Reviews
The Girl In The Picture: The Remarkable Story Of Vietnam's Most Famous Casualty by Denise Chong
_majareads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a rich, sensitive, and empathetic tribute to a woman who has undergone a profound degree of physical and emotional trauma. Kim Phuc was nine years old when a napalm bomb was dropped on her hometown of Trảng Bàng in 1972, severely burning her and killing two of her cousins. The tragedy was depicted in a Pulitzer prize-winning photograph that has since become an enduring symbol of the horrors of war.
It is not lost on me that Kim's story is told by another Asian woman, reversing a centuries-old stereotype painting people of colour, and especially women of colour, as "voiceless" and reliant on white men to tell their stories. Chong is an admirably capable biographer, deftly switching between concise, clear historical recounting and beautiful prose. Biographical works are the most difficult genre for me to read--this 340-page book, for instance, took me over a month to finish--and I am grateful to Chong for keeping me engaged with this story. Yet it was not primarily the biography's author that kept me reading, but its subject.
June 6 was the 50th anniversary of the taking of the titular photograph. I had already started this book at that time, but an op-ed Kim wrote for the New York Times that was published on that date pushed me to finish it. I harbour distaste towards the glorification of resilience mainly because I've seen that narrative play out in current-day news stories too often as a license for those in positions of power to shake their heads, say "that's so sad," and move on with their lives. I was refreshed--almost startled--to find that such a narrative did not appear in this book. Kim is a vibrantly human heroine, not a victim to be pitied and objectified as another "teachable moment" for the West. Yes, her injuries, depression, and abuse are discussed with honesty. But much more is made of her love for her family and friends, her courage, and her strength of character.
It is not lost on me that Kim's story is told by another Asian woman, reversing a centuries-old stereotype painting people of colour, and especially women of colour, as "voiceless" and reliant on white men to tell their stories. Chong is an admirably capable biographer, deftly switching between concise, clear historical recounting and beautiful prose. Biographical works are the most difficult genre for me to read--this 340-page book, for instance, took me over a month to finish--and I am grateful to Chong for keeping me engaged with this story. Yet it was not primarily the biography's author that kept me reading, but its subject.
June 6 was the 50th anniversary of the taking of the titular photograph. I had already started this book at that time, but an op-ed Kim wrote for the New York Times that was published on that date pushed me to finish it. I harbour distaste towards the glorification of resilience mainly because I've seen that narrative play out in current-day news stories too often as a license for those in positions of power to shake their heads, say "that's so sad," and move on with their lives. I was refreshed--almost startled--to find that such a narrative did not appear in this book. Kim is a vibrantly human heroine, not a victim to be pitied and objectified as another "teachable moment" for the West. Yes, her injuries, depression, and abuse are discussed with honesty. But much more is made of her love for her family and friends, her courage, and her strength of character.
hannah_em's review against another edition
4.0
The author is a great storyteller - she connects Kim's life with a well comprised history of the Vietnam war.
philippelazaro's review against another edition
5.0
"None of us is without flaws, but our hope is that we can be flawed yet still have a worthiness of character. We feel that when we are forgiven. Yet the power of forgiveness is realized only if it is sought."
—Denise Chong
This was one of the best books I’ve read all year. Denise Chong looks at one of the most famous photos of the 1970s, one of a little girl running from her village that had just been bombed by Americans in the Vietnam War, and follows the course of her life, as she grows up in a very unusual fashion, with the Vietnamese government hoping to use her as a symbol, along with Western activists, all while she just wants to go to school and get a medical degree.
This offers a very human look at the Vietnam War, which was an era where different actors divided into camps and often failed to empathize with each other- the anti-War activists, the U.S. soldiers, the VietCong, the Vietnamese Prime Minister, and the ordinary people whose lives get affected during a war.
—Denise Chong
This was one of the best books I’ve read all year. Denise Chong looks at one of the most famous photos of the 1970s, one of a little girl running from her village that had just been bombed by Americans in the Vietnam War, and follows the course of her life, as she grows up in a very unusual fashion, with the Vietnamese government hoping to use her as a symbol, along with Western activists, all while she just wants to go to school and get a medical degree.
This offers a very human look at the Vietnam War, which was an era where different actors divided into camps and often failed to empathize with each other- the anti-War activists, the U.S. soldiers, the VietCong, the Vietnamese Prime Minister, and the ordinary people whose lives get affected during a war.
setaian's review against another edition
4.0
The photo of Kim Phuc running from her village horribly burned is one of those photos that just about everyone would have seen. It has been used widely by anti-war protestors and the communist government of Viet Nam in propaganda.
Sadly what is lost in the iconic image is that Kim Phuc is a real person. This is her story and it follows her life through her recovery and constant treatment of the medical issues brought on by her burns, to the way she has been manipulated and used as a tool for propaganda and finally to her defection to the West and her life in Canada.
It's ultimately an uplifting story about a woman who manages to find it in her heart to forgive and move on with her life.
Sadly what is lost in the iconic image is that Kim Phuc is a real person. This is her story and it follows her life through her recovery and constant treatment of the medical issues brought on by her burns, to the way she has been manipulated and used as a tool for propaganda and finally to her defection to the West and her life in Canada.
It's ultimately an uplifting story about a woman who manages to find it in her heart to forgive and move on with her life.
lizzard2018's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
4.0
Truly an incredible historical account of the Vietnam War and its impact on the life of one girl. Honestly a must read.