An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Fiction & Literature
One of Buzzfeed’s “21 Incredible New Books You Need to Read This Fall”
“Shocking, engaging, and moving, this novel embraces humanity in all its messy, thrilling complexity. A strong debut from an author capable of immersing the reader in a foreign world.” —Kirkus Reviews
“After Disasters is a book of immense empathy, and in many ways, a hopeful one.” —GQ, Best Book of September
“[A] stunning debut…A celebration of the messiness of humanity and the beauty found within it.” —Nylon, 13 Books to Read This September
“Haunting and heartbreaking, After Disasters is not an easy read by any means. But it gets to the heart of what happens when we are faced with a disaster we can’t control, and brilliantly probes into the parts of ourselves that arise in the aftermath.” —Refinery29, Best Book of September
“After Disasters is a story of grit and pain, not unlike the earthquake it follows. Read it at your own peril, but once you do, the pictures it paints in your mind will linger for a long time.” —New York Journal of Books
“Dinh is skilled at rendering the messiness of human motivation, and he adeptly harmonizes various preoccupations—masculinity, ecological abrasion, and the complexities of international aid work.” —The New Yorker
“Make shelf space for Dinh’s stupendous debut, which is bound to appear on this year’s lists of award nominations and best-of compilations.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Meticulously researched and vividly told, After Disasters is an ambitious page-turner that weaves together environmental devastation, queer masculinities, and postcolonial landscapes.” —LA Review of Books
“[After Disasters] is outright beautiful, one of those rare combinations where you can’t stop reading it, so engaged are you in the characters’ lives, but equally, you force yourself to stop and sift through a sentence’s construction or reflect on how the author has so perfectly captured the ineffable.” —Lambda Literary Review
“A+: After Disasters, by Viet Dinh, a heartrending account of global disaster relief (and love). This novel made me think about headlines in a new way—what really happens in the weeks and months after the earthquake, the flood, the fire. Incredible book.” —Lincoln Star Journal
“Viet Dinh takes on a multitude of voices in exploring the aftermath of disaster and the ways we fight to do more than survive. A promising debut from a writer whose stories I’ve been following for years. This is one to watch.” —Matthew Salesses, The Hundred-Year Flood
“After Disasters is a triumph of pulsating humanity and lyrical ambition. Viet Dinh has written a novel of tremendous range, vibrant scope, and astonishing detail—one that dares to consider the emotional dimensions of natural cataclysms, the conflicts faced by international aid relief workers, and the daily challenges of saving our own brief lives. After Disasters marks the debut of Viet Dinh’s brilliant career.” —Amber Dermont, New York Times bestselling author of The Starboard Sea
“After Disasters is a wonderful read—the earthquake at the center of these stories permits the characters within them to reveal their essential selves, whether in weakness or heroism. The book has the breadth and sweep of a novel, leading the reader across time and geography, pursuing the trajectories of its protagonists with insight and empathy. Viet Dinh is a splendid writer.” —Antonya Nelson, author of Bound and Funny Once: Stories
06/01/2016
Four men in a disaster assistance response team converge in the Gujarat region of India, which has suffered a tremendous earthquake. Once the political, social, and culinary ramifications of providing search, rescue, and relief are addressed, the motivations of these men are explored. Dev, a surgeon, has a "calling" for the work; Ted, a former pharmaceutical salesman, is atoning for past misdeeds; Piotr and Andy want to escape the conventional aspects of their lives. Their relationships with children, parents, wives, and lovers are brought to the fore as the group works together to save people buried and hidden in the rubble of destroyed cities and villages. As their life stories emerge, sometimes intertwining, we are swept up in their search for love and meaning, discovering that they need to be rescued in some ways themselves. Short-story author Dinh's impressive storytelling abilities are on display in this mesmerizing debut novel. VERDICT Excellent writing and vivid descriptions take readers on a trip to an India that travel books do not cover, sometimes with shocking realism.—Lisa Rohrbaugh, Leetonia Community P.L., OH
2016-06-22
In his debut novel, Dinh explores the complicated world of aid workers and the many ways people can be drawn to work that is dangerous, demanding, and often thankless.When an earthquake destroys the city of Bhuj, India, the international aid community begins convening immediately. Among the many people trying to bring assistance to the region are four men with varying degrees of connection to each other: Dev is a Delhi-based doctor who heads an HIV clinic; Ted is his one-time lover who now works with USAID. Piotr, Ted's colleague, is a seasoned aid worker who does his best to maintain a distance between himself and his surroundings. Andy is an untested British firefighter anxious to do his part and prove his muster. As the situation grows more and more chaotic and resources become scarce, all four men grapple with their pasts, the things that made them decide to pursue careers in disaster relief, and the true impact they are having on the people around them. The author deftly communicates the urgency facing the teams on the ground but also moves seamlessly between the past and present, illuminating the many desires and regrets pulling each character in varied directions. This novel doesn't shy away from uncomfortable truths about the nature of aid work or the flaws in those we often see as heroes. Shocking, engaging, and moving, this novel embraces humanity in all its messy, thrilling complexity. A strong debut from an author capable of immersing the reader in a foreign world.