Le Colonial

by Kien Nguyen

A "richly satisfying" epic of Asian history in the tradition of James Clavell (Newsday), from the bestselling author of The Tapestries.

In 1773, three men will leave France to embark on a mission of faith and passion in Annam, an exotic land in the Far East. And although they imagine that they will sail into the harbors peacefully and bring hope and meaning into the lives of the faithless, what they discover when they arrive is civil war, warlords on horseback, floods, and famine. In a hostile new world, these three men - Francois Gervaise, a handsome painter; Henri Monange, a young runaway; and Pierre de Behaine, a charismatic priest - find that although they have come to convert the heathens, it is their own hearts and souls that are changed forever. Their dreams of colonial glory dashed, they must reinvent the meaning of their journey.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Kien Nguyen was born to a Vietnamese mother from a once wealthy family and her American civil engineer lover. His mother's family, who had lost their wealth when the French left Vietnam, lived among neighbors who treated them as pariahs because of their colonialist background. Kien, a child of mixed race, was especially ostracized from the community.

He left Vietnam in 1985 through the United Nations "Orderly Departure Program." After spending time at a refugee camp in the Philippines, he arrived in the United States and became a dentist. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Stefani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the historical intro to colonial Vietnam. It was an easy nod to historical fiction, without a lot of depth. Perfect for a long plane ride where you might not be at your sharpest.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author reaches back into Vietnamese history. I have always been fascinated with the country since America's involvement there. In this case, the novel depicts the beginning of France's involvement in the country's affairs. Here, Vietnam is called Annam and it is the 1770s and 1780s. Three French missionaries witness and influence to some extent the violent power struggle that is happening. An intriguing epic of ethical, moral, and spiritual conflicts which made me look up this period of the country's history and French influence therein.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book that gripped me more than others. It was interesting to read about the beginnings of the Vietnamese monarchy in the modern era (relatively speaking). It's not a book I would likely read again, though.

[Steven Edelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le Colonial

The author’s first book unwanted was excellent.
I found this book less interesting although the book became more interesting in its second part as the story and characters developed.

[David Steece, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So conflicted. Breathtaking in its scope and ambition, unique in its setting and characters, it somehow felt hollow and formulaic as I read it. The author does a decent job of getting inside the priest's heads, and he does a really amazing job of portraying De Behaine as more than just a historical figure—as a real, living breathing human being. Still...

The prose was weak and obvious, and the characterizations were often peppered with soap opera-level insights. Not every character in every novel needs to be a brooding existential enigma, but a character like Francois in "Le Colonial" screams to be portrayed more a lot more ambiguously than Nguyen does here. In fact the very very very best lines of the book are the last sentences before what I'll call the "Afterword."

"Who died?" she asked.

At first, he didn't know what she meant. Then she pointed at a large mound of dirt in front of him. It was a termite nest, but with its raised outline, it resembled a grave.

The answer came to him effortlessly. "Yesterday," he replied.

Why couldn't all the writing be that mysterious and poetic? The aspects of the plot concerned with historical events were vivid, intense, and powerful (De Behaine and his characterizations included.) Almost every other plot point was sentimental tripe. Its really hard to know how to feel about such a wildly inconsistent novel. I liked it. I might even reread it, but I'm not sure I would recommend it?

Good luck sorting through that "review."

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good, though very dark, sometimes very violent, story of two French priests who go as missionaries in the 1770s & 80s to the divided Kingdom of Annam in Southeast Asia (what we know as Vietnam). One of the priests is doctrinally inflexible but skillfully manipulative & determined to form an alliance with the royal family that will make it possible to turn the kingdom into a French Christian colony; the other, his rebellious protege, after a crisis early in his ministry there, determines to side with the rebels who overthrow the ruling family, yet he cannot entirely free himself from the manipulations of his mentor. The author, a half-Vietnamese, half-American writer who shares a name with the ruling family in the story (based loosely on historical fact), seeks to understand the missionaries' motivations rather than to merely condemn them. He does, however, introduce a third character, a promising one who is a protege of the protege, but drops him largely out of the last third of the story. Descriptions, too, are sometimes fanciful but not sufficiently vivid to bring them to life.

[Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing portrayal of three French missionaries who travel to Vietnam in the late 1700s. The novel was a quick read, with some insight into the time period and the portrayal of France and Vietnam. However, the characters seemed poorly defined, their stories unsatisfactorily resolved and the flow of events plodding and a bit comic bookish.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 3 out of 5]

French Missionaries; Vietnam; 1773.
Interesting and entertaining. Left a few loose ends. Rather dissatisfying ending.

[Laura Lally · Rating 2 out of 5]

read his other two books, totally awesome! hope this one compaires

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good history of Vietnam. The usual unsavory influence of the clergy and politics.