BG 2 - November 2023 - Review

On the morning of 29th November, BG2 met to discuss this book. The book is the memoir of a girl on the verge of womanhood in a world turned upside down. Le Ly had suffered near-starvation, imprisonment, torture, rape, and the deaths of family members—but still held fast to her faith in humanity. And almost twenty years after her escape to America, she was drawn back to her home country and the family she left behind. Scenes of this reunion are interwoven with the brutal war years, offering a picture of Vietnam, then and now, and of a courageous woman who experienced the true horror of the Vietnam War—and survived to tell her story. Indeed, many books have been written, typically on the atrocities and struggles faced by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam war and the resultant emigration of some of the Vietnamese. However, this book stands out for the breadth of issues it covers. Hence, it is a book so aptly selected for discussion as it provided such a springboard for a very comprehensive as well as an immersive sharing of views and perspectives. The composition of our group, being not merely of various nationalities, but many of us having lived in various parts of the world, was enough to provide a kaleidoscopic range of views and sharing of our own experiences. One of us even lived in Vietnam for a couple of years, thus well-placed to share direct insight into the psyche of the local Vietnamese. 

What bewildered us though was the title. How does it relate to the story? Our best guess is that when the protagonist was a young child, life in the village was peaceful and blissful. Almost heavenly, perhaps. Then the war came, with all its necessary violence, evils, struggles and challenges in life, mirroring the reality on earth, albeit in different degrees. Thus, to the protagonist, her world that was heaven had been replaced by earth.

In the Prologue and echoed in the Epilogue, the author intimated that her purpose of writing the book is for all to “heal the wounds of war and break the circle of vengeance” in order for there to be peace not just in the world, but also in one’s own heart. She advocates to change the general perception of war in that there is actually no enemy after all, each side believes in their own views and perspectives. Therefore, each side is actually fighting a different cause. However, many may not subscribe to the writer’s view. Her other purpose in writing this book may resonate more with her readers, that being the power of forgiveness for it “breaks the pattern of hateful feelings”. Only by forgiving can one move on and perhaps even accept the other. 

We ended the discussion on an equally hopeful note. 

Our group rated this book 8/10

Murni Rahim