I wanted to tell myself that I wasn't enjoying it just because it's not my type of book... but to be completely honest, the story is boring and the main character is unrelatable and utterly unlikable. I don't know if I'll have the will to finish this thing.

Some parts of this book I loved and at other times it dragged a bit but overall it was good.

Canadian author Vincent Lam is the son of ex-pats Chinese from Vietnam.

This book, set in an ex-pat Chinese community just outside of what was then Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1968, is beautifully written and engaged me from the first page onward. The author skillfully conveyed the tension and uncertainty of living in a country at war, and invaded by hordes of outsiders (French, American, Communist North Vietnamese.) Even the ending of the book, which at first dismayed me, vividly depicted the uncertainty of the situation for those of non-pure Vietnamese origin after the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.

Warnings: a couple of (really, unnecessary) sex scenes

Read this if: you’ve ever wanted to understand just what made the Vietnamese “boat people” desperate enough to flee into certain danger throughout the late 60s and during the 1970s; or you’d like a better understanding of the Vietnam War, from the point of view of South Vietnamese civilians.

4 stars

I often find myself thinking that no matter how much I read about historical events, part of me doesn't grasp them emotionally until I read a well-crafted novel set during that time. Though I was familiar with the events of the Vietnam War, my knowledge of day-to-day life and the political climates of the period were mainly restricted to what went on in the United States.The vicissitudes of the Vietnamese situation in the 60s and 70s are examined in this particularly well-plotted novel. The characters were very real; they were not black and white, each character had flaws, questionable motivations, and made mistakes. The stellar plotting and characterization in this novel allows me to forgive an occasional awkward sentence, and overall the writing was quite polished. Without giving any spoilers, I have to note that the ending left me gutted and in need of a fluffy comfort read, much like the ending of A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book, which also examines the devastations of war.

wonderful portrayal of vietnam during the war years, not so sure about the story - really a three and a half

This book starts out pretty lukewarm... it's all about the $$$ and it gets a little tiring after a while. Watching the father build up and lose his fortune multiple times and have it all end in tragedy is ... expected for modern fiction, but not my favorite. This is a 3.25 stars, and I would recommend if you are looking for some complex fiction about war time.

The first two-thirds were a bit of a slog. I almost gave up on it a few times, and I fell asleep more than once reading it. But the last third of the book was very good and finally provided some sort of payoff.

The descriptions of medical procedures were, unsurprisingly, wonderful. The sex scenes were vividly portrayed as well. I got really sick of the repetitive historical details and the focus on currency though.

I know this book is supposed to be highly-anticipated, but I predict the reception will be lukewarm (critically and commercially). An adequate work by a better than adequate author.

I cannot deny that Vincent Lam is a gifted writer. But while I appreciated the story itself, even enjoyed it in parts, I struggled. The main character of Percival Chen was difficult for me to like, because of his wilful ignorance. How could he not have known what was happening all around him? His weak nature allowed everyone to take advantage of him. His apathy towards the political realities of his community, coupled with his greed, meant thst he lost everything that mattered to him. And I had a hard time finding empathy. Still, the story itself, set in Vietnam during and just after the US invasion when North and South Vietnam are embroiled in civil war, is gripping and a chilling glimpse at the realities faced by the people of Saigon during that period. And for that glimpse, this book is worth reading.

Originally posted on Cozy Up With A Good Read

I was happy to get to read this book. I absolutely love Canadian books and authors. I was really interested to read something by Vincent Lam (never have before) and see how he can add all this into a story and base it around the Vietnam war. I can tell you that this was definitely a beautiful story!

I found this book difficult in the beginning, but I pushed through and am really happy I stuck with it because as the story went on I found myself really invested in everything that was happening. Vincent Lam takes a lot of the beginning of the book to have his readers understand Percival, he goes into his history a bit to show what he has already been through. That was the part I had a few issues getting through, the book went back and forth between Percival's past and the present time of the story without actually mentioning that (each chapter goes back and forth). Though I did enjoy that Vincent invests a lot of the beginning of the book into the history of the main character because it has the readers understand his situation more, and why he does some of the things he does.

I enjoyed how the book was broken up into different parts. Each part of the story represented a new part in Percival's life. It was a good way to break the book up and it really shows when the important events are happening. Vincent Lam also has a way with words, his descriptions throughout the book are beautiful and bring everything to life for the reader.

I really enjoyed connecting with Percival's character, I found myself being more invested in the story in the second half. There was a lot more drama happening and I found I was seeing more of Percival's emotions later on. He was a very interesting character for me throughout the book. It seemed that Percival was ignorant of the events around him (or pretended to be ignorant). It was interesting to see how the Vietnam war really affected the story, I was not expecting it to revolve so much around the war, but I found many instances where the war helped decide the outcome of an event in Percival's life.

The love story was very interesting for me. I found it different than other love stories that I have previously read. The hardships the characters go through are much different, and the way the characters deal with these were interesting. I was very surprised at how things were wrapped up at the end. This story definitely pulls you in and keeps you invested in reading to find out what happens next.

Vincent Lam brings a beautiful story to life in ugly times of war. This story makes you think about your life and how you would do things if you were in that position. Pick this book up, it is definitely great Canadian literature!

I found this hard to put down - it was a real page-turner for me. Hadn't read anything set in Vietnam before, and found the particular setting (expatriate Chinese community) very interesting. The interpersonal stuff was pure melodrama, but none the worse for it. Although it's in the third person, the reader sees events and people only through the eyes of the main character. Consequently I found the female characters and the Vietnamese characters rather one-dimensional. However, I'm not quite sure how that could have been avoided given the eyes through which the reader is seeing them. One female character, in particular, came across as the exotic other par excellence.