Fascinating account of a Chinese national in Vietnam. Brush up on your history of WW 2 and Vietnam war before you read this book

The guy can write, no denying that. The book follows the classic historical fiction arc of family events being dimly influenced by the society simmering with uncertainty in the background. Eventually, everything comes to a head and conflict forces characters to deal with what they have been trying to ignore when they can no longer separate their lives from the surrounding politics. The twists, surprises and eventual connecting of various narrative lines and well-constructed and the literary architecture of the book is undeniable.
However, I can't give it more than three stars because the characters didn't breathe for me. The main character is a collection of traits seemingly put together to create a flawed anti-hero. The secondary characters are mostly narrative vehicles rather than living beings, with the exception of the venomous first wife whose appearances are always highlights. It's not terrible but neither is it hugely compelling. It's worth reading if you're interested in the author or the various components of the story but I wouldn't enthusiastically recommend it to others.

This was a book club selection. It would not have been a book I would have chosen myself. Story line did not intrigue me. I read..Escape from Camp 14 about Korea and I found that a much better story...probably because it was real...this was a smattering of real history...but I became confused between the Chinese , The North and the South Koreans and what each wanted and what everyone was fighting for...which doesn't surprise me...I always wonder why people want to hate each other so much. I found this book a very violent read...the things that people do to one another...disgusting...and horrible. I didn't like all the sex scenes either...I skipped right over them..they were completely irrevelant to the story...(I don't like those scenes in movies either...less is more....I want to read or hear about the hero picking up the girl and taking her to the bedroom, a big, grand gesture...and leave it there...I already know what goes on in the bedroom and I find it completely boring to read about it on the printed page...it is merely a filler..and no point to it). In the end, this was at best a depressing read...The Headmaster made lots of wagers through out the entire novel....spoiler alert...he lost at every one of them....

A page-turner and I learned a lot about Vietnam and the war.

A riveting and moving story of belonging

I, embarassingly, knew nothing about the political struggles and wars in Vietnam during the 60s and 70s or anything about its history of foreign occupation. Not knowing much of anything made this book a bit challenging as it is set against the backdrop of Vietnam's troubled past as well as the rise of Mao in China.

Despite some confusion caused by my political ignorance this was an extraordinary book that traces the life of Percival Chen from his childhood in China where he is abandoned by his fortune seeking father, through his doomed marriage to a wealthy classmate, on to his new life in Vietnam where he makes his own fortunes but suffers immensely in his personal life. This is a story about gambling everything away for love. It's about what the heart will wager to cling that which is more important than any sum of money in the world--family. It is a book with political intrigue, betrayals, and torture of the mind and body. It is about love so deep that anything might be sacrificed on its altar.

Don't expect to come out of this book unscathed. The amount of suffering packed into this book (fairly long as it is) begins to wear the reader down. There were times when I thought I couldn't go on as the tragedies piled up so high I thought I might drown in them myself. But I developed such an attachment to the protagonist that I was compelled to see him through, and know his eventual fate. Along the way I learned some things about the history of Vietnam and China as I silently begged for an ending that would include some redemption and peace.

A lot happened in this book, where to start? It took place over a few decades and even if a lot did not always happened to the character, then the world around him was re-shaped.

Percival is the principal of an English school. Is he a good guy? Well what is a good guy? He is kind (sort of), he cares about his family and tries to make their lives better. But at the same time he spends a lot of time gambling and whoring. But I would call him a good guy, a naive stupid man who is neither good or bad. Just human.

He leaves China when the Japanese comes. Then they come to Vietnam too (damn war is evil!). He marries, he has a son. He finds his father. The French, the Americans and later the Northern Army all fight over Vietnam (arghh I do not get communists! Fair, fair? There is nothing such as equal rights with them.) Yes this is a country that sees war, but it's not always present. He manages to stay away from much of it. But we do get a taste of the brutalities too.

Other people we get to know is his son, his ex-wife, who was a sort of a harpy but I liked her. Teacher Mak, Percival's mistress and many more. It's not a happy book so all of these wont be happy in the end. I felt sorry of the country, and of the people, and all the metisse children. But war and shaping a new country is never easy. It's bloody, horrible and disgusting.

I did come to realize that I know way too little of this era. Mostly cos what I know has been shaped through US eyes. And here we get the view of a Chinese man, who does not have it easy either as he is not liked either.

An interesting story

I enjoyed reading about the Vietnam War from a non-Western perspective, but I had a really hard time connecting with Percival. Good read though.