Customer Reviews

The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam (Harper Trophy Book)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam" is written by Huynh Quang Nhuong, and includes illustrations by Vo-Dinh Mai. A short author bio at the end of the book notes that Huynh was born in Vietnam and eventually moved to the United States. This book is a wonderful account of growing up in rural Vietnam.

Huynh describes his life in a village on a riverbank, with a jungle and mountains nearby. The book is divided up into several short vignettes that describe the lives of the people and animals of this world. Although the danger and violence of some sections may be upsetting to some readers, I get the sense that the author is trying to present a truthful portrait of rural life.

There are accounts of many interesting people, such as Huynh's opera loving, karate fighting grandmother. But I was particularly fascinated by the many accounts of the domestic and wild animals of Huynh's homeland. I loved the descriptions of animal behavior and the accounts of the interactions between animals and people, between animals of the same species, and between animals of different species. We meet monkeys, otters, a fearsome crocodile, and many other creatures. It's a rich tapestry of life that is described vividly by the author. One of the most memorable animal characters is Huynh's water buffalo, Tank, a creature of great strength, loyalty, and courage.

This is a wonderful book that is written in a very effective, straightforward style that is ultimately quite poignant. It's sort of like a Vietnamese response to Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved "Little House" books. I recommend "The Land I Lost" to readers of all ages.

The Land I Lost, by Huynh Quang Nhuong.(Reviewed by a 7 year old girl) This is a well written book, but still not my favorite book in the world. These stories from the author's childhood memories are fun, funny and sometimes heartbreaking. The book takes place in a small hamlet in Vietnam before the war. The author remembers adventures with the villagers and with various animals, particularly a special water buffalo named Tank. The several pictures in the book help to bring out the story. There is a great scene where the author and his sister catch some little birds. I won't tell you any more. Oh, if you are not comfortable with the death of animals and some villagers from snake bites and wild boar attacks, then I wouldn't recommend this book. All in all it's a pretty good book.

This Adventure story is full of dangerous fun and sorrow. Huynh Quang Nhuong lives in a small hamlet (village)in the central high lands of vietnam. The hamlet he lives in has a jungle on one side in which they must watch for jungle cats, lone hogs and the most dangerous the horse snake. And on the other is a river which Crocodiles live in. Many of the crocodiles are man eaters like mister short. In the begin of the story you meet Tank the Water bufflo. Tank isn't your regular water bufflo. He is bred between a lowland female because it would be patient and A moutainous bull so it would have the fierce fighting able.

The reason I choose this book was because love the outdoors. when I six years old I live in a village in Alaska and I hunted and fished all the time.

I am a student teacher...(and) am currently student teaching anEnglish Language Learners class... I decided to use The Land I Lostin my classroom because I interact daily with many Vietnamese studentswho are able to relate to the material. This book lends itself to many activities dealing with plot and theme. For example, our class composed graphics from chapter 3, The Lone Wild Hog, portraying the theme of the individualism versus collectivism. Together, we are learning about the Vietnamese culture, and about each other. This book has been a wonderful experience for us all. END

Very good book
However, there are 2 violent pages (dealing with monkey killing infant, and people killing monkey). These violent details may be appropriate at the time the book was published (1982), but not now.

This book, though definitely interesting, is not as kid-friendly as I thought it would be. Though some chapters are funny, others are quite disturbing and gruesome. It is also not very well written. The chapters are disjointed, different tales within chapters are not made to flow together, and the end simply 'ends'; there is no final summery, no statement of the author's purpose, no nothing. Though only appropriate, in my eyes, for children ten years and older, it is written as if it was meant for seven year-olds. Perhaps this is because the author was only about seven when many of these things happened, but still, he should have realized that the average seven year-old has not had to face anything near as disturbing as the things he recounts in this book! All in all, I'd say, if you're really interested in Vietnam, then read it. It will give you information that history books don't give. Otherwise, skip it.

I couldn't put this book down, and now that my 9 year old is reading it he can't either. It is an autobiographical story written from Quang Nhuong Huynh's childhood in the jungle of Vietnam.

What struck me the most about this book was the author's deep connection to all generations of his family (mother, father, sister, grandmother, cousin) and his extensive knowledge of the natural world in which he lived. I learned so much about so many creatures I have never encountered. I kept wishing the book had been longer.

Quang Nhuong Huynh lead such an interesting life. I would like to know more about his adult life and army service with the South Vietnamese. Sadly, that will not be possible (even though he has several unpublished pieces), as I found that he died in 2001.

For those parents who don't review books before their children read them, you may want to know that opium is mentioned in the book. It was not at all offensive, actually quite interesting. But I wanted mention this in case your children start asking questions about opium.

5/1/10 Edited to correct spelling.

We loved this book! My kids begged me NOT to finish our read-aloud time! We were glued to this book and ended up reading it a lot quicker than expected. It is graphic and true to life...read to young ones with caution!

The Land I lost is a book that Ithink is very true. Meaning the book really tells you about how this boys life was like. The Author shows death,being scared, and friendship. All the adventures this boy goes on in the story teach him a life long lesson, and this book didn't just teach him a lesson, me as the reader learned a few things about farming and vietnam.

The Land I Lost

By: Huynh Quang Nhuong

Review by: Mary Cheung

The Land I Lost was a very interesting story. It reflects on the authors' memory of his childhood in Vietnam. It was well written and each chapter seems to be a section or story in the authors' childhood. It really showed some of his thoughts and feelings towards many things. Some of the chapters in the book were quite exciting, such as the snake and wild boar hunts. The descriptions were quite vivid and the stories were beautifully told. I give this book, five stars.