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Book Review of The Other Side of Heaven: Postwar Fiction by Vietnamese and American Writers

The Other Side of Heaven: Postwar Fiction by Vietnamese and American Writers
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This is a collection of short fiction by writers who lived the Vietnamese War experience, and includes a good mix of Vietnamese and American authors, with 22 Americans and 19 Vietnamese represented.

The most widely known American writers include Andre Dubus, Philip Caputo, Tim O'Brien, and John Balaban.

The book is divided into six sections: (1) A Walk in the Garden of Heaven", 2 stories; (2) "The Honored Dead", 5 stories; (3) "Wounds", 10 stories; (4) "Hauntings", 4 stories; (5) "Exiles", 5 stories; (6) Legacies", 11 stories.

While each selection in the book presents a very personal story, collectively each also expresses the universal pain and hardship of war and its consequences on those caught in the crossfire or forced into fighting, on both sides of the battle lines.