A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial (2023) is author Viet Thanh Nguyen's memoir. It follows Nyguyen's life from his birth in Vietnam to his immigration to America and ends in the present day. Early on in the book, Nguyen recounts a particularly painful experience: at the age of four, he and his family were forced to flee their hometown of Ban Mê Thuột and travel to America. Initially, he immigrated with his family; however, he was taken away from his parents and siblings and placed in a foster home on his own. Eventually, at the age of nine, Nguyen learns that his parents have been shot at their grocery store, throwing him into a tailspin.
Ultimately, it wasn't until he became a teenager that Nguyen was able to fully recognize the sacrifices that his parents made to bring their family to America. But, after watching Vietnam-centered movies like Apocalypse Now, he has an existential crisis: is he Vietnamese, or is he American? When making that determination, he can't help but think of his parents' sacrifices.
As with Nguyen's previous work, reviews for A Man of Two Faces have been exceedingly positive since its publication. Kirkus Reviews offered up one of the most laudatory reviews. They called Nguyen's book "A fragmentary reflection on the refugee experience, at once lyrical and biting, by one of our leading writers." TIME was slightly less effusive in their praise of the book, but called it "a deeply personal and political memoir" and "A witty and scathing look at what it means to be a refugee, an immigrant, and an American in a world that doesn't see you as you see yourself."
