impulses still come from the diaspora due to restrictions on freedom of the press in Vietnam, a reality that drives the ongoing work of many Vietnamese artists and writers living and working from abroad.
Phạm and El Hissy discussed the topic of colonial inheritance, thematized through cultural and literary references throughout the novel. Protagonist Kiều, for example, objects to her Vietnamese name, preferring to go by a Western name. In this context, the author discussed inner conflicts and the search for identity. Phạm also discussed her own experiences and observations on the differences between first- and second generations of (im)migrants. While the first generation is often more concerned with working and finding their way in a new homeland, the second generation reflects more on their own identities and the tensions between cultures.
Their discussion demonstrated the deep entanglements of cultural and political conflicts within families and communities, as well as the ways in which such conflicts shape both individual and collective identity.