Book Review: Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai

Abstract

Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, is the first Vietnamese American memoir of childhood written in free verse, and it chronicles the narrator's memories of Vietnam prior to the communist takeover in April 1975, and of her family's initial resettlement in Alabama after their escape from Vietnam just before the fall of Saigon. Although the publisher categorizes the book as a novel in verse, Inside Out & Back Again in most respects is a memoir in verse, formatted as a journal with entries for specific dates. In the Author's Note to the readers, Lai writes, "Much of what happened to Ha, the main character in Inside Out & Back Again, also happened to me," and "So many details in this story were inspired by my own memories" (p. 261). She dedicates her book to "the millions of refugees in the world," hoping that they will "find a home." This dedication establishes the book's themes of displacement and resettlement in diasporic communities. Lai divides her book into four parts: Saigon, At Sea, Alabama, and From Now On, respectively. Part I, Saigon, starts with her memories of the 1975 Tet-Vietnamese Lunar New Year-the year of the Cat. Her father is a Navy officer in the Army Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), who has spent a few years training in the United States. He is mentioned in the book, but due to his Navy mission he is never present. The narrator, Ha, lives with her mother and three older brothers: Quang, Vu, and Khoi. The most significant image that she remembers from her childhood is of a papaya tree that she planted in her back garden-an image recurring throughout the narrative. War causes separation, fear, and a feeling of uncertainty, and the family experiences these misfortunes, but intensified by the father's "missing-in-action" status. Dutifully, they pray for his safety. In March of 1975, a month prior to the collapse of South Vietnam, the narrator experienced political turmoil, shortage of food, insecurity, sounds of gunfire and bomb explosions, and confusion, as "American soldiers left [Vietnam]" and the communists approached Saigon (p. 18). On April 8, 1975, her brother Quang runs from school to bring the family the news of his Father's capture by the communists. This horrific revelation is 1