Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #260702 in Books
• Published on: 1993-10-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
This 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of 15 stories evokes the ordeals of the Vietnamese people in the Vietnam War. Old or young, humble or arrogant, puzzled or proud, these are the characters for whom the absurdities of American popular culture and memories of war uneasily coexist.

Customer Reviews

Refreshing
I started reading this book because at the time I had a keen interest in the Vietnam conflict. I thought that it was going to be something along the lines of "If I die in a Combat Zone" and more about the conflict itself, I was quite wrong.
However when I started to read I realised that this book gently (and quite brilliantly) addressed the lives of the thousands of people forced to leave Vietnam after the fall of the Saigon regime. They are all writen in the first person and from the perspective of a Vietnamese immigrant. Weather intentional or not Butler's style of writing perfectly captures the style of speaking English that a lot of people who have lived in SouthEast Asia have.
The stories themselves are a refreshing break from the Espionage, love and murder books that litter the shelves today. The stories are warm and (though not are 100% believable) very enjoyable.
I very much prefer this style of short story, compared to some of the huge "volumes" that are availible at the moment. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a warm collection of stories, I thoroughly enjoyed reading them all and am looking for more stories by the author.