Helpful Score: 1
From this novel, one can surmise three things about this author: she researches well, she writes well, and she loves the country of Vietnam. Her descriptions of the colors of the land, the behaviors of the citizens, and the smells and sounds of Saigon stunned me. I felt like I was there with Helen as she traveled and photographed and connected with others. If this is Soli's first novel, I eagerly await her second.
What I didn't like were Helen's decisions. Some I just didn't understand.Her priorities must have been horribly perverted by being in the war too long.
Linh, her Vietnamese husband, is perhaps the most loveable man in all of literature. He's what you'd want in a husband: loyalty, dedication, companionship, and genuine love. Despite him seeming perfect in this description, he was far from it; he was well-rounded and I felt as if I knew him. All of the characters (with the possible exception of Darrow) were people with whom I could see myself getting tea and just talking. I don't think I'd get along with Helen, but I could anticipate what she'd say to me on any number of subjects.
I also appreciated in a huge way how Soli handled the anti-war sentiment issue; it wasn't relevant to the story, itself, so she didn't spend time on it. Anyone knows war is a painful and horrible thing and anyone knows you try to avoid it, if possible. That's what the crux of this novel was, I think. Military or anti-war hippie, everyone realizes it's devastating. You see a beautiful country and fellow human beings blown apart. You see families fighting over sides and none of it ends up pretty.
Somehow Soli captured the beauty within war - the things that weren't and aren't destroyed, the things that truly matter in one's life, regardless of side.
What I didn't like were Helen's decisions. Some I just didn't understand.Her priorities must have been horribly perverted by being in the war too long.
Linh, her Vietnamese husband, is perhaps the most loveable man in all of literature. He's what you'd want in a husband: loyalty, dedication, companionship, and genuine love. Despite him seeming perfect in this description, he was far from it; he was well-rounded and I felt as if I knew him. All of the characters (with the possible exception of Darrow) were people with whom I could see myself getting tea and just talking. I don't think I'd get along with Helen, but I could anticipate what she'd say to me on any number of subjects.
I also appreciated in a huge way how Soli handled the anti-war sentiment issue; it wasn't relevant to the story, itself, so she didn't spend time on it. Anyone knows war is a painful and horrible thing and anyone knows you try to avoid it, if possible. That's what the crux of this novel was, I think. Military or anti-war hippie, everyone realizes it's devastating. You see a beautiful country and fellow human beings blown apart. You see families fighting over sides and none of it ends up pretty.
Somehow Soli captured the beauty within war - the things that weren't and aren't destroyed, the things that truly matter in one's life, regardless of side.
