This story opens in 1969 in Laos, the most bombed country of the Vietnam War: “the equivalent of one bombardment every eight minutes, twenty-four hours a day, for nine years.” Three orphaned teens (siblings Pranny and Noi, and their friend, Alisak) work as motorcycle couriers with an eccentric doctor at a large farmhouse that has been converted into a field hospital. They do their best to survive in the midst of war. When they must evacuate, they get separated, and the storyline then follows their individual experiences.
The novel is beautifully written, and its primary theme is displacement. It is told from various viewpoints, relating memories, sufferings, and the impact of war upon the civilian population of Laos. The individual threads are elegantly knitted together in loops and flashbacks. It is a moving story of the bonds formed through shared trauma. I can also recommend Yoon’s Snow Hunters.
This story opens in 1969 in Laos, the most bombed country of the Vietnam War: “the equivalent of one bombardment every eight minutes, twenty-four hours a day, for nine years.” Three orphaned teens (siblings Pranny and Noi, and their friend, Alisak) work as motorcycle couriers with an eccentric doctor at a large farmhouse that has been converted into a field hospital. They do their best to survive in the midst of war. When they must evacuate, they get separated, and the storyline then follows their individual experiences.
The novel is beautifully written, and its primary theme is displacement. It is told from various viewpoints, relating memories, sufferings, and the impact of war upon the civilian population of Laos. The individual threads are elegantly knitted together in loops and flashbacks. It is a moving story of the bonds formed through shared trauma. I can also recommend Yoon’s Snow Hunters.