MÈO AND BÉ

A harrowing account of one girl’s life during the Vietnam War.

Nine-year-old Bé is happy in her village in South Vietnam, but with the war encroaching on their home, her father decides that it’s safer for her and her mother to move further north—to another village where he has another wife and five sons. Bé quickly realizes that their arrival is not welcome. Since she is her father’s only daughter, Bé’s new grandmother favors her, which infuriates her father’s first wife. To escape the latter’s abuse, Bé finds solace in a tiny kitten, Mèo, and it is Mèo who will accompany Bé as she faces escalating abuse, loss, abandonment, trafficking, and war. Based on Nguyen’s family’s experiences, this is a grim portrayal of life in wartime and the trauma that accompanies it. While Bé does not necessarily understand all the atrocities she witnesses, the implications will be clear to many readers. This relatively mature content is sometimes at odds with the narrative voice, which overall reads as quite young, in line with Bé’s age at the beginning of the novel. While the narration is easy to digest, and Mèo’s presence makes for some softer moments, the novel is perhaps better suited for an older audience.

This raw story of perseverance in the face of horror will challenge readers and their interlocutors.