Eric Nguyen

Eric Nguyen is an American novelist and editor whose debut novel Things We Lost to the Water was published in 2021. He serves as editor-in-chief of diaCRITICS, a blog focused on Vietnamese and Southeast Asian arts and culture. Things We Lost to the Water tells the story of a Vietnamese refugee family in New Orleans, following their experiences over multiple decades after arriving in America. The novel received recognition as a New York Times Editor's Choice and was named one of the best books of 2021 by NPR. Nguyen holds an MFA in creative writing from McNeese State University and has received fellowships from Lambda Literary and Kundiman. His writing has appeared in literary journals including Guernica, Gulf Coast, and Narrative Magazine. Through his editorial work and fiction, Nguyen explores themes of Vietnamese American identity, displacement, family relationships, and the immigrant experience. His work often examines the generational impacts of war and migration on Vietnamese families.

Readers connect strongly with Nguyen's portrayal of Vietnamese immigrant experiences in Things We Lost to the Water, citing authentic cultural details and complex family dynamics. What readers liked: - Nuanced exploration of assimilation and identity - Multi-perspective storytelling technique - Descriptions of New Orleans culture and setting - Character development across decades - Treatment of mother-son relationships What readers disliked: - Some found the pacing slow in the middle sections - A few readers wanted more resolution for certain character arcs - Several noted difficulty keeping track of timeline jumps Ratings and Reviews: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (11,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (1,000+ ratings) NPR readers ranked it #89 on their 2021 Books We Love list Reader comment examples: "The Vietnamese cultural elements felt lived-in and real" - Goodreads reviewer "Captures the complexity of holding onto two cultures" - Amazon review "The New Orleans setting becomes its own character" - BookBrowse reviewer

Things We Lost to the Water (2021) A Vietnamese refugee mother and her two sons adapt to life in New Orleans over three decades, navigating identity, family bonds, and the shadow of an absent father while building a new life in America.

Ocean Vuong writes about Vietnamese American immigrant experiences and mother-son relationships in his fiction and poetry. His novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous explores similar themes of family, identity, and displacement as Nguyen's work.

Viet Thanh Nguyen examines the Vietnamese refugee experience and its aftermath in The Sympathizer and other works. His writing focuses on war, migration, and cultural identity through a Vietnamese American lens.

Chang-rae Lee writes about immigrant families adapting to life in America across multiple generations. His novels Native Speaker and A Gesture Life deal with themes of assimilation and belonging that parallel Nguyen's work.

Monique Truong tells stories of Vietnamese refugees and their children navigating life in the American South. Her novel Bitter in the Mouth features characters grappling with identity and family relationships in ways that connect to Nguyen's themes.

Julie Otsuka writes about immigrant families and generational experiences in America through precise, carefully crafted prose. Her novels The Buddha in the Attic and When the Emperor Was Divine explore displacement and adaptation in ways that complement Nguyen's approach.