The Happiest Refugee: Prologue Summary & Analysis

Anh is on a highway, driving at 130 km per hour. He is crying as he drives. He’s going to visit his father, whom he hasn’t seen for nine years, since he was thirteen years old. Anh is consumed by feelings of rage as he thinks of the visit ahead, and is overcome by fantasies of doing violence to his father, in revenge for him abandoning his family—especially Anh’s mother, who was left alone to look after three children.

Anh arrives at the house, which is in a poor, dilapidated neighborhood, and knocks. A young woman opens the door. He can hear a baby screaming. The woman calls for Anh’s father. He appears, and is happy to see his son—reaching for him with affection. Anh is invited inside, where he drinks with his father. He notices, however, that something is wrong with his father’s speech—he seems to slur his words. Soon, Anh will learn that his father is seriously ill with a brain tumor. He doesn’t know this yet, however, and asks his father what the baby’s name is. His father tells him the infant’s name is Anh—he named him after his eldest son.