The Lotus Eaters
Books | Fiction / Women
4.1
Tatjana Soli
A New York Times Best Seller! A New York Times Notable Book!A unique and sweeping debut novel of an American female combat photographer in the Vietnam War, as she captures the wrenching chaos and finds herself torn between the love of two men.On a stifling day in 1975, the North Vietnamese army is poised to roll into Saigon. As the fall of the city begins, two lovers make their way through the streets to escape to a new life. Helen Adams, an American photojournalist, must take leave of a war she is addicted to and a devastated country she has come to love. Linh, the Vietnamese man who loves her, must grapple with his own conflicted loyalties of heart and homeland. As they race to leave, they play out a drama of devotion and betrayal that spins them back through twelve war-torn years, beginning in the splendor of Angkor Wat, with their mentor, larger-than-life war correspondent Sam Darrow, once Helen's infuriating love and fiercest competitor, and Linh's secret keeper, boss and truest friend.Tatjana Soli paints a searing portrait of an American woman's struggle and triumph in Vietnam, a stirring canvas contrasting the wrenching horror of war and the treacherous narcotic of obsession with the redemptive power of love. Readers will be transfixed by this stunning novel of passion, duty and ambition among the ruins of war.
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More Details:
Author
Tatjana Soli
Pages
400
Publisher
St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published Date
2010-03-30
ISBN
1429934417 9781429934411
Ratings
Google: 4
Community ReviewsSee all
"So amazing. Soli is a gifted storyteller - I loved her language and writing skill as much as the story itself, which is the only time I ever give any book 5 stars. This would be a great Book Club choice as now that I'm finished, I wish I could talk to someone about the love stories in the book and how the main characters had a love triangle that somehow worked in a time of war. I found it fascinating how Soli described war as an addiction and I can see how photo journalists must get wrapped up in the adrenalin rush, the recognition from awards etc. I also thought it was interesting how similar the Vietnamese culture is to ours in a few ways (and similar to every culture where mothers love babies and boys go off to war) and in other ways so dissimilar in their reticence to express deep emotion outwardly, in their conservative views about marriage, in their long, centuries old customs and parables. Loved it!"