Set in Vietnam in 1965, this novel has echoes of Graham Greene's THE QUIET AMERICAN. In this novel, Sydney Parade, recently divorced, is looking for something to give his life meaning. He hopes to find it in Vietnam by bringing them democracy. It's not hard to figure out what happens to his dreams.
He is recruited by Dicky Rostow, brash, and outspoken, a true believer in America's role. Sydney travels to the country ostensibly to bring schools and wells, unaware that he's totally ignorant of Vietnamese culture, its people. He befriends a French expatriate, Claude Arnaud and his wife Dede. They become friends and Claude reluctantly relays information about a captured Army captain to the Americans. The result leads to the annihilation of an innocent village of Vietnamese peasants and the end of Sydney's innocence.
No comments:
Post a Comment