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Author Talk: Viet Thanh Nguyen and Naomi Hirahara

A One Book, One County Program

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and USC Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen joins the acclaimed writer Naomi Hirahara for a special afternoon conversation.

The two authors will dive into a discussion of Nguyen’s 2023 memoir, A Man of Two Faces—a formally inventive mix of history, personal reflection, and the story of his family’s forced migration from Vietnam to the United States. With a wry and ironic sense of humor, Nguyen offers us a tender view into his family’s history; the truth, ironies, and lies behind the so-called American Dream; and how he has come to understand his role as a writer at this specific moment in American life.

Viet Thanh Nguyen won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for his novel, The Sympathizer. His latest book, A Man of Two Faces, is an unconventional memoir that intertwines his personal narrative as a Vietnamese refugee with broader themes of colonization, war, and perceptions about America.

Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her acclaimed Mas Arai mysteries, published in Japanese, Korean, and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who uncovers crimes amidst the city's diverse backdrop.

This is a Literacy LA Event.

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