This book is set in Vietnam during the war. It is unlike the other three books that I have read this year set in the same time and place ('Matterhorn' by Karl Marlantes being by far the best) because they have all been written from the point of view of soldiers, and indeed were written by former soldiers. Soli has chosen to tell the story of Vietnam through the eyes of Helen, a young American who drops out of college and comes to Vietnam in the mid-1960's as a novice photographer. She is so sure she will miss the war that she doesn't want to risk that and finish college. That is how green she is at the front end of the story. She has no idea what she is in for, on so many levels. The story opens and closes with the U.S. withdrawal and the mayhem that surrounds that.
In between we watch Helen transform from an optimistic photographer who hungers to change the world, and instead Vietnam changes her. Through her eyes we are able to see both sides of the story in the war, the way that war changes people and values and priorities. We watch her heartbreak, her gradual apathy, and then her complete loss of personal danger as she pursues the next story. It is a spectacular story that unfolds slowly and carefully. Beautifully written and very thought provoking book.
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