Viet Thanh Nguyen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, grew up in San Jose where his parents operated one of the city’s first Vietnamese grocery stores, Sàigòn Mới. This grocery store served as a vital hub for the local Vietnamese community, offering products essential for their culture. Nguyen's early involvement in the store, particularly through assisting with finances rather than labor, significantly shaped his later writing. Despite the challenges faced by his parents, including long work hours and violence, these experiences became central to his artistic journey, especially visible in his debut novel, The Sympathizer.
Viet Thanh Nguyen recalls the hard life of his parents who ran a grocery store, navigating challenges and contributing to the Vietnamese community in San Jose.
Nguyen reflects on how the experiences at his parents' grocery store deeply influenced his writing, informing the themes in his acclaimed novel, The Sympathizer.
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