Product Description

Between 1970 and 1975 Jon Swain, the English journalist portrayed in David Puttnam's film, "The Killing Fields", lived in the lands of the Mekong river. This is his account of those years, and the way in which the tumultuous events affected his perceptions of life and death as Europe never could. He also describes the beauty of the Mekong landscape - the villages along its banks, surrounded by mangoes, bananas and coconuts, and the exquisite women, the odours of opium, and the region's other face - that of violence and corruption.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8805 in Books
• Published on: 1996-05-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

A truly wonderful book
I read this book after a three week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia at the end of last year (and having had numerous badly photocopied versions thrust at me on the streets of Saigon!) I had visited many of the places that Jon wrote about and, like him and many many others, was captivated by it all in a way that is difficult to put your finger on. This book is nothing less than a love story but a very sad and poignant one - you can literally feel Jon's heartache as he realises that the countries have been changed forever by the massive political upheaval and events throughout the 1970s, which he witnessed so closely.

I think the book spoke to me more because I had recently visited the area but I would like to think that other readers would enjoy it despite having not gone there. It is beautifully written but in an easy style - I read it over a few evenings. It is the sort of book you can't put down but don't want it to end. The circumstances of reading it obviously influenced me greatly but this is definitely one of the best books that I have ever read. Highly recommended.

A heart-rending, thought-provoking biography
I bought this book while in Phnom Penh and reading it while there, added a poignancy to an already heart-rending experience. The first lines of the book said it all to me because I fell in love with the Mekong myself, and the people who live on its banks. Jon Swain's book River of Time touched me like Cambodia touched me and I came away from the country utterly entranced. The author depicts the lush beauty of these countries excellently, as well as the filth of war with its utter despair and futility. Swain has put into words my own sadness and imcomprehension of the Pol Pot regime, as well as the hope and good humour these people still possess. His power of description is marvellous and I recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone who wants to or has experienced the lands of the Mekong.

Simply wonderful
Having spent a great deal of time in SE Asia, I picked up this book with some trepidation: since Michael Herr's brilliant "Dispatches" there have been an awful lot of derivative books about gung-ho boys with toys running around getting shot at during the Vietnam War. This though, was different. This does cover the war, and its effects on the region, but the slant is much more personal and thoughful. Swain realises that there is an entrenched culture of beauty and delicacy mixed with a near-veneration for death and auto-destruction. This book has come closer to understanding the people and culture of the area than any other book i can remember. The book's observations of the profound changes which the region has gone through is spot-on. More importantly, this is a love-letter to a lost land, to lost lovers and friends. The passion and deep romanticism are very moving. I can't remember the last time i read a book so sensitive and delicate.

If you want to understand what European hubris has done to world, you must read this. Is this travel writing? a love story? a war story? all of them, but it doesnt matter. Read this, and then tell your friends to read it too.