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lostinagoodread's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on Cozy Up With A Good Read
I was happy to get to read this book. I absolutely love Canadian books and authors. I was really interested to read something by Vincent Lam (never have before) and see how he can add all this into a story and base it around the Vietnam war. I can tell you that this was definitely a beautiful story!
I found this book difficult in the beginning, but I pushed through and am really happy I stuck with it because as the story went on I found myself really invested in everything that was happening. Vincent Lam takes a lot of the beginning of the book to have his readers understand Percival, he goes into his history a bit to show what he has already been through. That was the part I had a few issues getting through, the book went back and forth between Percival's past and the present time of the story without actually mentioning that (each chapter goes back and forth). Though I did enjoy that Vincent invests a lot of the beginning of the book into the history of the main character because it has the readers understand his situation more, and why he does some of the things he does.
I enjoyed how the book was broken up into different parts. Each part of the story represented a new part in Percival's life. It was a good way to break the book up and it really shows when the important events are happening. Vincent Lam also has a way with words, his descriptions throughout the book are beautiful and bring everything to life for the reader.
I really enjoyed connecting with Percival's character, I found myself being more invested in the story in the second half. There was a lot more drama happening and I found I was seeing more of Percival's emotions later on. He was a very interesting character for me throughout the book. It seemed that Percival was ignorant of the events around him (or pretended to be ignorant). It was interesting to see how the Vietnam war really affected the story, I was not expecting it to revolve so much around the war, but I found many instances where the war helped decide the outcome of an event in Percival's life.
The love story was very interesting for me. I found it different than other love stories that I have previously read. The hardships the characters go through are much different, and the way the characters deal with these were interesting. I was very surprised at how things were wrapped up at the end. This story definitely pulls you in and keeps you invested in reading to find out what happens next.
Vincent Lam brings a beautiful story to life in ugly times of war. This story makes you think about your life and how you would do things if you were in that position. Pick this book up, it is definitely great Canadian literature!
I was happy to get to read this book. I absolutely love Canadian books and authors. I was really interested to read something by Vincent Lam (never have before) and see how he can add all this into a story and base it around the Vietnam war. I can tell you that this was definitely a beautiful story!
I found this book difficult in the beginning, but I pushed through and am really happy I stuck with it because as the story went on I found myself really invested in everything that was happening. Vincent Lam takes a lot of the beginning of the book to have his readers understand Percival, he goes into his history a bit to show what he has already been through. That was the part I had a few issues getting through, the book went back and forth between Percival's past and the present time of the story without actually mentioning that (each chapter goes back and forth). Though I did enjoy that Vincent invests a lot of the beginning of the book into the history of the main character because it has the readers understand his situation more, and why he does some of the things he does.
I enjoyed how the book was broken up into different parts. Each part of the story represented a new part in Percival's life. It was a good way to break the book up and it really shows when the important events are happening. Vincent Lam also has a way with words, his descriptions throughout the book are beautiful and bring everything to life for the reader.
I really enjoyed connecting with Percival's character, I found myself being more invested in the story in the second half. There was a lot more drama happening and I found I was seeing more of Percival's emotions later on. He was a very interesting character for me throughout the book. It seemed that Percival was ignorant of the events around him (or pretended to be ignorant). It was interesting to see how the Vietnam war really affected the story, I was not expecting it to revolve so much around the war, but I found many instances where the war helped decide the outcome of an event in Percival's life.
The love story was very interesting for me. I found it different than other love stories that I have previously read. The hardships the characters go through are much different, and the way the characters deal with these were interesting. I was very surprised at how things were wrapped up at the end. This story definitely pulls you in and keeps you invested in reading to find out what happens next.
