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The Ghostwriter
The main character of “The Other Man.” Liem is an eighteen-year-old Vietnamese refugee whose story begins when he is placed with a host in San Francisco. He had left his family a few years prior to work in a tea bar in Saigon in order to send money back to them. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, he clawed his way onto a refugee boat, which transported him to a refugee camp in San Diego. Liem’s host, Parrish Coyne, is an older British man who is in a relationship with a younger man from Hong Kong named Marcus Chan. Liem is shocked and uncomfortable to learn that they are a couple, particularly given his own sexual history with men. Over the course of the story Liem starts to become more and more intimate with Marcus, until by the end of the story they have sex, and Liem tells Marcus that he loves him. Marcus does not return the sentiment, however. Liem’s story is an example of how war can wreak havoc on the lives of individuals, but also how refugees are also simply human beings with a desire and a need for intimacy. Marcus is the first person who really sees Liem as a human being and shares a strong emotional and physical connection with him. But when Marcus is unable to return Liem’s feelings in the same way, Liem feels completely isolated and hopes that he might be able to find someone with whom he can share that love.
Liem Quotes in The Refugees
The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by Liem or refer to Liem. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Other Man
Quotes
In the darkness, he heard the rustle of mosquito netting as the others masturbated also. The next morning, everyone looked at each other blankly, and nobody spoke of what had occurred the previous evening, as if it were an atrocity in the jungle better left buried.
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This summer, your uncles and cousins were reeducated with the other enlisted puppet soldiers. The Party forgave their crimes. Your uncles were so grateful, they donated their houses to the revolution […] The cadres tell us that we will erase the past and rebuild our glorious country!
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Suddenly the man raised his hand, as if to say hello. When his partner looked toward the window as well, Liem waved in return, and for a moment there were only the three of them, sharing a fleeting connection.
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Get the entire The Refugees LitChart as a printable PDF.
Liem Quotes in The Refugees
The The Refugees quotes below are all either spoken by Liem or refer to Liem. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Other Man
Quotes
In the darkness, he heard the rustle of mosquito netting as the others masturbated also. The next morning, everyone looked at each other blankly, and nobody spoke of what had occurred the previous evening, as if it were an atrocity in the jungle better left buried.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
This summer, your uncles and cousins were reeducated with the other enlisted puppet soldiers. The Party forgave their crimes. Your uncles were so grateful, they donated their houses to the revolution […] The cadres tell us that we will erase the past and rebuild our glorious country!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Suddenly the man raised his hand, as if to say hello. When his partner looked toward the window as well, Liem waved in return, and for a moment there were only the three of them, sharing a fleeting connection.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
