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There are currently 18 member reviews
for The Man From Saigon
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Jenny P. (Cupertino, CA)
Man from Saigon
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.
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Joyce S. (Dyersburg, TN)
Another view of the Vietnam War
A vivid and inside view of war time Vietnam that is not always pleasant reading. Connections and loyalties are constantly tested, questioned, and changing, for the principle characters. Ceaseless bombing creates an ever-changing landscape not unlike the changes occurring in the deepest parts of these people. I have a clearer view of what happened in Vietnam than I was ever able to obtain from my contemporary family and friends who served in that war. I also now 'get' why they chose not to speak of it much.
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Jill S. (Eagle, ID)
The Man from Saigon
For those of us who grew up watching the Vietnam War on TV during dinner, I can honestly say that I would not have selected this book on my own. This powerful and gripping story of a female journalist who travels to Vietnam in 1967 to cover the war for a women's magazine will challenge your perceptions of the war. Leimbach has woven a number of contradictions in the book, and I'm still haunted by some of them. This story will stay with your for a long time!
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Linda W. (Riverview, Florida)
This book does not ring true
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.
