Customer Reviews

The Alleys of Eden

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"The Alleys of Eden" was first published in the early 1980's. Its revival is due to the later works of Robert Olen Butler, including the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winner, "A Good Scent from a Faraway Mountain." Few writers have delved into the psychological lives of Vietnam vets as Butler has. This novel tests the love between an American deserter in Vietnam and a Vietnamese woman, who are bonded by the extremities of the war. When the couple try to start over in America, they are faced with a different set of challenges. This novel is remiscent of Le Ly Hayslip's autobiographies, "When Heaven and Earth Change Places," and "Child of War: Woman of Peace." The irony is that it took more than a decade for Butler's refreshing novel to surface, and that is largely due to the efforts of the Vietnam vets' struggles to be heard and the public's recent interent in literature related to Vietnam.

Having lived abroad in Asia for 4 years, I have enjoyed Butler's "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain". The fact that the author lived, ate and spoke among the natives effuses throughout his books. So my disappointment couldn't have been greater when I picked up this book. The action, which the author wants to depict as breathless is listless and the characters come across as pathetic and pitiful when they should be portrayed daring and poignant. As his earlier work, this novel confirms that the author only got better with age.

I usually don't gush over books like this but The Alleys of Eden has to be one of the best novels I've enjoyed this year. It's a quick read but it's also beautifully written. From the back streets of Saigon to San Francisco, Butler captures what 1975 felt like exactly. I wasn't expecting much from it (being a first novel and all) but I'm going to go back right now and read it again.