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Book Review of Catfish and Mandala : A Two-Wheeled Voyage through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam

Catfish and Mandala : A Two-Wheeled Voyage through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam
mom2nine avatar reviewed on + 342 more book reviews


There was more to this book than I expected. It is not necessarily a quick read, but rather like a journal, slow in some places and jumping forward in others. How can we see the films of helicopters leaving Vietnam, as the people on the ground grab hold and beg the soldiers to stay or to take them; and not ask how/why and what did we (our country) do in Vietnam.
Pham's father was a Vietcong prisoner, the family escaped Vietnam and settled in the U.S. Each of these stories is touched upon, enough to give the reader some idea of their situation. Also covered is the trip through present day Vietnam, how the country has fared and how the people view him and his family, having left.
My husband is also reading this book. As a fellow back-pack type traveler, in out- of-the-way places, he is enjoying the memoir.