What a harrowing, poetically narrated tale of life through war after war.
The world failed the Vietnamese over and over, through its French colonial days, the Japanese occupation, civil war and the notorious Vietnam war.
I wish for his childhood experiences for my daughter, and adolescence and adulthood on not even my worst enemy.
The narrator describes his childhood of running through paddy fields, cricket fights, grasshopper hunts, of Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn celebrations.
As his grandmother taught, the eaves of heaven dealt good and bad in cycles. Devastating floods brought death but fertile harvests, and lovely days brought future storms.
The narrator alternates between this idyllic childhood with tales of famine during the Japanese occupation, plunder and wars during the French re-occupation and its fight with the local Resistance, and the Vietnam war itself. His family, once rich feudal landowners, is gradually torn apart with each and every war and ultimately with the fall of Saigon itself.
One thing that struck me throughout this book was that the true heroes of Vietnam are the wives/mothers/stepmothers. The narrator's mother and Aunt skilfully placate warring factions to protect their families. His wife makes difficult long journeys from the city to bring him medicines when he is held captive by the Viet Cong. His stepmother supports the family by selling lottery tickets at the roadside to support the family while his father degenerates into opium addiction. After his patriach uncle dies, the entire family moves from one city to another, while his wife stays behind to "manage the family estate, as great personal cost to her." He never elaborates on what that means.
So many times whilst reading this book I wondered at how much one human soul can possibly endure.
What is it like to gradually see almost all your childhood acquaintances and your relatives succumb to war, either with their lives or their souls.
What is it like to put your life on the line (whilst serving in the army), trying to lead your men to risk their lives (and yours) while knowing that your commanders are not just corrupt and incompetent, but don't even blink at the prospect of lost lives on their own side?
I read quite a few books on the war in Vietnam, but this is the first one told from a Vietnamese perspective. I look forward to reading more of his works, and just placed an order for this.
