Why I want to Read it

[J.tran]

I want to read this book because it is about my history and seems interesting.

[Gaijinmama]

I want to read it because, as an American, it is shameful how little I know about this conflict from the perspective of those who suffered most from it.

[James]

It's a really good novel. It is very well written, and really shows a Vietnamese soldier's view of the American-Vietnamese War. Fair warning: it's very tragic, although very beautiful. I cried once or twice, I think.

[Ben]

If you like Tim O'Brien's work on the Vietnam War you'll be a big fan of Bao Ninh. It can be difficult to find good translations of Vietnamese literature, which makes The Sorrow of War even more important. The translators were up to the task. Highly recommended.

[Nik]

I hope you enjoy it (and hope you understand the special sense in which I mean 'enjoy' here).

I picked this book up in a sale for £2 as something to read on a train journey ... it turned out to be a good find.

It's extremely well written (translated) and is truly shocking and enlightening at the same time.

The author was a very young man in this period and he writes with a great deal of sensitivity about the troubles and passions that young men experience ... only he has to experience these during a period of phenomenal violence and cruelty.

The Sorrow of War is a very apt title.

If you like this, I strongly recommend 'Ghosts of War in Vietnam' by Heonik Kwon - it's an academic book by an anthropologist but it is nonetheless very accessible and absolutely brilliant.

I'd also recommend 'Love like Hate' by Linh Dinh- although it's set in present day Vietnam, the repercussions from the 60s and 70s war run all the way through it.

[Bruce]

It's the most important book about the American war in Vietnam...I was there, but to see it from this perspective did me a world of good.

[Sarah]

A very sad powerful book about the aftermath of war. It should be required reading in schools to help people develop social conscience and understand the personal tangible implications of events that seem surreal and far away. I bought a probably pirated copy on the street in Vietnam, and was surprised by how good it was.

[Minh]

The books make me unable to escape from the feeling of despair. For several days, I keeps mulling over the war, where both the victims and victors are all betrayed by themselves. The sorrow of life that comes after the sorrow of war inflicted upon individuals and society whether they are willing to be aware of such betrayal or not. They struggle between remembering yesterday, receiving today and forgetting tomorrow. How infeasible it is psychologically.