A touching and thoughtful meditation on war and personal tragedy.
A woman remembers the two years that she lived in Saigon during the Vietnam War and her husband’s death there.
Debut author Merkel Boruff had been married to Jon Christian “Merk” Merkel for less than a year when, in 1968, he was offered a contract as a pilot for Air America, a private airline secretly run by the U.S. government. Originally, he was supposed to be stationed in a small town in northern Thailand, but his orders were changed to Vietnam. Merkel Boruff was terrified at the prospect of relocating to a war zone, but her husband assured her it was safe and largely insulated from the chaos of the region. Nevertheless, the acclimation was slow and painful; she found Saigon’s unfamiliar culture and languages, as well as its unabashed eroticism, dizzying. She also never got used to the sound of exploding mortars. Former Air Force officer Merk was an experienced pilot and adjusted quickly; he lovingly reassured her but was also frequently absent, running missions that the author knew little about. The pay was good, if not commensurate with the danger, and the couple hoped to save up enough to buy a home and start a family. Merkel Boruff made friends and found a job teaching English at the American school. But when Merk was shot down, her worst fears were suddenly realized, and her world collapsed. The author captures this heartache in beautifully sorrowful prose: “I was wrapped in a chrysalis, a world of dreams. Memories. I was a hundred years old.” Throughout the memoir, Merkel Boruff’s recollections are captivating, and they provide an unusual portal not only into the Vietnam War, but also into how PTSD affected those who experienced the event but didn’t serve in the military. Her account is both candidly confessional and literary in tone, drawing wisdom from the likes of William Faulkner and James Joyce as well as from the teachings of Buddhism. (The title, she notes, is an acronym for “zone of silence.”) Overall, this is a fresh contribution to the literature on Vietnam, written from a unique perspective.
A touching and thoughtful meditation on war and personal tragedy.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-944715-30-4
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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