Wandering Souls By Cecile Pin

This is one of the best first novels I have ever read! I wonder why they only longlisted it for the Women's Prize? Basically the story of 3 child refugees, 'Boat People' from Vietnam, an older sister and two brothers as they leave Vietnam and make their way first to Hong Kong and then to UK. There is tragedy and joy, racism and welcomes, innocence and experience, the whole migrant experience told through Anh the older sister but also through other voices. First there is the ghost of Dao, a much younger brother who left Vietnam with other family members, and a third voice the narrator unknown until much further into the book. This voice is researching and their passages are factual and shows the author's done her research ( I do not know whether any of this is biographical of her own family history) - 1979 Koh Kra incident ; Operation Wandering Soul ; and academic reference to Transgenerational trauma ( apologies I forgot to make a note of its details) and Joan Didion's book The White Album. In this way the author constructs her book - it is fascinating, creates layers and totally engages the reader. I read it in one sitting, very unusual for me. Stunning!