Escape from Communist Heaven - Hardcover

Dunivan, Dennis W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591812291 ISBN 13: 9781591812296

Publisher: Sentient Publications, 2013

Synopsis

For Viet Nguyen, the only thing worse than rules are the people who enforce them. This may not be the best attitude to have in a society that punishes dissent with death. A rebellious teenager is often the main character of young adult fiction, but what makes Viet particularly interesting is that he challenges a system that borders on genocide.

Communist tanks advance through Viet’s Saigon neighborhood when he is fourteen years old, and overtake the Presidential Palace as American helicopters retreat over the South China Sea. During the frantic evacuation, the American Embassy isn’t able to destroy secret files containing the names of South Vietnamese intelligence officers. Viet’s father is one of these officers. Within days, the city is infiltrated by communist soldiers who take over public buildings and spies who move into local neighborhoods. To survive, his family must keep a low profile.

Viet’s life was better during the war. With the Americans gone, he has little hope for freedom and must watch his every step. But his rebellious spirit gets the upper hand and he is arrested in the black market, becoming one of more than a million people in labor camps spread across the jungles of Vietnam. Viet’s captors have a dream. When everyone on earth is under their control, they believe, we will have reached Communist Heaven.

Many of the prisoners are ex-soldiers. Others are religious leaders, academics and anyone who might provide leadership against the new regime. Tens of thousands of these prisoners die of starvation, malaria and physical beatings. Viet is determined not to be one of them. He uses the same daring that led to his arrest to create a chance to break free.

Based on the true story of Viet Nguyen, this novel is about a teenager who makes some mistakes and faces the consequences. To know freedom, he must not only escape from prison, but also from his country.

About this title

About the Author

Dennis Dunivan has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, and lives near Denver, Colorado. Most of the novel’s content came from stories told by Viet Nguyen. Additional research included interviews with other refugees, historical documents and a trip to Vietnam.

Review

Prior to 1975, Viet and his family lived well in their Saigon neighborhood. His father worked as an intelligence officer for the U.S. Army, and he and his brother both attended school. But when Ho Chi Minh’s forces take control of the country, his family loses everything and is forced to flee. Several chapters and far too many pages later, Viet is arrested on the streets of the city and is subsequently put into a labor camp deep in the jungles of Vietnam. Based on the true story of survivor Viet Nyugen, Dunivan’s sprawling, just-the-facts narrative vividly captures Viet’s story, the Saigon setting, and the ups and downs of living in 1975 Saigon. The details are rendered lovingly and cinematically, and as a result, the plot feels very real. What the book lacks, however, is control. The main arc of the plot doesn’t kick off until readers are about halfway into the story, and the author’s love for the details often mires him in the minutiae when teen readers will want him to get on with the story. Despite these flaws, Dunivan has penned a compelling, rich first novel that shows his considerable promise.

An informative first effort with lots of potential. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)
(Kirkus Reviews, August 15,2013)

When Viet Nguyen became a teenager his country had just turned into a prison. New rulers took his generation out of school to build collective farms, which was deadly for many and starved everyone else nearly to death. Vietnamese say, 'even the lamp-posts tried to escape.' Through his friendship with author Dennis Dunivan, Viet Nguyen's long journey out has become testimony to the disaster of southern Viet Nam after the fall of Saigon. Escape from Communist Heaven is a noble and uplifting story rising, as the saying goes, 'like a lotus from the mud.'

(Dan Duffy Yale SEAS Vietnam Publications Series)

In the words of Vietnamese dissident poet Nguyen Chi Thien (1939-2012): ‘I have been looking for a sound that would boom like the roar of the ocean / A sound all my compatriots also dream / I listen closely / It seems the roaring has started.’ (Hoa Dia Nguc, The Flowers of Hell) This is a true story of resistance and escape from Communist oppression by a brave family, especially Viet Nguyen, the oldest son.

(Jean Libby Viet-Am Review)

The novel is so realistic that it gives you the feeling of actually being in a Vietnamese prison camp, and the descriptions are so vivid that it feels like the communist officials are trying to brainwash you and make you fall into one of their psychological traps. I highly recommend this book for teachers who want to help their students understand this important part of history.
(Jesse Houze, world history teacher)

Viet’s story is not only engaging and accessible for my students, but it helps personalize the experiences of the Vietnamese following the fall of Saigon. It’s a must read not only for teaching post-war Vietnam, but for anyone trying to bring light to how human rights issues arise.
(Kathryn Jue, social science department chair)

Edition details

• Publisher: Sentient Publications
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1591812291
• ISBN 13: 9781591812296
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392