Genre: Historical Fiction
About (from TLC Book Tours)
In the final days of a falling Saigon, The Lotus Eaters unfolds the story of three remarkable photographers brought together under the impossible umbrella of war: Helen Adams, a once-naive ingenue whose ambition conflicts with her heart, over the course of the fighting.; the mysterious Linh, the Vietnamese man who loves her, but is torn between conflicting loyalties to his homeland and his heart; and Sam Darrow, a man addicted to the narcotic of violence, to his intoxicating affair with Helen and to the ever-increasing danger of his job. All three become transformed by the conflict they have risked everything to record.
My thoughts:
This one punched me deep in my gut....I literally sobbed for 15 minutes after I finished the last page. All of these emotions were swirling within my chest and brain and I needed to release them with a good cry. I am just beginning to understand why my two uncles that served in Vietnam never spoke of their experience. Who would want to revisit those horrors, to have those images dredged up again, to make them real once more? I felt shell-shocked and wounded deep in my soul by the evil of war and how it brings out the worst in people. This book literally took me to the steamy and pungent jungles of Vietnam, the dirty streets of Saigon, and into a world that I couldn't begin to fathom. The characters were alive and jumped off of the pages. I found myself so engrossed in this story that I didn't want to put it down. This book is a powerhouse and will not leave my memory any time soon. I understand that some people can not read about war and all of the horrible things that were inflicted upon our soldiers and the people of Vietnam, but to me this is such an important book to read as it took me deep into Vietnam and gave me perspectives from both sides. This is an author to watch for as she seriously understands her audience and delivers a book that will move you beyond words! Trust me when I say, "
READ IT!!!"
Rating: 5/5
About Tatjana
Tatjana Soli is a novelist and short story writer. Born in Salzburg, Austria, she attended Stanford University and the Warren Wilson MFA Program. Her stories have appeared in StoryQuarterly, Confrontation, Gulf Coast, Other Voices, Nimrod, Third Coast, Carolina Quarterly, Sonora Review and North Dakota Quarterly among other publications.
Her work has been twice listed in the 100 Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She was awarded the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Prize, teh Dana Award, finalist for the Bellwether Prize, and received scholarships to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She lives with her husband in Orange County, California, and teaches through the Gotham Writers’ Workshop.
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Check out what other bloggers are saying about
THE LOTUS EATERS.
Thank you to
TLC Book Tours for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review.
My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.
They are my personal reflections based solely on
MY experience while reading this novel.
Source: TLC Book Tour and St. Martin's Press
Author:
Tatjana Soli
Published: December 21, 2010Publisher: St. Martin's PressPages: 416Genre: Historical FictionISBN: 9780312611576© 2010, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
