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The 2026 Hamilton Reads Title is
The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse by Vinh Nguyen
With the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War ended, but the refugee crisis was only beginning. Among those who fled by boat was Vinh Nguyen, alongside his family—while his father, who escaped separately, mysteriously disappeared.
Decades later, Nguyen searches for answers, piecing together fragments of memory, history and loss. Moving across refugee camps, abandoned homes and reimagined lives, The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse explores displacement, identity and what it means to live with what cannot be recovered. (HarperCollins Canada
Vinh Nguyen is a writer and educator whose work has appeared in Brick, Literary Hub and The Malahat Review. He is a nonfiction editor at The New Quarterly and co-editor of several academic works on refugee and diasporic writing. His writing was shortlisted for a National Magazine Award and he received the John Charles Polanyi Prize in Literature.
Take Part in Hamilton Reads
Place a hold on a physical copy or borrow the eBook or audiobook.
Enter the Short Story Contest
Submit an original, unpublished story inspired by the book (up to 2,000 words). Open to HPL Members with categories for students, seniors (55+) and general Members. Winners receive cash prizes and their work is published on hpl.ca. Deadline: November 1, 2026.
Join the Reading Challenge
Read one themed book each month, track your progress online and you may win one of the monthly prize draws. Discover new titles or work through your to-be-read list.
Hamilton Reads Finale
Thursday, November 26: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Central Library
Attend a live reading and conversation with Hamilton Reads author Vinh Nguyen about his book The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse. Winners of the 2026 Hamilton Reads Short Story Contest will also read from their work.
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