After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese (Kodansha Globe) [Paperback]

Lady Borton (Author), Grace Paley (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568361610 | ISBN-13: 978-1568361611 | Publication Date: October 15, 1996

A RARE CLOMPSE INTO THE SOUL OF VIT NAM

In her deeply moving memoir of Viet Nam, Lady Borton presents the "American war" from the view of the courageous peasants on the ground, underneath the B-52's and Agent Orange-stripped trees. Their extraordinary stories are of a kind we have not heard before: stories of women who smuggled weapons under vats of fish sauce, concocted camouflage from banana leaves, dug tunnels, carried messages through enemy territory, gave away their children to keep them safe, all the while tending to the daily work of village life-providing food, burying and visiting the dead, and observing religious holidays. Drawing on twenty-five years of work in Viet Nam, Borton achieves an unprecedented intimacy with its people and lets their voices set the tone of conciliation and renewal. Without calling attention to herself, Borton-the first westerner allowed to live in a Vietnamese village since the war's end-suffuses her account with a deep respect for all those we left behind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As an administrator for the Friends Service Committee in Quang Ngai Province, Borton (Sensing the Enemy: An American Among the Boat People of Vietnam) was one of the few Americans to work in both South and North Vietnam during the war. Much later, 1987-1993, she lived in Vietnamese villages, including a former Viet Cong base where women played a prominent role during the war. Her beautifully modulated memoir is less about the war itself than about the unique character of the village women: their formalized social interaction, use of traditional medicine, food-gathering and preparation and the Buddhist beliefs that guide their behavior. Borton's gently compelling narrative follows the rhythm of the seasons and weather patterns and records the jarring advent of Western-style consumerism with the appearance of jeans, tennis shoes, motorcycles and VCRs. Describing her life in Hanoi ("Vietnam's largest village"), where in 1990 she opened a Quaker Service office, she conveys her great affection for its hurly-burly pace. The author conversed with Vietnamese women fluently in their own language and thus is able to present fuller portraits than could be found elsewhere in English. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Lady Borton worked in South Vietnam from 1969 to 1971 with civilian amputee victims of the war. She also went to North Vietnam, worked with the Vietnamese boat people in a refugee camp in Malaysia after the war, made several trips to Vietnam in the late 1980s, and today is field director of Quaker Service-Vietnam in Hanoi. Her previous book, Sensing the Enemy: An American Woman Among the Boat People of Vietnam (1984), was a compassionate account of her earlier work with the Vietnamese. This book is an even more compelling sketch of her later years in Vietnam, largely among ordinary peasants, especially the women. It is a testament to the ingenuity, tenacity, and indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people, who suffered over 40 years of wars, and it offers a rare Western glimpse into their culture and soul. No matter what one's views on the war, this is a sensitive, insightful vignette.
Joe Dunn, Converse Coll., Spartanburg, S.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha USA (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568361610
• ISBN-13: 978-1568361611
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #907,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very thoughtfull, February 8, 2001

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Personne Lente (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Han Noi, Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. Unknown to my friend, I was in Quang Ngai City in 1969 when she was there (I in Air Cavalry, she with Quaker Services) and I knew of (and respected) the work of her organization from that time. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. The reception has always been positive. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written. It covers several extended visits by Ms Borton to various parts of the country over a span of some twenty years. I recommend it to anyone interested in the war, or the role of women in war, or really anyone interested in a good book. The beginning section, a visit to a village in the Mekong delta area, was particularly startling in the discussion of how effective the village women were as guerillas. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deeper Look, February 4, 2009

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Dennis R. Koehn - See all my reviews
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This review is from: After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

Lady Borton lives with the Vietnamese people and tells their story with empathy and insight. She reveals the face of the enemy that the French and the Americans never saw during the liberation struggles to oppose colonial oppression. This book sheds light on the American failure to understand the hearts and minds of this nation of artists and poets.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Long Winded But Essential, July 13, 2001

By 

Ping Lim (Christchurch) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)

From her experience living together with the common people, Lady Borton is able to reveal to us the main reason why the Americans failed to win the war in Vietnam. In fact, the war is already lost even before it began. Vietnamese is those special breed of people that's enormously proud of their country & should Americans have learnt about Vietnamese history, then, they would have to think twice before deciding to chip in efforts in assisting the French, & subsequently, to fight against communism. It so happened that after interviewing the common people, they were not fighting the Americans for communism but they simply wanted to win the right to enjoy their lives, to live as a free person with their own people. We also learnt of women's significant contribution towards the cause. Along the way, they lost their loved ones, & many became victims to chemical warfare conducted by the Americans. Surprisingly, many Vietnamese don't have ill-feelings against Americans because they always regarded the American Government differently from the Americans. The book also gives us a glimpse of their cultures (celebration of Tet & New Year), difference beween North & South Vietnam. To make the reading more interesting, there were pictures taken of the author with her new found friends ie. villagers, drawing of villages layouts, map of Vietnam, outline of Vietnam history, description of Vietnamese terms, relevant poems to start every & each chapters written by Vietnamese nationalists & poets. I don't find the book particularly captivating to read as it's quite long winded describing every little details about domestic chores. For those that yearn to feel the essence of villagers' life, perhaps, it's worth the while. Still, this doesn't deter the author's goal of reconciling between the States & Vietnam, & thus, the title of the book, After Sorrow.