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    The Lotus Eaters
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    The Lotus Eaters
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    The Lotus Eaters
    Ebook522 pages7 hours

    The Lotus Eaters

    By Tatjana Soli

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    ‘[A] tremendously evocative debut, a love story set in the hallucinatory atmosphere of war, described in translucent, fever-dream prose.’ Janice Y. K. Lee, author of the bestselling THE PIANO TEACHER

    Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, 2011

    As the fall of Saigon begins in 1975, two lovers make their way through the streets, desperately trying to catch one of the last planes out. Helen Adams, a photojournalist, must leave behind a war she has become addicted to and a devastated country she loves. Linh, her lover, must grapple with his own conflicting loyalties to the woman from whom he can’t bear to be parted, and his country.

    Betrayal and self-sacrifice follows, echoing the pattern of their relationship over the war-torn years, beginning in the splendour of Angkor Wat, with jaded, cynical, larger-than-life war correspondent Sam Darrow, Helen’s greatest love and fiercest competitor, driven by demons she can only hope to vanquish.

    Spurred on by the moral imperative of documenting the horror of war, of getting the truth out to an international audience, and the immense personal cost this carries, Sam and Helen’s passionate and all-consuming love is tested to the limit. This mesmerising novel carries resonance across contemporary wars with questions of love and heart-breaking betrayal interwoven with the conflict.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateAug 5, 2010
    ISBN9780007364220
    Unavailable
    The Lotus Eaters
    Author

    Tatjana Soli

    Tatjana Soli is the bestselling author of The Lotus Eaters, The Forgetting Tree, and The Last Good Paradise. Her work has been awarded the UK’s James Tait Black Prize and been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Her books have also been twice listed as a New York Times Notable Book. She lives on the Monterey Peninsula of California.

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    Reviews for The Lotus Eaters

    4/5

    55 ratings64 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was a great book about a female reporter in Vietnam from 1965-1975. It was fictionalized but I recognized a lot of the places and events that I have previously studied. This was Soli's debut novel and the writing was languid, flowing, and soulful. My only complaint was the last page--the ending was abrupt and tied up with a neat little bow--as I don't think any wars are. 386 pages
    • 4/5
      Loved this book! A beautifully emotional and thought provoking story of a female American photographer in Vietnam during the war. She starts as a fairly naive and inexperienced chronicler of the tragedies of war, but along the way becomes a "brick in the wall", an impressive photographer, and one who seeks out the small instances of humanity in the horrific experience of the war. The personal relationships, the evolution of her reason for staying in Vietnam, and the gentle character development along with writing that integrates all of our senses into the experience make this a wonderful read. Everyone in my bookgroup loved it... some even thought it the best book in a long while.
    • 5/5
      I found this a difficult read, not because of the writing, which was extraordinary, but because of the subject matter. I am of the Vietnam generation, and the subject matter is still, after almost 40 years, difficult to confront. The book opens at the end of the war, a devise I often dislike, but it works well in this story. After the first chapter, we return to the beginning of the war, where the main character, Helen Adams, arrives in Vietnam to work as a novice free lance press photographer, eager to find out more about a war that has killed her brother and a country that no one seems to know much about.As Helen moves through her days, she finds a solid job with a news magazine, and falls in love not only with another member of the press, but with the country and the people of Vietnam. Helen's story is Vietnam's story, and Soli presents it in stunning, action-packed, but slow-paced prose, allowing us to drink in the scenery, the mind-set, the culture and the history.We are able to see some of the background of the French occupation of the country and the origins of the the war, the treacheries wrought by each participant in the conflict upon the other sides, and upon the long-suffering people of the villages. It is here, in the descriptions of village life, that the book really shines. By focusing on the impact of military actions on the villagers who are the victims, as well as the soldiers participating in them, we are given a mind-searing picture of what war is.Helen's personal story--the love affairs, as well as the mental and physical anguish she endures-- is the framework on which Soli hangs the well researched story of troop maneuvers and military strategies: the life and death moments that emerge as photos in Helen's dark room, blooming as the picture bursts forth in our minds like toner in developing pans. They are pictures that still haunt those who really participated in the conflict.In addition to the print edition which I received from the publisher, I was able to listen to the audio version of this beautiful novel. I am a reader who much prefers the audio format due to some physical limitations. This one is superbly done in audio, read with exquisite insight by Kirsten Potter. In both versions, the reader is able to experience the beauty, the horror, the sounds, the sights, the smells of a country and a conflict known simply as Vietnam.The ending to Helen's story is one that, like the war, was not totally acceptable to any of the participants, but did provide a framework that allowed everyone to stumble forward with life.
    • 3/5
      I so wanted to love this book, and I think the writing is really good. But the characters are made of cardboard, and the plot is so predictable. So I felt kind of meh by the end.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful writing, wonderful characters. The story spans ten years and there are a lot of characters to keep track of but Soli does a terrific job of combining love stories with a story about the effects of war on a land and people.
    • 5/5
      I listened to the Audible version of this book, and was carried in my mind's eye to Vietnam during the Vietnam war. The entire story pulled me in, entrancing, believable, very emotional, fully historical and accurate. I highly recommend it!
    • 2/5
      Story about the last days of America in Vietnam, told from the perspective of a female war correspondent. Details the life of both her male mentor, and her Vietnam guide. Hard to read at times, but gave a good understanding of the risks a war correspondent is exposed to.
    • 4/5
      The tragedy of the Vietnam War never ceases to stagger--this novel spans ten years, flashing back from the American surrender of Saigon in April 1975 to explore the intertwined fates of two Americans and their Vietnamese interpreter. Comprising a romantic triangle are Sam Darrow, a glamorous, jaded, 40ish photographer; Helen Adams, an aspiring neophyte photographer in her early twenties when she arrives to cover the war; and Linh, the son of intelligentsia from the North, whose initial goal is to cease being a soldier. I almost didn't read this book. After browsing through the first few chapters, I was initially doubtful that it would be worth the effort, but I am glad that I kept going. This is such a visceral work: there are constant references to the heat, the smells, the rain, the mud, the colors. The characters' role as members of the press is to try to bear witness to the violent, unpredictable consequences of the war as observers, not participants. Naturally, this is an impossible proposition--they are all both victims of and active protagonists within the conflict. There are no answers here, but a beautifully written evocation of the simultaneously horrific and spellbinding realities of the war.
    • 5/5
      Having studied Vietnam in depth in the course of my undergraduate degree, having traveled extensively through the country and having lived in the Asia Pacific region for many years, I have read a lot of books related to Vietnam. This is one of the best fiction accounts I have read and there are a number of reasons for that to be the case.

