Smoky Joe's Cafe
by Bryce Courtenay
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Thommo returns from Vietnam to an Australia that regards him as a mercenary guilty of war crimes. He begins to develop all kinds of physical and mental problems, and thinks it must only be him until he finds he is not alone. Ten mates, all who remain of his platoon who fought and died in the Battle of Long Tan, are affected the same way. Now Thommo and his mates are eleven angry men out for revenge. They rope in an ex-Viet Cong with 'special skills' and his own secret agenda. They're the show more 'Dirty Dozen', just like the movie. Only it's real life, and they're so screwed up they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. That is, until a woman of character steps in. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I haven't read a lot of war related books so I can't really say where it is in that spectrum of books in that manner, but it painted a very hard hitting and sometimes harrowing picture of how the usage of chemical warfare had a lasting effect on anyone that had encountered it on all sides, as well as the emotional state of the soldiers upon return and how that affected them and their families. Was well written as all Bryce Courtenays books are but seemed much more of a political statement on the abysmal treatment of the Vietnan soldiers upon their return that just so happened to have a storyline in the background of it the whole plot climax and resolution hurriedly summed up in the last quarter of the book. Not bd by a long shot but show more definitely could have used more. show less
A really moving story about a Vietnam vetran's struggle to adjust to civilian life.
Enlightening account of the effect of the Vietnamese war on veterans and their families.
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46+ Works 14,321 Members
Bryce Courtenay was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 14, 1933. He studied journalism in London and then settled in Australia in 1958. Instead of becoming a journalist, he went into advertising and became a successful creative director. He won most of the local and international advertising awards and a gold medal for Best Documentary show more at the 1984 New York Film Festival. He started writing after he turned 50. His first novel, The Power of One, was adapted into a 1992 film starring Morgan Freeman and Stephen Dorff. His other novels include Jessica, The Potato Factory, Tommo and Hawk, Solomon's Song, Tandia, and Jack of Diamonds. In 1993, he wrote the non-fiction book April Fool's Day, which is a personal account of the death of his son Damon after he contracted AIDs from a routine blood transfusion. Courtenay died of stomach cancer on November 22, 2012 at the age of 79. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- English
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- ISBNs
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