Haunted by a horrible memory from the war, alone since his grown children moved out, Vietnam vet Charles Boatman returns to Vietnam after the war. Ada and her brother Jon follow their missing father to Vietnam. Their search for him tears them apart in ways they never could have guessed, and Vietnam finds its way in. Shifting between Charles' and Ada's points of view, their journeys become increasingly colorful and complex as the story moves from the rural Pacific Northwest to the frenetic confusion of modern-day Vietnam. The suspense builds, dreamlike, to a paradoxical climax of revelation and obfuscation, love and grief. This is a hauntingly beautiful story of family ties and human longing by the prize-winning, critically acclaimed Canadian author David Bergen. "With his thoughtful dialogue, Bergen makes the characters' heartache seep off the page." "Luminous...In this meditation on the aftereffects of violence and failed human connection, Bergen's austere prose illustrates the arbitrary nature of life's defining moments." "Anna Fields' performance is brave." "[Bergen] preserves the exquisiteness of the Vietnamese culture, lending a unique beauty to the story. Highly recommended." "This...novel will mesmerize readers with the intensity of its vision." "A beautifully composed, unflinching and harrowing story. Perhaps the best fiction yet to confront and comprehend the legacy of Vietnam."
