The Stars, the Earth, the River: Short Stories by Le Minh Khue (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781880684474)

This collection of 14 stories--each a harrowing sketch of the Vietnam War and its aftermath--offers American readers a glimpse of familiar territory, but from an unfamiliar perspective. Often writing from a young woman's point of view, Le Minh Khue, a war veteran who served in the Youth Volunteers Brigade, uses simple, understated prose to describe numbing horrors. Her stories explore themes such as love and war, the tangles of family relationships, and the complexities of post-war life. Khue gives readers a look into Vietnam before, during, and after the war with the United States.

The Stars, the Earth, the River contains an excellent introduction by the translators, grounding the stories in Le Minh Khue's personal history. You simultaneously feel the rage of the author and the narrator when Khue disparagingly notes that the conversations around her center on luxuries, motor scooters, and business deals. Of what use, these stories ask, is such suffering? How can a culture honor the losses of war?

Author: Le Minh Khue
ISBN-10: 1880684470
ISBN-13: 9781880684474
Publisher: Curbstone Press
Language: English
Published: 04/01/1997
Pages: 232
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.52w x 0.73d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/1997 pg. 335
Publishers Weekly 03/24/1997 pg. 61
New York Times 08/10/1997 pg. 16