The Best of Vietnam War Fiction
While Dog Soldiers is not really a “war novel,” it is an in-depth, brutal look at how the war affected American culture in some ways.The hippie culture. The drugs. The sex. The killing of squirrels. Okay, I made that last one up.
This has definitely been an eye-opening read for me, as I was born after Vietnam and am not much of an expert on heroin drug rings. This isn’t a book you’re going to take home to mom, unless your mom is running a heroin drug ring. In which case, she might find it helpful.
The book is an entertaining read. It’s nothing for which I would say, “You have to read this!” But it’s definitely a page turner.
All that aside, reading Dog Soldiers has piqued my interest in Vietnam War fiction, so I pulled this Best Fiction of Vietnam War list from Amazon to see what’s out there.
Here’s some of the best of the best on this topic:
The Things They Carried
Paco’s Story: The description of this novel reminds me a lot of the movie Born on The Fourth of July, starring Tom Cruise. Paco Sullivan survives a Viet Cong attack in which everyone else dies. He’s crippled and nearly dead when discovered, and eventually returns home to face a brutal life in the U.S. Written by Larry Heinemann, Paco’s Story won The National Book Award.
The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam: I love the concept of this novel, though I haven’t read it. The story is told from the perspective of Kien, a former North Vietnamese soldier as he recollects how the war changed his life, country, and the people around him. According to Publishers Weekly, the novel is a “rambling and sometimes nearly incoherent but emotionally gripping account of the Vietnam War.”
Going After Cacciato: Another classic Tim O’ Brien Vietnam War novel, this one won the 1979 National Book Award. One private leaves his post in Vietnam to walk 8,000 miles to Paris for peace talks. The remaining members of his squad go after him. Presumably, chaos ensues.
The Short-Timers: This novel was the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. The Short Timers is a semi-autobiographical novel by former Marine Gustav Hasford about his experience in the war. The book is broken into three different sections, with three different writing styles.
I’ve only read one–The Things They Carried--of those five, but I’m not a huge war novel guy.
How about you? What else is out there?
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I read Paco’s Story for a class in college. Some of the scenes of violence/sex/torture still torment me. I think I was too young to have read such brutality.
Now I’m interested in it. But I’ll never have the time.
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman, comes to mind almost immediately. It might be set mostly in the distant future (and partly in the now-inaccurate past), but it is completely about the Vietnam War and is a great portrayal of its effects.
Maybe I’m not in a position to really have opinions on Vietnam, but it’s a brilliant book anyway.
You should definitely check out Dispatches by Michael Herr. He pulls no punches, and his writing is excellent. It’s usually classified as creative non-fiction and is based off his experience as a reporter in Vietnam. And it’s another one you might not want to take home to mom.
It was used as source material for parts of the movie Full Metal Jacket.
I remember hearing about this. Might have even read some of it in college. Can’t remember. Good suggestion.
Second the Dispatches recommendation. This is the best book I’ve read about Vietnam.
I’d also check out Robert Olen Butler’s collection A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain. Stories that are not “about” the war in the same way as some of the other books you mention, but that deal with the fallout of the war from the Vietnamese perspective.
I’m even more interested in stories told from the Vietnamese perspective. Thanks for the rec.
If you’re interested in stories from the Vietnamese perspective – you should try “For the sake of all living things” by John M. Del Vecchio – the central character is Cambodian and provides an amazing insight from “the other side”
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. It was one of the best novels of 2010, and i’m willing to bet it will be required reading for students of history in the years to come. Very powerful book.
I read the short story “The Things They Carried” from Tim O’Brien’s short story collection in a literature class in college. It was definitely one of the best short stories I have ever read, and I learned a lot about writing from looking back on it. I think it is important that things like “war novels and short stories” are written, especial short stories, since they are a little more accessible to exposing war for what it is. It helps make war more of a reality for those on the home front. Maybe, one day, war will be more of a last resort than a display of prowess for the nations because of these realistic depictions of war.
What is that saying? “Old men start wars and young men fight them.” Something like that, but so true. Wonderful list. Necessary genre.
I’ve read quite a few war books, not really by choice but there just seems to be a lot of them floating around and I’ll read pretty much anything. Must say Dog Soldiers sounds really intriguing. So far my favourite war themed book as been hands down ‘Birdsong’ by Sebastian Faulks, it was amazing, one of the best books I’ve ever read, http://tobagostars.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/birdsong-by-sebastian-faulks/
I read the things we carried my sophomore year of high school.
i remember being annoyed about having to read a war novel, but the first chapter had me hooked i loved it
I’m laughing at your comment about not bringing Dog Soldiers home to mom unless she runs a heroin ring. But think, Mom may have been a hippie or “freak” during era of Dog Soldier…
Why can’t donald and daisy be together in the inheritance cycle?
Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata is an excellent book. It’s considered YA (a teen read) but don’t let that stop you from reading it. The author did great research to make the story realistic. You don’t hear much about the use of dogs in the military but they have been valuable ‘soldiers’ since WWI. This is the only fiction book I have been able to find about it. I did see a non-fiction book about military dogs and their handlers, but I don’t remember the name. The author also provided resource info – there was a website about a group that keeps a record of the dogs, collects photos from members, organizes reunions of dog handlers, etc. Interesting and moving subject.