Life is a battlefield. And what sticks with me most from Bao Ninh's amazing book, whose original Vietnamese title translates as "The Destiny of Love", it's the sheer power of life and love, that wonderful Asian committedness with which our young cadres bask in the long sun of youth and embrace life, magnificent, dedicated, ready to build something deep and real. And the power of total war, the kind that kills 4-6 million of your countrymen (sources vary, but 10% or more), to grind that into dust. They are young and strong and smart and brave! How can they die! But they do. They ALL do, and protagonist Kien is the only survivor of his unit. Phuong and Kien's love is potent, like a draught of chrysanthemum wine! How can it fail? But it does.

This is a story about the glory of youth and peace, the costs of victory, the breaking of a people, and the things that nobody can handle. The next time an American tries to present Vietnam as a story about the loss of America's innocence and the Vietnamese as gibbering, sneaky and cruel, I'm going to kick a bald eagle in the nards. ( )

Intense, raw, and uneven--yet a poignant story of the Vietnam War. Reminds readers of the universal sorrow of war. Not a light reading experience and best for those with some acquaintance with the war.

Wow! Awesome/horrific.

dreamlike foray into the memories of a north vietnamese soldier and his look back at the war with america. surreal at times, horrifying, wrenching. good stuff! ( )