I learned so much about the Vietnamese War from the inside of the country from this book. It reads so much like a novel it is hard to remember it is nonfiction. At times in the middle it can become repetitive, but the end is so redeeming. Le Ly Hayslip write with true wisdom learned the hard way.

「私を傷つけた人を憎むのは私が彼らの権力を続けます。他方、彼らを許して教訓に対して礼を述べるのは私を自由して途中で続けます。」
"Hating people who had wronged me only kept me in their power. Forgiving them and thanking them for the lesson they had taught me, on the other hand, set me free to continue on my way."
この本を大好きだった！本当にベトナムのことについてたくさん習った感じだー　皆はこの本を読む必要だと思う
I really loved this book! I feel like I really learned a lot about Vietnam! I really think everyone needs to read this book!!

Okay I am just going to put this as DNF because it has been on my currently reading list for way too long and considering how many other books I've zoomed past while this stayed the same for so long, yeah... it's probably saying something.

It's not the case, like Little Dorrit where I couldn't finish because it was just mind-numbingly uninteresting for me to continue. I think I'm just in some reading slump/being a major procrastinator and overall lazy bum. We can all crucify me later.

I will probably come back to read this one day. It is a really interesting book, although I am a bit confused as to how much (at this point) is translated into the film adaptation of Heaven and Earth - but considering the film has taken material from both this book and Woman of War Child of Peace, I wouldn't be too surprised if a lot of this book never made it to the big screen.

I think as someone who also is of Vietnamese ethnicity, it is really fascinating to read about how the Vietnam war had affected and radically changed the lives of so many. My knowledge of it comes from whatever movie portrayal is currently out there, as well as anecdotes from both my parents and grandma, so yeah.

Another thing I always had to keep in mind was that I am a first generation Asian Australian. I have never left the country and grew up in a predominantly Western society - it shouldn't be some big surprise that some things the narrator talked about Vietnamese culture made me crinkle my nose and think there was something inherently problematic about it. But, considering that I was also raised with a Vietnamese background and had to learn about its culture via my family, some of the stuff that Le Ly Hayslip talks about - especially about the importance of family, it made total sense to me because a lot of stuff she says, I basically grew up being taught that as well.

From what I read, I think I could easily relate to it more on the basis of both the narrator and myself growing up and taught (roughly) the same ideals. But even from the measly 70 or so pages I've read, it isn't hard to get engaged in the story and be horrified at some of the things both the 'Republicans' and the 'Viet Cong' will do in order to fulfil their own selfish purposes, and the story of the narrator and others in their rural community only serving the crime of being in the middle of it all.

Amazing. I learned so much from this book. A woman caught in central Vietnam as a girl, during the middle of the conflict, eventually ends up in the US. The book is about her trip back home and is told in flashbacks and present day chapters. Beautiful and emotional.

There are no winners or losers in war, just victims and survivors. Le Ly Hayslip brings the agony and hardship of the Vietnam War to life. I read this book in and around Da Nang, where much of the book takes place. Her book brought those streets and villages alive and populated them with the ghosts of her family and her people. Vietnam was forever altered by the war. While all sides contributed to the suffering, it is clear that the United States had no business in Vietnam and its rationalizations for being there were based on lies. Le Ly Hayslip's story of courage, determination and forgiveness is a powerful contribution to the healing process for everyone associated with that tragic war.

Le Ly writes two intersecting stories: One is of her time growing up in war-torn Vietnam (she was born in 1949) with her large family. She gives us a taste of what a farm girl in Vietnam's life is like, the struggles she had to endure time and time again, and the lust of man throughout it all. The second is of her visit back to her family in Vietnam in 1986, after being in the US since 1970.

I have read a bunch of books written by people who were children or teens in wars in Asian countries, but this one was so long-drawn that it was like I had to sit down to hear her full-on descriptions of her entire life, piece by piece slowly recounted, which can get a bit boring at times. I am not saying what she went through was boring (it wasn't one bit - I actually hurt for her, feeling her emotion most of the time as I read this book). I just mean that it would have been more interesting if it was focused on highlights of her life rather than her entire history.

I did learn a bunch of things I had never known. We don't normally hear about the Vietnamese who were in the middle of the country had to deal with the civil war there; careful of their own neighbors and not knowing which side to be for or against while having family members fighting for both sides. As for the descriptions of how US soldiers acted, that part does not surprise me at all (and makes me very sad, especially as an advocate against human trafficking oppression) - but then again I have a Vietnam Veteran father who has shared a few (though not very many) stories of his year in Vietnam. The way they treated women was horrific in my opinion. Le Ly shares some of her own personal accounts with these soldiers - one whom she married (though you don't hear about him until the very end of the book). 25,000 children were born from US soldiers in Vietnam while they were there, which is why there are still thousands of people today recovering from issues of the war in Vietnam (the north, south, and the US soldiers).

Though peace is not talked about a lot in this book, I definitely like what Le Ly tells her family while she is with family members in the 1980's which is basically what she was told about peace by her own father. I am not one to give spoilers.

I do want to see this movie (I've heard the soundtrack for a long time though). I am sure a lot is changed from the story (and at the same time perhaps it is more interesting).

If you are curious, there is content in this book - from details of torture and war imagery that is not pretty one bit, sexual details, suicide, and some profanities used throughout the book.

This book is informative as well as a great read. You can view the Vietnam War not only through the eyes of the author, but also through the eyes of the political machine, civilians, soldiers and outsiders during this time. The author also succeeds in opening the eyes of the readers to the much more difficult lives that others lead in the world. The book makes you think a little more about your daily actions and reminds you to be thankful of the luxuries that we are accustomed to.

I love this book

Outstanding book. War plays the largest role in Le Ly Hayslip's story. She was rescued by her family and her wits at the brink of death more than once. Around her, relatives, neighbors and friends were not so fortunate. This is a view from inside the fractured chaotic reality of civilians who are unlucky enough to be at the epicenter of warring factions.

Le Ly escaped to a good life in the US, and years later, fought chaotic bureaucracy to visit Vietnam in time to reunite with her mother. I learned more from her book about Vietnam - the country and the war - than I have through any other reading.

I'm Vietnamese but I've never asked my parents about the war after immigrating to the United States myself, either due to language barriers/trying to fit into American society or whatever reason. This book really gave me insight into the Vietnam War and how an individual woman was able to overcome the horrors of war without forgetting her homeland.

This book is about the Vietnam War, but it's the memoir of a Vietnamese civilian, Le Ly. All I've ever heard about the war is from the perspective of the American and Vietnamese soldiers, so this was something entirely unexpected. With all Le Ly and her family have been through, she still learned forgiveness and compassion, two virtues rarely associated with the Vietnam War. A really wonderful book.

"Un essere umano è sempre un essere umano, a prescindere dall'etichetta che mettiamo sul suo corpo".