The Man from Saigon by Marti Leimbach
Release date: 2009 / 337 pages
Synopsis (from back cover): “It’s 1967 and Susan Gifford is one of the first female correspondents in Saigon, dedicated to her job and passionately in love with an American T.V. reporter. Son is a Vietnamese photographer who accompanies her as they cover combat missions. On a November morning they escape death during an ambush but find themselves prisoners of three rogue Vietcong soldiers.”
First line: “The first shots came as they were flying northeast toward Danang.”
Review: Two months ago, I ended my review of The Lotus Eaters, a novel set during the Vietnam war about a woman reporter who falls in love with a fellow (married) reporter and eventually finds herself in love with her Vietnamese photographer, with these words:
I think this may be the last work of fiction set in Vietnam for this reader. While the soldiers and correspondents must become somewhat immune to the horror, my fill of these visions may have reached its limit.
At that time, I did not realize I had already agreed to read The Man from Saigon, a novel set during the Vietnam war about a woman reporter who falls in love with a fellow (married) reporter and eventually finds herself in love with her Vietnamese photographer. Strange coincidence, eh?
So, I embarked on this new project knowing I needed to remain as fresh and objective as possible, despite my need to leave Vietnam behind. Fortunately, despite the striking similarities in plot, The Man from Saigon quickly differentiated itself from The Lotus Eaters, thus making my job as a reviewer easier than I expected.
First, the protagonist is British, not American, and although she had lived in the U.S. for much of her adult-life, her nationality still provided a refreshing neutrality not often found in Vietnam literature. Secondly, this reporter becomes a P.O.W. and much of the novel explains her ordeal. Leimbach did extensive research, using source material from a number of female reporters who had also been P.O.W.s, and the experience of the character felt very authentic.
However, a number of stylistic choices did not work for me — most notably the use of italics to represent dialogue between Susan and Marc. The italics felt disassociated from the narrative, especially since all other conversations were represented in a conventional manner using quotation marks, and I had to remind myself that I was reading dialogue and not thoughts.
In addition, the novel encompasses six sections which alternate between Susan’s experiences and her married lover’s experiences. Personally, I would have cut Marc out of the novel entirely. Susan’s journey through the jungle was by far the stronger element of the novel and removing Marc would have resulted in a tighter, more manageable length, too.
Honestly, I did not connect with any of the characters on a personal level, so while witnessing the experiences of a P.O.W. was fascinating intellectually, I was not drawn into the experience of the novel emotionally. This may also be a result of the necessary resilience and callousness soldiers and reporters must display — but the result was a novel that was an interesting, but not particularly enjoyable, read.
However, Leimbach does have a way with imagery, as portrayed in this scene:
“Leave a box of vegetables in the sun and that is the smell. Lie on asphalt at noon on an August day and that is the temperature. The heat rises from the ground, bombards you from above. The dense brush, the banyan trees, their branches intertwined, connect at the top to form a canopy, allowing no breeze. Her hair, her clothes, stay wet and wetter still with no chance of drying in the humid air. Even in the cool mornings, the foggy mist is wet. During the sticky heat of noon, the air is wet.”
So, if you are interested in a visceral experience — an adventure tale set in Vietnam, please drop me a comment and I will choose a winner by this weekend!
Glad to know that it’s different from The Lotus Eaters, which I loved. Throw my name into the hat, please!
Also, I hope it’s okay to link to your review on War Through the Generations.
I’d love to give it a try – please include me. Thanks!
Sounds fascinating! Please include me
Sounds like a good book. I hope I win.
Looks interesting. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sounds very interesting. I’d like to read it.
Thanks for your honest review; I’d like to try a new narrative set in Viet Nam.
Please enter me in this contest. I am very interested in this book.
Thank you
I would love to read this book. Please put my name in the drawing and as always. Thanks!
I enjoyed reading your review – I love the way you were able to convey the nuances of your reactions to this novel. I haven’t read much yet about Vietnam war experiences, so I’d be very interested to read this. I think I would particularly enjoy Leimbach’s imagery. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!