Customer Reviews

A Time Far Past

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In the editor's introduction to "A Time Far Past," we are encouraged to read this novel as a North Vietnamese perspective on the American Wars. Don't come here for such a story. Le Luu weaves a simple, heroic love story around life of a villager who refusal to submit to the fate of his childhood, arranged marriage. Going off to war to escape his wife, he still lacks the ability to define his sense of self. We watch his late-blooming after many failed relationships through the eyes of a somewhat moralizing and acutely critical narrator whose portrayal of shifting cultural values in Viet Nam is intimate and human. While this experimental, multiperspective narrative is sometimes unconvincing, I found I could not put it down. Among the few novels mentioned in the plot is Jane Eyre. My opinion is that if you like a good romance you will enjoy this.

In this book we read about the struggles of a common countryman who yearns to better himself and to be happy in Vietnam. He has a wife who he doesn't love, he joins the military, and tries to become a Party member. And he deals with many other relationships as well. I learned a lot about the culture of Vietnam, how respect works there, what roles people are supposed to play and how sometimes they don't work out how they are you want them to. I enjoyed the writing style and felt I really got to know the main character, Sai, with all the ups and downs in his life. I only wish the ending had been on a slightly happier note, but not everything can be perfect.