I read Bao Ninh's novel,
The Sorrow of War, years ago, and was struck both by the book and by his unforgettable description of 'The Jungle of Screaming Souls.'
Ninh is a Vietnam War veteran--of the North Vietnamese Army. From his own war experience and its aftermath, he is intimately familiar with PTSD, and writes eloquently about the experience of war trauma survivors. He shows very effectively that Americans are not so 'exceptional' when it comes to PTSD.
Surprisingly, the government of Vietnam allowed his book to be published there. I can't find my copy at the moment, but John Colmey's 1994 review for Time Magazine provides further detail:
The Other Side of HellBy JOHN COLMEY/HANOI Monday, Jun. 27, 1994 <snip>
There are ghosts everywhere. Sparkling incense marks the entrance to the "Jungle of Screaming Souls," where the trees and plants "moan a ghostly music," and where Kien watches his battalion wiped out in hand-to-hand combat.
He returns years later as part of a Vietnamese team to collect the remains of his men and finds that their souls are still loose, like his memories, "wandering in every corner and bush in the jungle . . . refusing to depart for the Other World." In Kien's mind, asleep or awake, in battle or in peace, the dead talk, and he talks back to them.
The only dreams that give Kien escape involve his free-spirited childhood sweetheart, who refuses to embrace government propaganda about the fighting. But his memories of their prewar days together also edge toward torment. Before he leaves for the front, she entices him to miss the train and then insists on traveling with him as he tries to catch up with his battalion. On the way, Kien is forced to watch her raped by another soldier.
While the novel takes Western readers on a rare journey to the other side of the Vietnam War, Americans may be surprised at the small role they play. Like many NVA vets, Ninh says he never fought against Americans, "except those in helicopters.
I only fought against Vietnamese. Our war was mostly brother against brother. That's what is most bitter."
Just as novels by some American veterans paint an unflattering portrait of the U.S. Army, Sorrow of War shows North Vietnamese soldiers taking drugs, gambling and deserting -- depictions that provoked an unusual silence from the government and harsh criticism from some peers in Vietnam.
Yet the censors were evidently moved by the book's unflinching sincerity and Ninh's literary gifts. "My book is a reaction against attempts to embellish war," he says, "and to forget the human side."Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980994-2,00.html#ixzz11Hx8cak8 The OP-linked article, Ninh's book and the Time review are all well worth reading. The only thing I would add is a caution to not associate PTSD exclusively with war crimes. The vast majority of war trauma survivors--veterans and civilians--never committed such atrocities. It's important to understand that merely
witnessing the horrors of war can have profound psychological repercussions.
When I read the OP-linked article,there was something else that resonated with me--its final paragraph:
"If only I had wings to fly back to our beautiful house on Lo Duc Street, to eat with Dad, Mom, and my siblings, one simple meal with watercress and one night's sleep under the old cotton blanket. Last night I dreamed of peace."I returned to Vietnam three times in the 90's. On one occasion, I was invited to a coffee plantation where I had lunch with with a group that included former Viet Cong, North Vietnamese Army vets, and ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) vets. We also had one guy whom the others laughingly referred to as "the monk." To avoid being grabbed (drafted) by by the NVA/Viet Cong or the ARVN's, he had hid out at a Buddhist monastery during the war, pretending to be a monk. At the end of the meal, I expressed the wish that all those years ago, we could have been sharing a meal together, and conversation, and laughter, instead of killing each other. Everyone agreed, and at that point we were all in tears.
K&R for the OP, Hissyspit. :thumbsup:
Love & Peace,
pinboy3niner
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