      The story is told primarily from the viewpoint of a woman photographer who initially comes to Vietnam in 1965 to discover the truth of her brothers death and ends up staying for a variety of reasons and in doing so covers the war from beginning to end. On arrival she is a naive and derided by the male war correspondents, photographers and soldiers. She is considered a distraction, a potential demoralization for the troops in the event that she is killed in combat and not up to the macho standards of her male colleagues.

      She forges ahead and in doing so, develops contacts that only a woman would be able to make and sees the war from a viewpoint that only a woman could have. The interactions are believable. The relationships make sense - anyone who has forged relationships in adversity understands the heightened sense of passion of magnitude these take on. Likewise, those that have spent time in heightened adversity understand that a break from that atmosphere can leave one flattened with difficulty readjusting to the "real world".

      What made this book most compelling for me though, was the way Vietnam jumped off the page. There are certain sights and smells that for those that have been, understand. The book captures all of that atmosphere - from the cramped streets of Saigon; the smells of street vendors cooking; the fruits, vegetables and the particular smell of vegetation. She captures the storms that roll in every afternoon that create a steamy, humid evening. The taste of cognac and the salt on your lips and body after bathing in ocean water warmer than body temperature.

      She is also able to capture the beauty of the countryside and the sense of mystic that is part of the Buddhist tradition and the Vietnamese people. What was the most refreshing though was that the story was not the typical American in Vietnam- democracy defeated by the evil VC/Charlie/Uncle Ho Marine crap that usually populates these types of novels. It is about a people who have endured French, American and Communist occupation in order to evolve into what they really want to be - independent Vietnamese. This feeling is captured well through the characters of Linh, Mr. Bao, Grandmother and even Annick.

      If this is Tatjana Soli's first novel, I look forward to the rest of her output. This novel does not read like a first novel. There are some beautiful turns of phrase and crisp descriptions. The hell that is war is handled well - the descriptions of injury and death are well done as are the descriptions of humanity and life. She is also extremely well read and researched on her subject. I recommend this book for both book club and pleasure reading and have already passed copies to others. Buy the book. It is money well spent.
    • 2/5
      I had such high hopes for this book. Basically it’s the story of a young woman combat photographer in Vietnam towards the end of the war, Helen Adams, and the two men she loves – Sam Darrow (a seasoned photographer who has a reputation), and Linh (the Vietnamese man who is Darrow’s and then Helen’s assistant).

