check it out! Books

April 30th marked the 35th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, and the end of the Vietnam War. The New York Times Book Review chose the cover of the April 4th issue to review two novels set in that particular time and place--The Lotus Eaters and Matterhorn. The latter is still on my holds list, but I just finished the former, Tatjana Soli's haunting first novel, of a female war photographer's journey through those war years. Helen's "ambition in the larger world had faded until there was only her and the camera and the war." Check it out! a striking first novel.


The Vietnam era was a huge cultural influence for those of us coming of age in the late 60s, early 70s. This fall, the Flathead County Library System will feature Tim O'Brien's classic novel of the Vietnam War, The Things They Carried. Look for a Big Read calendar of events later this summer; and in the meantime, check out these new novels of the Vietnam War.