Book Research

What others are saying about this book is that this book is a MUST read book because this book puts a face on those nameless NVA soldiers who died in what the Vietnamese call, " The American War." Others are saying that this book jumps around a lot but some people doesn't find that a distraction. As other's say, it is a book of love and war but one of the saddest story ever told.

Some study questions can be:
1) Explain what you believe the author means by "the sorrow of war."
2) Put yourself in Ninh's shoes, would you choose a different title name or keep it?
3) Describe your reaction to the main character/author's attitude towards the Americans.
4) Do you find the main character, Kien, sympathetic?
5) Why did Kien join the army? Why did he continue to fight?
6) Do you believe the author had a girl friend similar to Phuong, or is this character in the novel a symbol/metaphor for something else? Or both? Explain.
7) What about the book particularly moved you, why?