Reading this book is to experience the extremes and
complexities of the American war in Vietnam and its aftermath. The NY times book review is a good place to
get a glimpse into this highly impactfull novel.
I won't try to add to that good review, but wanted some of my friends
who experienced Vietnam during that time, and others, (weren't all who lived
through the '60s impacted by that war?) to look at the review and decide if you want to read this book.. You probably already have.
Here is just a paragraph from the NYT review….
"… this tragicomic novel reaches beyond its historical
context to illuminate more universal themes: the eternal misconceptions and
misunderstandings between East and West, and the moral dilemma faced by people
forced to choose not between right and wrong, but right and right. The nameless
protagonist-narrator, a memorable character despite his anonymity, is an
Americanized Vietnamese with a divided heart and mind. Nguyen’s skill in
portraying this sort of ambivalent personality compares favorably with masters
like Conrad, Greene and le Carré".
I am one who lived in Vietnam during some of the worst part
of the American war ('66-68), who always felt the American involvement was a
tragic and strategic mistake. This novel
gives the Vietnamese a voice and portrayal from multiple perspectives. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and grew up in the US. He certainly learned how to write well in English, while keeping both an American and Asian mindset.
As background, Nguyen read many of the books
that dissected the war and post war periods and it human effects, including the history of American torture methods. There is more than enough gruesomeness and
cruelty in the story, to make me wonder if some would be turned off by the inhumanity
of it all. But the novel follows an
historical arc and we should not avoid a deeper look at its political,
psychological and literary impact.
