Sorrows of War - Bao Ninh

I finished "Sorrows of War" by Bao Ninh - which is hands down one of the most profound survivors tales of war I've read. When it came out in Vietnam, it was provocative in its unsparing, realistic depiction of the war against america. A fresh alternative to the official propoganda of the time. The writer was a veteran of several fronts who was the only one to survive in his unit.

In some ways, it is more gripping and relevant than "All Quiet on the Western Front", certainly a rare gem set against the massive body of work from the American perspective. I wish every american would read it - as it humanizes the Vietnamese with subtlety, contradiction, and complexity. All the nuances you'd expect from good literature.

It is particularly poignant in its portrait of pre-war Hanoi, where gentler, artistic souls still found a home. It is also bold in its depiction of the madness the war inflicted upon the vietnamese, much of it self-inflicted much the same way that americans - who shipped out thinking they were defending against the Red hordes - found themselves in the heart of darkness, raping and pillaging and senselessly bombing a people who really just wanted to get on with their farming and run their own country.