Vincent Lam brings a beautiful story to life in ugly times of war. This story makes you think about your life and how you would do things if you were in that position. Pick this book up, it is definitely great Canadian literature!
rachelini's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me so tense! Many of the books I read, I know how it's going to end - not the actual ending, but that the protagonist will still be alive, or that everything will be resolved. With this book, I had no sense of where it was going, so I was on edge. Especially with the gambling - money issues always make me very nervous. It made the book very hard to put down.
Beyond that, I loved reading about daily life in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It made me want to read more about the history of that region.
Beyond that, I loved reading about daily life in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It made me want to read more about the history of that region.
caresays's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting, engaging read about a wealthy Chinese headmaster living in Vietnam at the time of the war and his (flawed) relationships with the government, his friend, his son, his ex-wife, and his mistress. I thoroughly enjoyed this because I haven't read many books that take place in Vietnam and this was just fascinating.
yyc_heather's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. Percival Chen is a highly flawed character: sexist, racist, and an authoritarian parent. And yet I found myself liking him more as the book went on, in large part because he's not entirely stuck in his ways, and events cause him to reassess his beliefs and values. I agree with some other reviewers that the book gets off to a slow start, but given that most Western readers know next to nothing about the Vietnam war (outside of the American experience as portrayed in movies), it takes a while to set the scene.
hannahquin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
blodia's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to tell myself that I wasn't enjoying it just because it's not my type of book... but to be completely honest, the story is boring and the main character is unrelatable and utterly unlikable. I don't know if I'll have the will to finish this thing.
thatgirl1's review against another edition
3.0
Some parts of this book I loved and at other times it dragged a bit but overall it was good.
exurbanis's review against another edition
4.0
Canadian author Vincent Lam is the son of ex-pats Chinese from Vietnam.
This book, set in an ex-pat Chinese community just outside of what was then Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1968, is beautifully written and engaged me from the first page onward. The author skillfully conveyed the tension and uncertainty of living in a country at war, and invaded by hordes of outsiders (French, American, Communist North Vietnamese.) Even the ending of the book, which at first dismayed me, vividly depicted the uncertainty of the situation for those of non-pure Vietnamese origin after the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.
Warnings: a couple of (really, unnecessary) sex scenes
Read this if: you’ve ever wanted to understand just what made the Vietnamese “boat people” desperate enough to flee into certain danger throughout the late 60s and during the 1970s; or you’d like a better understanding of the Vietnam War, from the point of view of South Vietnamese civilians.
4 stars
This book, set in an ex-pat Chinese community just outside of what was then Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1968, is beautifully written and engaged me from the first page onward. The author skillfully conveyed the tension and uncertainty of living in a country at war, and invaded by hordes of outsiders (French, American, Communist North Vietnamese.) Even the ending of the book, which at first dismayed me, vividly depicted the uncertainty of the situation for those of non-pure Vietnamese origin after the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.
Warnings: a couple of (really, unnecessary) sex scenes
Read this if: you’ve ever wanted to understand just what made the Vietnamese “boat people” desperate enough to flee into certain danger throughout the late 60s and during the 1970s; or you’d like a better understanding of the Vietnam War, from the point of view of South Vietnamese civilians.
4 stars
anatomydetective's review against another edition
5.0
I often find myself thinking that no matter how much I read about historical events, part of me doesn't grasp them emotionally until I read a well-crafted novel set during that time. Though I was familiar with the events of the Vietnam War, my knowledge of day-to-day life and the political climates of the period were mainly restricted to what went on in the United States.The vicissitudes of the Vietnamese situation in the 60s and 70s are examined in this particularly well-plotted novel. The characters were very real; they were not black and white, each character had flaws, questionable motivations, and made mistakes. The stellar plotting and characterization in this novel allows me to forgive an occasional awkward sentence, and overall the writing was quite polished. Without giving any spoilers, I have to note that the ending left me gutted and in need of a fluffy comfort read, much like the ending of A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book, which also examines the devastations of war.
lkshedlin's review against another edition
3.0
wonderful portrayal of vietnam during the war years, not so sure about the story - really a three and a half