“Black Eyed Women” by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a beautifully written short story that explores the idea of ghosts and ghost stories, and how they are more for the living than the dead. This idea is introduced by the character Victor Devoto. Our main character (who is nameless), works as a ghostwriter, basically pretending to be someone else writing about their own traumatic experiences. The main character is writing Victor's story, about how he and his family were in a plane accident, but he was the sole survivor while his wife and children died. Later on in the book, Victor describes what it feels like to be the only one left, “The dead move on” he said, coiled in his armchair, hands between his thighs. “But the living, we just stay here.” (Nguyen 11; 198). In this quote, Victor’s description makes him seem gaunt and weak, almost like he is not fully alive anymore. His quote perfectly describes the circumstances he lives in. For example, the main character suspects Victor hasn...