Vietnam

“The Frangipani Hotel” by Violet Kupersmith

March 19, 2014

Gabriel Garcia Marquez annoys me. There, I said it. His is the most prominent name in magical realism, and his work had me convinced that I was not a fan of the genre. I inevitably grew weary of what seems like cutesy or convenient inventions put it place to further the narrative or tickle the reader. I want to know if a story is based in the world that I know or if it is fantastical. Go big or go home; don’t settle for ambiguous magical realism, I always thought.

“Unnatural Selection” by Mara Hvistendahl

January 26, 2012

Mara Hvistendahl’s Unnatural Selection examines the issue of sex selective abortion. The book outlines how a combination of the increasing availability of abortions and ultrasound technology and a strong cultural and individual preference for boys has contributed to a staggering deficit of 160 million women and girls.

“The Lotus Eaters” by Tatjana Soli

January 19, 2011

For the past ten years, Helen Adams has devoted her life to covering the Vietnam War.

When she first arrived in Vietnam in 1965, Helen’s only encounter with war had been her father’s tales of the Korean War and her brother’s letters home, and her only experience with photography was a high school class. Against all odds—and under the mentorship of the famed Sam Darrow—Helen begins to make a name for herself as the war’s first female photojournalist.