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Chen Pie Sou (Percival) is the Chinese headmaster of an English school in Saigon during the #Vietnam war. He is mostly able to ignore the war because of his wealth. But when the hostilities of the war threaten his family, Percival learns that his fortune has its limits. I liked Lam‘s writing about intrigue, political collusion and the clash of cultures but his characters are frustratingly one-dimensional.

#ReadingAsia2021 🇻🇳 #FoodAndLit

I always loved Pho for breakfast when I visited #Vietnam and this description sounds delicious! 🍜#FoodAndLit

This one started really slowly for me. It went back and forth in time, and with a few characters having both Chinese and English names, I was slightly confused, initially. Once we got about a third of the way into the book (and mostly, those characters with multiple names were known by their English names), it picked up for me. Cont in comments...

I really enjoyed this. The first part was a bit slow but after that, I couldn‘t put it down. The characters, especially Perceval, were really well drawn and one could get a definite sense of place and time. One could also see how everyone survived during this tumultuous time period. It was interesting and unique to read about the Vietnam war from the perspective of someone who had been living there but not involved in politics or the war itself.

Edit: I forgot the rules about not saying anything about the book. *sigh* One of those weeks..

I love this cover partly because it is the first novel of a very good friend of mine. I like that his name is so big on the cover. And it is textured. 💛 The later paperback cover is very different (click on book title above). Also, the novel is excellent.

#7days7bookcovers #day4

Pad Thai takeout and historical fiction = #weekendreads This novel describes life for the Chinese diaspora living in Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Wow. That was intense. Excellent writing and completely gripping. I was up until 2am the last two nights with this one. Takes place in Vietnam and really sheds light into the turmoil this country has suffered under the Japanese, French, American. This book is part historical fiction and part love story. Worth reading.

A fresh perspective on the Vietnam War. Opens the window on what it was like for citizens of Saigon. It's ambiguous, suspenseful and full of turmoil.

On the one hand, it was interesting to learn about a place and time unfamiliar to me, yet I found the main character so distasteful I came close to bailing halfway. How do we judge the survivors of a world filled with political peril? It takes a knack for manipulation to emerge alive. #canlit

Cooking batches of soup for my mom to keep her healthy and off her feet. It's hot in here, but not as hot as Vietnam. The story keeps my mind busy while hands chop, dice and stir. #canlit

The author, Vincent Lam, is a real life ER doc, a father, an extraordinarily nice person, and a sublime writer. This book is about Percival Chen, the headmaster of the most respected English school in Saigon. When his som gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities he is forced to send him away.