      I didn’t find anything about the relationships believable. I didn’t feel the passion or tenderness or compassion or love between any of them. The mark of good writing is that the author will show, not tell; Soli tells the reader over and over that these people love one another, but she doesn’t show us this. In fact, she shows us the opposite. Each of them seems closed off emotionally from anyone else; each follows his/her own agenda without regard to the feelings of anyone else; each of them behaves poorly (to say the least) in relation to the others. I thought they took foolish chances and I really didn’t care what happened to any of them; I just wanted it to be over with so I could get on with another book.

      So why did I give it 2 stars? Soli includes a long bibliography of works she used to research Vietnam and Southeast Asia during the time period portrayed in the book. I don’t know if she ever actually visited the country, but if she has not, then kudos to her for managing to convey such a sense of the atmosphere of the place. I could smell the tropical jungle, feel the torpidity brought on by heat and fatigue, and hear the din of traffic and busy city streets. I give her 2 stars for creating this atmosphere, but I really don’t recommend the book.
    • 4/5
      The sappy cover and back blurb put my off this book club offering so badly that I didn't bother fetching it from the library until just 5 or so days before we were to meet. They do not do the text justice. Intense, gritty and beautiful/ugly, the story of a photo journalist in 60s-70s Vietnam convincingly takes the reader through her own confusion over what motivates her, the ambiguity of those motives, while also effectively telling the story of the country and the war which ravages it, providing a stunning and engrossing backdrop for the personal conflict motif. The romance/s are almost secondary, thank heavens. I'm not one for 400+ page romance novels. Back when I was 12, yes, but thankfully my tastes have altered a tad since then!I did find the ending rather anti-climactic, but for the most part this was very difficult to put down.
    • 5/5
      In the year of 1975 North Vietnam is still pushing towards Saigon. It's the end of the Vietnam war (or American war, depending on who you ask). The Lotus Eaters opens with the city's demise being eminent and the panic to escape, mounting. Caught in this frenzy is Helen Adams, a seasoned American photojournalist, and her Vietnamese lover, Lihn. Stepping back in time, we learn that Helen is following in the footsteps of her soldier brother, killed in action earlier in the war. She has come to Vietnam to research his death and ultimately falls in love with the war. As we follow Helen from her first arriving in Saigon, we witness her naivete and her desperate need to belong. Quickly, she attaches herself to Sam Darrow, a fellow photojournalist who has been around the block a few times. He is supposed to be a hard-nosed, loner of a photographer, but he and Helen soon develop a romantic relationship that defies logic and marriage vows. Sam's assistant, Lihn complicates things when he too falls in love with Helen. In the midst of well-worn war, emerges a not-so obvious love triangle.In other reviews I have read the complaint is Soli takes the story too far, drags it out too long. I disagree. Each phase of Helen's time in Vietnam, as well as her time away, builds a layer of her personality and adds to the complexity of her emotions. I am of two minds about the beginning, though. Soli reveals upfront that Lihn is Helen's lover and they are desperate to get out of Saigon. That information nagged at me throughout the rest of the telling because I knew it was coming. For example, I expected something to happen to Darrow because the shift in Helen's relationship with Lihn. It was a matter of when this something would happen that kept me guessing.
    • 4/5
      My true score is closer to a 4.5. Soli channels the hard edginess of Hemingway and the sensuality of Lahiri in this novel. The characters were complex, and I loved them and all their imperfections. Soli created vivid scenes that caused my heart to alternately stop and melt. The final chapter seemed cursory to me, especially after the penultimate chapter (through which I gasped, held my hand over my heart, and aggressively chewed my nails), but other than that I loved this book, and I hope Soli writes many more.
    • 5/5
      The most difficult part of reviewing my thoughts on The Lotus Eaters is condensing them enough
      to speak with simplicity.
      I checked the average reader's review (usually 3* to 5*)
      My question was: You were how old during the Vietnam conflict?

