How is the Viet Nam portrayed in The Mountains Sing similar to or different from the Viet Nam you already knew?

Had you previously read other books from or about Viet Nam? How is the Viet Nam portrayed in The Mountains Sing similar to or different from the Viet Nam you already knew?

In middle school I read one about the Vietnam War and have found often that tales are mostly told from an American perspective.
I have greatly appreciated reading a different perspective and it leaves me curious for more knowledge and information on the time.

I was in college protesting during the war which is all I knew of the country. This book really opened my eyes to Vietnam. All I had previously read was Matterhorn which left a bad taste in my mouth for the country.

This is the first book I read about Viet Nam, outside of required reading for classes, and the only book I've read from the perspective of Vietnamese people. The stories told in this book illustrated the hardship, pain and struggles the people and families living in both North and South Viet Nam faced before, during and well after the war. And it also showed the incredible strength, endurance and never ending hope experienced by these same people. I was very moved by the characters in this book, as well as by the portrayal of the Country itself.

This is my first book concerning Vietnam. My knowledge of Vietnam was limited to war stories told by returning veterans. This was very one-sided.

I am so ignorant about Viet Nam. This book opened a new road for me.

I appreciate how the book portrayed the various characters, and how details were provided to etch each person that much more deeply into the psyche of all readers.

I will definitely read anything else that Nguyen Phan Que Mai gets involved with!

I knew very little about the lives of the Vietnamese people throughout the war. This was an eye-opener on the suffering the people there encountered.