Wayne Karlin
Author of The Other Side of Heaven: Post-War Fiction by Vietnamese and American Writers
About the Author
Wayne Karlin is the author of numerous books, including Lost Armies, The Wished-For Country, and Rumors and Stones. He served the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1966-1967. In 1998 he was awarded the Paterson Prize in Fiction, in 2004 he received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the show more Arts, and the next year he received an Excellence in the Arts Award from the Vietnam Veterans of America. show less
Works by Wayne Karlin
The Other Side of Heaven: Post-War Fiction by Vietnamese and American Writers (1995) — Editor; Contributor — 39 copies
Prisoners : a novel / 1 copy
Associated Works
These United States: Original Essays by Leading American Writers on Their State within the Union by John Leonard (1995) — Contributor — 90 copies
Behind the Red Mist: Short Fiction by Ho Anh Thai (Voices from Vietnam) (1998) — Editor, some editions — 22 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
Members
Reviews
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 16
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 167
- Popularity
- #127,264
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 3
- ISBNs
- 19
- Languages
- 1
It's not often that one walks in the shoes of one's enemy, and the author does exactly that - meticulously describing the background and past of the two men, their upbringings and ideals and what motivated them to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It is an eye-opening insight into the Vietnamese psyche and culture as well, their superstitions and how they deal the horrors of war and their concept of loyalty and fate. After seeing life from the other person's perspective, a great sense of futility is also embodied, raising many questions on how one justifies wars and whether the human toll is all worth it.
On a literary note, I felt that the book could do with some tighter editing in terms of pacing and perhapssome trimming of unessential narratives - but ultimately does not detract in any way from this powerful and evocative story.… (more)