Clearly, I'm going to be in the minority here, but I just don't get the praise for this. If anything, this is very "White People Taco Night" or "Chicken Broccoli" if that makes any sense?
Yes, yes, the writing is beautiful, and it's a reflection on a specific time in history and a slice of life for these over-privileged, white women who were married to military officers who were stationed in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) during a very specific time. There's a very veiled discussion of race and guilt, but honestly, it's just so convoluted, mixed and jumbled within the 300+ pages that it's really beside the point. Tricia's part and her past timeline, as well as her timeline in Vietnam, are strange. Her guilt over not having children is interesting because it's what is so expected of women of her time.
Tricia's tales of Charlene's 'good works' show some good intentions but again, it's the white savior complex that so often comes with books and films. The continual misnaming of Ly as Lily in the book was infuriating. Ly clearly said that it was her name and yet Tricia said that she just couldn't adjust.
The leper village, the officer's club, the Barbies....
I feel that there is so much more going on during this time in Saigon that could be explored, way more than what these women were doing. Their shopping and lunching were so meaningless. The lives of the women working for these women were more interesting to me. I wanted to know more about them, where did they go at night? Where were their families? What happened to them when the white people left? That is interesting to me, not what sort of house someone moved into afterward.
This is what I mean by "White People Taco Night". This is the oatmeal version of a war story so that it's palatable for white women to read and sleep at night. I don't need a continuation of the white savior that no one asked for.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.