Customer Reviews

Leaving Vietnam

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Leaving Vietnam is the most heart-touching book I have ever read and is probably the only one I have ever liked that I chose to read myself. I had expected a politically engrossed book on a war that I should, but do not know anything about, but instead I discovered a very simply written story with simple values. The book is about Minh Thanh Nguyen's personal life journey from childhood to adulthood in war and post-war Vietnam. While Nguyen may never be credited as a highly innovative author--he uses no fancy literary techniques nor any figurative language--he tells his story perfectly; the story is simple, and it is this straightforwardness that makes his book so wonderful. It is a very real narrative of his daily life through surviving crime, love, and war. No knowledge about Vietnam or its customs is required to read this book; it is merely a unique first-hand experience of growing up and facing problems in order to be true to oneself--in this case, fighting the struggles against trying to escape Communist Vietnam.