What do readers think of The Man From Saigon by Marti Leimbach? Write your own review.

Leimbach takes you to the jungles of Vietnam and by the time you've read this book you have the feeling of having been there. I appreciate the research that went into this.
Her characters are sympathetic and their relationships very complex and she weaves their stories and outcomes well

I was very excited to read this book set in Vietnam because being English, the war in Vietnam seemed very remote to me, I was quite young when it started and knew very little about it. I have visited Vietnam in the last few years and the author perfectly captured the chaotic atmosphere of Saigon and the cloying humidity of the jungle. I found the flashbacks and sudden changes of narrator somewhat disorienting: perhaps this was what the author intended ? The three main characters were very well drawn although I would have liked to know more about the Vietnamese photographer, Hoang Van Son. The latter part of the book which focuses on the forced march through the jungle was gripping and I did not want to put the book down.
Well worth a read. I think this would be a great book group book.

It is unusual to read a war novel about a female reporter. The author successfully relates a very difficult and sad time in American history through the perspective of a female. Many books have been written about this period through the eyes of the soldiers, such as the Things they Carried by Tim O'Brien, and this is a refreshing change from the war novel genre. This is well-written and thoughtful literature. It would be good book club novel to be read in conjunction with other Vietnam war novels.

I loved “The Man from Saigon” by Marti Leimbach.
I would highly recommend reading this book. I enjoyed reading the story because it was about the Vietnam War which I know very little about.
The story is about a gutsy, quirky female correspondent in Vietnam who was not afraid to go the front line. It is also a love story and the many effects the war has on everyone involved.
The main characters are Susan Gifford one of the first few woman correspondents in Vietnam in 1967. Marc Davis, Susan’s lover, a TV reporter, married, and has been in Vietnam too long. Our third colorful and mysterious character and part of the love triangle is Son, who is a Vietnamese photographer who became Susan’s partner, companion, interpreter and as the story goes, her protector.
When Susan and Son are captured by three young Viet Cong, we see how courageous Susan is, how mysterious Son is and how the hardship of war and his love for Susan have affected Marc.

It is unusual to read a war novel about a female reporter. The author successfully relates a very difficult and sad time in American history through the perspective of a female. Many books have been written about this period through the eyes of the soldiers, such as the Things they Carried by Phil Caputo, and this is a refreshing change from the war novel genre. This is well-written and thoughtful literature. It would be good book club novel to be read in conjunction with other Vietnam war novels.

I was intrigued when I picked up this novel. Vietnam war, female correspondent, held captive by the enemy. Unfortunately this book missed the mark. Characters were one dimensional.

Leimbach's novel "Daniel isn't talking" proved to be a personal work of fiction. You were drawn in to the characters.
She tries to do the same thing in "The man from Saigon." Every good novelists makes you want to be the protagonist or have a great sympathy for one of the characters.
The Vietnam War is very foreign to me. I'm not of the right generation. The only people that talk about the war were people on the fringes of it. Their impressions are light hearted and one knows that wasn't the situation.
This novel educates. I don't know if her assumptions are correct, but they are griping. The world of war--smells, hardships, fear--all make a book that is hard to put down.
Thank you for sending the book. I would not have read it without this incentive.

I read this book during the blizzard of 2010. The descriptions took me straight to the jungle heat, sounds, insects and terror. You really do not care who is on which side or what war is being waged. It is obvious how one can lose objectivity when the struggle for survival is so difficult. Susan , a journalist, showed common sense and passion. Her captors, Anh, Minh and Hien were as stoic as you might expect Vietcong soldiers to be. Marc, the American journalist, was suffering from the stress and fatigue of existing in the war zone. Son "the man" remains an enigma. Did I mention it was 1967 in Vietnam?