Andrew Pham writes beautifully and evocatively about the scenery and food of Vietnam, it was so vivid. What he doesn't write well is dialogue and character development which is a problem when you're writing a novel, not a travel blog or a food review. I was desperate for this book to end because the characters are so one dimensional and the dialogue is so stilted and faintly ridiculous. 
I read an old interview with him which indicated that he doesn't much like editorial guidance and you can tell--this def needed more editorial guidance plot-wise and character-wise. Also he totally missed that Coi should've been the main character, not Tuyet. 
I did appreciate the history and the story of a period, generally, and in Vietnam's history, that gets overlooked, of the transition after World War II but before the Americans invade, I just wish the overall story of that time and its people had been better executed than this