Lit Circle #3

Throughout the last sections of the book, Kien and Phuong are on the train heading for the end of the war in Vietnam. As the emotions flare up or each other, the two of them loose their feeling of recognizing each other only to regain it later after the bombings. Their love and devotion made them unstoppable, going through bombings, pain, and emotional scarring. the uncensored relationship creates the scene of two lovers reuniting after many experiences changing their personalities, physical characteristics and their feelings.

Controversial to the history I was taught, It seemed like the United States were ruthless and unforgiving killing many soldiers that did not even want to be in the war. Few people have ever read these histories from a first person point of view, and luckily this one was published. In an excerpt from the book, "Bomb after bomb exploded, darkening the day. One series behind them, one in front of them, and one right on target, hitting the rear locomotive- a direct hit. It blew up with tremendous force, and for a long time it rained burning charcoal and hot water. Another jet emerged from the cloudless sky and emptied its cannon onto the railcars, setting most of them on fire. The next one was for them, thought Kien, already astounded they could have lived so long, through two bombing raids." It lets you imagination create the scene through intense details of the action, landscape, and the people.

For many years Kien had been at war. War was the turning point in his life because, he hardened himself to others, but on the inside he was as soft as an over ripened banana. What it showed to me in the novel was when he had just survived two back-to-back bombing attempts by the United States. A moral I learned from the novel is to never give up and never surrender and always help other people.