Margins
The Color of Peace book cover
The Color of Peace
2025
First Published
4.67
Average Rating
100
Number of Pages

Where memory meets a powerful collection from one of Vietnam's most important contemporary voices. In this stunning collection, international bestselling author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai turns her poetic lens to the lasting impacts of war, the strength of family bonds, and the enduring search for peace and reconciliation. Through intimate poems and essays, she masterfully connects the personal with the political, bringing to life the stories of those who have lived through conflict, separation, and reunion. Drawing from her experiences growing up in post-war Vietnam and her work bridging cultures as a writer and translator, Quế Mai crafts verses that speak to both specific moments in history and universal human experiences. From the haunting "Tears of Quảng Trị" to the tender "My Father's Bàng Tree," each piece reveals layers of meaning about family, memory, and healing. The collection moves seamlessly between poetry and prose, offering readers a comprehensive view of Vietnam's past and present through the eyes of someone who has lived its complex history. With the same lyrical power that made "The Mountains Sing" and "Dust Child" international bestsellers, Quế Mai shows us how the wounds of war can be healed through storytelling, understanding, and compassion.

Avg Rating
4.67
Number of Ratings
12
5 STARS
75%
4 STARS
17%
3 STARS
8%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Author · 4 books
Born and raised in Việt Nam, Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is the author of the international bestseller The Mountains Sing, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the 2020 BookBrowse Best Debut Award, the 2021 International Book Awards, the 2021 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award, and the 2020 Lannan Literary Award Fellowship for Fiction. She has published twelve books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction in Vietnamese and English and has received some of the top literary prizes in Việt Nam including the Poetry of the Year 2010 from the Hà Nội Writers Association. Her writing has been translated into twenty languages and has appeared in major publications including the New York Times. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. She was named by Forbes Vietnam as one of 20 inspiring women of 2021. Her second novel in English, Dust Child, is forthcoming in March 2023.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved