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| Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam | 
 enlarge | Author: Andrew X. Pham
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $1.10
You Save: $13.90 (93%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $1.09
Avg. Customer Rating:  (113 reviews)
Sales Rank: 16899
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0312267177
Dewey Decimal Number: 915.970444
EAN: 9780312267179
ASIN: 0312267177
Publication Date: September 2, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 moving June 9, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This story of a family's escape from Vietnam is a captivating memoir. The author combines his family history with richly detailed descriptions of the landscape of Vietnam. Very well-written and moving.
Great book! April 30, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Born in Vietnam and came to America at the age of 2--this book is such a great read. It's quite a feeling to see so many of my own thoughts and conflicts regarding my heritage written out this way. Highly recommended.
 From another Vietnamese's perspective February 23, 2007
9 out of 14 found this review helpful
Overall, this book is well written and has its good moments. As a Vietnamese who came to America at the same time frame and age as the writer, I can't help but to dislike the writer as I read the book.
First of all, I think the writer has a condescending view toward Vietnam and the people. He tries too hard to describe the negatives while not trying to even understand the reason for the state of the country and the people. I feel that the writer sensationalizes, even bordeline fictionalize, his story to appease to the readers. In the book, the author tried to describe the character Kim as a victim of the society, yet, he goes on to use her and skip town so he wouldn't have to face her. He paints such a negative picture of everyone that he met on the road. I wonder why he even took this trip. This author is the reason why Vietnamese Americans are so dislike in Vietnam. The author came back to the country without any knowledge nor understanding, and sadly, all he can do is whined.
I'm two years older than the author and came to United States when I was nine. What the author faced is not unlike any other Vietnamese refugees' story. I wonder about some facts and timeline in the author's recollection of his childhood. Base on the events that were stated, the author must have a photographic memory at such a young age. Some of his memories were a bit far fetched. One has to wonder if the memories were really his or a collection of someone else's memories.
As far as the difficulties in a new country, GET OVER IT!!! Every Vietnamese had to endure the similar situations. My father was a high ranking government official and he too had to work as a janitor. My mother who was a teacher, had to work on a assembly line making seat belts. I grew up in Fresno picking oranges and tomatoes. My wife escaped Vietnam by herself at the age of 16. We all survived and thrived on our experiences. There were many, many more Vietnamese who endured much worse fate than Mr. Pham. I find the author's self-indulgent story annoying by the end of the book.
Overall, I think the author tries a bit too hard writing about himself and forget the real victims, his motherland and the Vietnamese people. As much as the author wants to convey of his noble character, I find his views lack of empathy and understanding for Vietnam. I happen to be very proud of my roots and appreciate all that Vietnam has to offered, even with all of its imperfections. Sadly, Mr. Pham reflects many Vietnamese Americans that have turned their back on their roots. I'm proud that I was born in Vietnam and will be proud of my heritage everyday.
 A Great Journey through Vietnam February 7, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I mainly bought this book to see another Vietnamese person's view of Vietnam and the struggle that one faces as a Vietnamese American (in terms of merging two cultures together). Although his view is rather pessimistic, he gives a very thorough/descriptive account of his travels. You almost feel as if you are there. He mixes in the stories from his childhood and present together. This book was a wonderful read through and through. An honest testament to the author's life journey and struggles. It maintained my interest throughout and gave me a different take on Vietnamese life/culture (although not an optimistic outlook as I have) although I think his pessimistic view on Vietnam changes near the end of the book.
Catfish and Mandala January 25, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I think Andrew Pham did a great job on writing Catfish and Mandala. It gives you information about all the countries that got in the war with Vietnam. It talks about An's conflicts with his parents and what he felt when his sister Chi died. This book lets you know what An went through when traveling from city to city. Andrew does good on describing the characters and the places where An goes to. He makes sure that everyone can understand what he is talking about.
He explains that when traveling he uses his bike which is the most interesting part. He explains that he meets new people on his way and describes the places that he goes through. He makes sure that he talks about what happened to him when he stayed in hotels. He makes the book interesting by describing everyhting he sees and everything he does.
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