Last night I learned about this novel and have ordered a copy of it. This relates to O'Brien's The Things They Carried. You might want to check this out. I'll share passages with you.
By Edward J. Santella (Malden, MA USA) - See all my reviews--a post
This review is from: The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam (Paperback)
When visiting Vietnam last year, a man stopped me outside the war rememberance museum in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. He carried a shrink wrapped stack of books three feet high and tried to sell me a knock-off copy of "The Sorrow of War". When I told him I'd read it, he broke into a bright smile. He then offered to sell me Greene's "The Quiet American". When I told him I'd read that too, his eyes sparkled, his smile stretched and he put his arm around my shoulders. He took me to meet his friends. He said something in Vietnamese to them. All of a sudden I felt like I was a rediscovered lost relative.
"The Sorrow of War" is a book that's not so much read as experienced. There is no escaping the intensity and naked reality presented. The author is a survivor of the American War who fought in the North Vietnamese Army, but Bao Ninh is kind to neither the North Vietnamese Army nor the Americans and its allies. There's no romanticism in this novel, only honesty.
Originally banned by the Communist government, the book proved so popular that the government reconsidered and lifted the ban. It's now a national treasure.
In my next life, when I'm a teacher, I will assign this to my class to be read back-to-back with Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried". These books could stop a war.
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