When I read Anthony Bourdrain’s A Cook’s Tour, he mentioned that he got a copy of Bao Nihn’s war novel, The Sorrows of War, and consumed it in an afternoon at the beach while visiting Vietnam. I remember seeing it in its photocopied pirated version the first time I visited. So, earlier this year-in February when I was in Hanoi I picked up a copy of it, and I've recently read it. It’s a short but powerful novel that illustrates the destructive nature of war. It’s not always the battle itself, but the situations people find themselves in because of the war. The loss of innocence, unruly behavior of humans in general, the break up of families and lovers. There were two brutal violations of women that took place in the novel that I had difficulty in forgetting. The structure is somewhat disjointed as several different stories converge and an underlying tone of sadness and suffering permeates throughout. It is a war classic since it stays with you like all the great war novels: ie Going After Cacciato, or All Quiet on The Western Front.
Comments