Phan Vu had this to say about his life: "I became aware of the imminent dangers to my life, my family, and my country, in my early adolescence when I saw the Japanese overthrow the French rule in Vietnam, capture Frenchmen and drive them along a street in Qui Nhon City. Later, the raging Vietnam War dominated my adult life, directing my activities: either happy moments, or painful ones. At last, at the age of 60, I became completely free: beginning a new life, a free life, in a new country — the United States, with a new citizenship — American, and learning a new language — English."

Phan's contribution to our workshop was a historical novel, set in Vietnam during and just after the infamous war. For a variety of reasons, we greatly enjoyed this writing. It is a touching story, but it is also a rich portrait of a culture: landscapes, foods, social customs, economy.

With Phan's work, the question of language arose. Should he have someone regularize his language (i.e., edit it to meet the various strictures of what we call edited standard English), or should he retain the slight tinge of English-as-a-second-language that characterized his writing? The consensus was that he should retain the slightly "foreign" nature of his prose, for, after all, he was "translating" Vietnamese into English. His style added to the effectiveness of his story.

In [this novel], one finds both his slightly exotic (and effective) style and his rich portrayal of life in his native land.