Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful metaphor of the continuing division
Review: This book is an extended metaphor embodied in a haunting love story between a North Vietnamese soldier, Kien, who fights the entire war in the South, and his faithless, promiscuous childhood sweetheart Phuong. Kien represents the brutal and oppressively dogmatic Marxist North Vietnam, still reeling from its hollow victory over the once joyful and vibrant South, which rejects the North after the war just as Phuong rejects Kien.Set against obvious personal war time experiences, some of them quite surprising, such as the poor reception of the soldiers returning home to the North after the war, this book lays bare the stark reality of a North and a South that were never united as a single country, not before the war, not after. Full of the angst of self doubt and questioning the whole purpose of their wasted sacrifice, it explains why the North Vietnamese government was so brutal in dealing with the once prosperous South after their victory. A worthwhile read for anyone who needs to be washed of the propaganda of books like Lady Bolton's After Sorrow. This book shows us why it is that great art so often stems from regimes that oppress the human spirit. Its hidden message is quite clear to anyone with an open mind.
Rating: 
Summary: A vivid view from the 'enemy' perspective.
Review: This story provided a view of North Vietnamese teenagers' life as he became involved in the war with the South and ultimately the U. S. It confirms what so many of us who spent time there have come to understand. That the war - for all of us who participated - was totally beyond our control and comprehension. Young Kein's entire life changes from optimism and promise to hopelessness and futility. His relationship with his childhood sweetheart crumbles as the war progresses. She too is forever changed by the events portrayed in this period of over 10 years. This would not have been a readable, understandable story for me in the '70s but after close to 30 years since I was involved, it was very worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: This book transcends culture
Review: This was a great novel. I read it in a unit that included Tim O'Brien's _Going Ater Cacciato_, and that combination was fantastic. I think of the title of this book as kind of a question, and the entire novel defines exactly what the sorrow of war is. Loss, of friendship, of love, of virginity, of innocence, of years of one's life. Although written from a foreign perspective, this can be understood no matter what the culture. War has a terrible effect on everyone, not only the men and women who fight, but also those who are left behind at home.
Rating:
Summary: This book transcends culture
Review: This was a great novel. I read it in a unit that included Tim O'Brien's _Going Ater Cacciato_, and that combination was fantastic. I think of the title of this book as kind of a question, and the entire novel defines exactly what the sorrow of war is. Loss, of friendship, of love, of virginity, of innocence, of years of one's life. Although written from a foreign perspective, this can be understood no matter what the culture. War has a terrible effect on everyone, not only the men and women who fight, but also those who are left behind at home.
Rating:
Summary: We have met the enemy, and he is us
Review: Those of us who spent time 'in-country' during the conflict in Viet Nam know that American soldiers were taught, subtly if not overtly, that their enemy was something less than human. Demonizing the enemy--thinking of them as 'gooks,' 'slants,' as 'them' to our 'us'--is a standard wartime practice; it's far easier to fight those you consider less than your equal. This book is clear evidence of the magnitude of this lie. Here, we meet the enemy and--as the wise old 'possom Pogo once said--he is us. In 'The Sorrow of War,' Bao Ninh, a former NVA soldier, walks us through the life our enemy--detailing in precise, unassuming prose his daily life; his emotions, attitudes, causes, and feelings for those close to him and, of course, his enemy. It is a story that could, in many respects, have been written by a US soldier, except that it has a local feel, the rooted viewpoint of one who fights on the land where he lives. The language is poetic and the images sharp; it is a narrative full of a universal weariness, wisdom, experience and pain. This is a must-read piece of literature for anyone trying to understand the Viet Nam conflict (which the Vietnamese call the American War), or war in general, in depth. It is at times slow going, but ultimately well worth the effort. Susan O'Neill, Viet Nam veteran and author of Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Viet Nam
Rating:
Summary: The Best War Novel of the 20th Century
Review: To fully enumerate the qualities of this book would be impossible here. As far as Vietnam literature is concerned, this book out-classes all other works in the field. As far as all war literature is concerned, only "All's Quiet on the Western Front" can even compare. Bao Ninh has produced a hauntingly beautiful eulogy to innocence lost in the maelstrom of war. Youth, love and art are all tenderly portrayed in the hard light of that ultimate metaphor for life, war. Supporting the book's incomparable handling of its subject is the author's superb prose. The book is written in a poetic, yet terse, style that is a model of economy. Every line of this relatively short novel is laden with aesthetic beauty and spiritual depth. The book abounds with insights about Vietnam as well as about the human spirit. It is a reading experience not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Pulitzer Prize Material!
Review: Truly a novel worthy of the Pulitzer Prize. Perhaps the finest book I have ever read concerning the Vietnam war. A must read for anyone who wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the war, particularly from the perspective of the Vietnamese.
Rating:
Summary: What war does to human beings
Review: When visiting Vietnam last year, a man stopped me outside the war rememberance museum in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. He carried a shrink wrapped stack of books three feet high and tried to sell me a knock-off copy of "The Sorrow of War". When I told him I'd read it, he broke into a bright smile. He then offered to sell me Greene's "The Quiet American". When I told him I'd read that too, his eyes sparkled, his smile stretched and he put his arm around my shoulders. He took me to meet his friends. He said something in Vietnamese to them. All of a sudden I felt like I was a rediscovered lost relative. "The Sorrow of War" is a book that's not so much read as experienced. There is no escaping the intensity and naked reality presented. The author is a survivor of the American War who fought in the North Vietnamese Army, but Bao Ninh is kind to neither the North Vietnamese Army nor the Americans and its allies. There's no romanticism in this novel, only honesty. Originally banned by the Communist government, the book proved so popular that the government reconsidered and lifted the ban. It's now a national treasure. In my next life, when I'm a teacher, I will assign this to my class to be read back-to-back with Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried". These books could stop a war.
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