es_relentless's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
judythedreamer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cdlindwall's review against another edition
2.0
My main problem with this book, besides the general lack of character development and plot, is that its overall theme seems overdone.
The novel follows the story of a North Vietnamese soldier that loses love and faces the hardships of a physical, but also emotional war. Now, it might have been the fact that I had read Things They Carried and Red Badge of Courage only months before, but writing a story about the idea that war causes "emotional struggles" is not new. It is no longer controversial to depict the front lines as something other than noble and heroic.
Because I know that this novel was controversial in Northern Vietnam, I can understand the rise of its popularity and reputation. At the time, unveiling a side of the soldier that was not unfalteringly dedicated to die for their country was brazen. Now? Eh. 200 something pages about your inner battles is still a valid memoir about war, but I guess it's just not that interesting anymore? I'm not taken aback by its profundity. For its historical value, perhaps, the novel has merit. But literature-wise, Ninh's prose alone is not enough to keep it afloat when you take away the "important message" aspect. Because the message wasn't necessarily powerful. Things They Carried told about many of the same wartime hardships and did it with a hell of a lot more authority/skill.
Ninh beats down his ideas to the point of literary pulp and the reader is left exhausted and a bit annoyed that nothing really revolutionary came after page 60 that hadn't already been clearly stated. Write an essay, for Christ's sake. Maybe a nice short story. No need to shove a singular idea into a plot-line when the medium of a novel does not provide your message any other benefits.
Then my last criticism of Ninh's work is his clichéd writing. Overused metaphors, cheesy dialogue, trite story-line. Maybe Ninh had a really shitty translator? But nonetheless I had a hard time caring about characters that said things like, ~it was darkness that emanated from my soul~ ...
Plus, as if I my opinion of Things They Carried's superiority was not already solidified, Ninh tries his hand at some disappointing metafiction and narrator-twists and it just falls flat. It all seemed too obvious.
Though I do find the Vietnam War fascinating, and reading a novel from the Northern perspective was an interesting choice by my teacher, I still have to say that Ninh wasn't the author to do it justice.
The novel follows the story of a North Vietnamese soldier that loses love and faces the hardships of a physical, but also emotional war. Now, it might have been the fact that I had read Things They Carried and Red Badge of Courage only months before, but writing a story about the idea that war causes "emotional struggles" is not new. It is no longer controversial to depict the front lines as something other than noble and heroic.
Because I know that this novel was controversial in Northern Vietnam, I can understand the rise of its popularity and reputation. At the time, unveiling a side of the soldier that was not unfalteringly dedicated to die for their country was brazen. Now? Eh. 200 something pages about your inner battles is still a valid memoir about war, but I guess it's just not that interesting anymore? I'm not taken aback by its profundity. For its historical value, perhaps, the novel has merit. But literature-wise, Ninh's prose alone is not enough to keep it afloat when you take away the "important message" aspect. Because the message wasn't necessarily powerful. Things They Carried told about many of the same wartime hardships and did it with a hell of a lot more authority/skill.
Ninh beats down his ideas to the point of literary pulp and the reader is left exhausted and a bit annoyed that nothing really revolutionary came after page 60 that hadn't already been clearly stated. Write an essay, for Christ's sake. Maybe a nice short story. No need to shove a singular idea into a plot-line when the medium of a novel does not provide your message any other benefits.
Then my last criticism of Ninh's work is his clichéd writing. Overused metaphors, cheesy dialogue, trite story-line. Maybe Ninh had a really shitty translator? But nonetheless I had a hard time caring about characters that said things like, ~it was darkness that emanated from my soul~ ...
Plus, as if I my opinion of Things They Carried's superiority was not already solidified, Ninh tries his hand at some disappointing metafiction and narrator-twists and it just falls flat. It all seemed too obvious.
Though I do find the Vietnam War fascinating, and reading a novel from the Northern perspective was an interesting choice by my teacher, I still have to say that Ninh wasn't the author to do it justice.
cedarleaves's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.5
emiliapaulssonn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
catronky's review against another edition
5.0
Hauntingly beautiful, full of hope and lots of despair. War is a terrible thing for all sides and this was powerful account of a North Vietnamese soldier who joined the war as a teenager and it never left him.
This book is an incredible companion to "The Things They Carried."
"what remained was sorrow, the immense sorrow, the sorrow of having survived. The sorrow of war...
Kien himself would have been dead long ago if it had not been for the sacrifice of others; he might have even killed himself to escape the psychological burden of killing others...
Losses can be good, damage can be repaired, and wounds will heal in time. But the psychological scars of the war will remain forever."
This book is an incredible companion to "The Things They Carried."
"what remained was sorrow, the immense sorrow, the sorrow of having survived. The sorrow of war...
Kien himself would have been dead long ago if it had not been for the sacrifice of others; he might have even killed himself to escape the psychological burden of killing others...
Losses can be good, damage can be repaired, and wounds will heal in time. But the psychological scars of the war will remain forever."
jenmat1197's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fictional story about a man named Kien. It is the retelling of his time during the Vietnam war. It covers the 10 years he was involved in the war, all the horrors he saw, the friends he made. It also circles around the love of his life and how they keep finding each other during that time. He is one of the only survivors out of his 5000 men battilion and he relives it later in his life as he puts all of his experience down on paper.
Kein is writing his story years after the war ended. He mixes the past and the present without any concern for the timeline. The book has no chapters, but just runs as one continuous story of how Kein felt at different points during the war. It is like he is looking for atonement for what happened during those 10 years.
This was a good book. Even without separated chapters, I thought it was well written and flowed nicely. It is a short book, so I finished it quickly.
I suggest this one. I think if you have some interest in the Vietnam war, but don't want to read a heavy non-fiction retelling, this would be a good one. It isn't particularly political but more of how war impacts the soldiers and the citizens.
Kein is writing his story years after the war ended. He mixes the past and the present without any concern for the timeline. The book has no chapters, but just runs as one continuous story of how Kein felt at different points during the war. It is like he is looking for atonement for what happened during those 10 years.
This was a good book. Even without separated chapters, I thought it was well written and flowed nicely. It is a short book, so I finished it quickly.
I suggest this one. I think if you have some interest in the Vietnam war, but don't want to read a heavy non-fiction retelling, this would be a good one. It isn't particularly political but more of how war impacts the soldiers and the citizens.
chris18's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
afonsob's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, Violence, War, Murder, and Suicide attempt