A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Though the book is touted as a “collection of stories about the aftermath of the Vietnam War,” that seems inaccurate to me. It’s a collection of stories about the Vietnamese, often emigrants to the U.S. Sure, many of them have been touched by the war (what’s referred to in Vietnam as the “American War”) but the history of Vietnam is the history of war. With the French, the Japanese, the Chinese as well as the Americans.
Having spent the past few months in Vietnam, I have a greater appreciation for Butler’s work. His descriptions of the countryside, cultural traditions, even food definitely ring true. Through varied stories and believable characters, he has accurately and compassionately depicted the Vietnamese people.