Fire in the Lake by Francis FitzGerald
If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by Tim O'Brien
Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
Good Scent From a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
Song of Napalm by Bruce Weigl
Playing Basketball With the Viet Cong by Kevin Bowen
Dien Cai Dau by Yosef Komunyakaa
Full Moon Boat by Fred Marchant (this wasn't read in class, but it's authored by the professor who taught the class)
If anyone has read any of these books, I'd love to hear what you thought about them!
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Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit is giving away a copy of Mrs. Lieutenant: A Sharon Gold Novel by Phyllis Zimbler Miller. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and let Serena and Phyllis know your recollections of the Vietnam War or what you learned about the war for those of us born afterward. The contest deadline is September 14!
You can read my review of Mrs. Lieutenant here and my interview with Phyllis here.
14 comments:
Thanks for posting my contest on your page. I appreciate it.
Hi Anna! I have read "In The Lake Of The Woods". Though it was quite some time ago, I remember it pretty well.
Normally a book with a lot of flashbacks throws me off a little, but it didn't in this case. I also liked the various themes of governmental corruption that O'Brien described (quite accurately, IMO).
I wasn't too fond of the ending because for me it left an unanswered question or two. I don't want to give anything else away in case somebody hasn't read the book and would like to, but I recommend it- there's some good character development here.
Thanks for the list, Anna. Love Tim O'Brien!
I read "In the Lake in the Woods" a long time ago and I didn't remember the connection to Vietnam until I looked at a review on Amazon just now.
The two books I have read by Tim O'Brien concerning the Vietnam War that I think are powerful and stay in my mind are "The Things They Carried" and "Going After Cacciato."
I loved "In The Lake of the Woods," but I think you knew that already. I've got an interview up on my blog with the list of Vietnam Lit I have read, and much of it is Tim O'Brien. I didn't think we actually got to "Good Scent from a Strange Mountain."
I also forgot about Fred Marchant's book and the "Playing Basketball with the Viet Cong"
The college I went to also oftered a class like this and I wish I would have taken it! In the past year I've read The Things They Carried (O'Brien) and A Rumor of War (Caputo) and would really recommend both!
I thought In the Lake of the Woods was fantastic. Another good one of his is The Things They Carried- which you probably already know about.
Thanks btw for all the nice comments you've been leaving on my blog- I've been reading yours too and will comment more! :-)
Thanks everyone for the additional suggestions. I assume that "The Things They Carried" is something I should read, and I've added it to my TBR list.
Karen Spears Zacharias wrote Hero Mama - her father was killed in Vietnam and this is the story of how the family survived the tragedy. I found it very moving.
Thanks! I put Hero Mama on my list, too!
"Five Years to Freedom" is one about a Vietnam POW that has stayed with me for years and years...I even bought another copy after i had lost my first one. It was that good. ;O)
Thanks for the reading suggestion, Dawn! I'll have to check that one out.
I haven't read very many books about Vietnam. I will have to print out this list for when I have a little more time. A lot of the titles sound interesting.
Alyce: I hope you find the list useful. I know I can't wait until I have more time to read some of the ones suggested in the comments!
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