      As in any conflict, I feel your personal interpretation varies with your proximity to the war.
      The title is apropos.
      From Homer's Odyssey ----
      After leaving Troy and miles from the original course, Odysseus sends 3 brave men as scouts
      to the strange land they approached.
      They were introduced to the lotus and "Odysseus says: the native fruit made my soldiers forget everything they had ever know; where they were from, where they were going, everything......
      Minus three, we sailed in the direction of our original course."

      Our story begins in April 1975, in the final days of a falling Saigon.
      The following quotation says it best:
      Entering the setting, we'll meet, in retrospect, "three remarkable photographers brought together under the impossible umbrella of war:
      Helen Adams, a once-naïve ingénue whose ambition conflicts with her desire over the course of the fighting;
      Linh, the mysterious 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."

      Tatjana Soli walks with us through heavily chronicled times with decisive realism.
      The author notes --- " because a woman was naturally an outsider in the Vietnam conflict, she will see things that might be otherwise overlooked."
      and "unlike now, journalists had complete access, which is probably why we ultimately got the real story from there."
      war....betrayal....obsession....courage....fear...love lost...the redemptive power of love.

      As the author explores her characters with physical, mental emotional and spiritual clarity,
      I witnessed their evolution and felt my own.

      It's fiction...but reads as nonfiction.
      Hope you enjoy the read (listen, in my case) as much as I did.
    • 5/5
      The Vietnam War was the single most turbulent issue during a period when we were dealing with subjects as important as civil rights, sexual freedom, and drug use. I turned eighteen in 1968, so this was my time. Vietnam was constantly on my mind, as it was with most Americans. I find books that cover this period fascinating.The Lotus Eaters presents a side of the war that is apart from both the protestors and the warriors. It looks at the journalists, specifically at one photojournalist, Helen Adams. She goes to Vietnam because her brother died in the conflict. That tragedy drives her to learn more about the conflict and the specifics of his death.Western women were rare among both the soldiers and the journalists, so Helen finds herself encountering sexism. She has to struggle for permission to go out with the troops due to concerns about bathroom facilities and the reactions of the soldiers in her proximity, among other things. When it turns out she has a knack for framing photos and finding the best shots, her photos catch on. Because she's a woman succeeding in a horrible situation, the story becomes about her as well as her subjects and because of this, doors are opened. So her gender presents both barriers and opportunities. Once, when Helen came back to the states for a brief time, she encountered a young woman protesting the war. She called this woman “brave” in a way that made it clear she was using sarcasm. This section bothered me somewhat. Helen seemed very perceptive about the other people she encountered throughout the novel, especially the Vietnamese, but here she seemed to look down on the protestor. The woman's way of standing up for her beliefs didn't involve risking her life and therefore she wasn't as brave as the soldiers. This was the one section when Helen seemed arrogant. It made her more human which I suppose was the goal, but it made me like her less.Helen has two love interests during the novel: Sam Darrow, a photojournalist who becomes her mentor as well as her lover, and Linh, a Vietnamese man who advances from assistant to photojournalist while falling in love with Helen. Having people who care about Helen gives the story its tension, but the real strength of this book is what it says about the war and the country. Here are some of Linh's thoughts late in the book which demonstrate this. (This was transcribed from the audio version, so it may have some differences from the actual text.)During the last year all Linh saw was his country being destroyed, faster and faster, in larger and larger bites. He couldn't explain to Helen the sense of physical sickness it gave him, the sense of despair, the desperate idea that anything that stopped this destruction was better than its continuing. What she didn't understand was that both sides were willing to destroy the country to gain their own ends. Whose side was he on? Whoever's side saved men, women, animals, trees, grass, hillsides, and rice patties. The side that saved villages and children, that got rid of the poisons that lay in the earth. But he did not know whose side that was.Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions
    • 3/5
      This won the James Tait Black Memorial fiction prize for 2010 and is the 28th such winner I have read. Helen is a news photographer in Vietnam and the novel seems to portray Vietnam war events pretty realistically. She meets up with a pretty cynical photojournaist, Sam Darrow, and in short order becomes his mistress, though Sam is a married man. There is a lot of realistic-seeming action, and Helen feels a great affection for the war! In fact, she leaves Vietnam and then returns, to become enamored with a Vietnamese man. The novel ends excitingly but in a way that I at least was glad to read. It may seem hard to believe any woman could like the War, but no doubt that is a condition which affected a few people who went to Vietnam.
    • 5/5
      This was a terrific read, which came through despite my not reading it in the usual way. I tend to be a fast, voracious reader. I'd have ordinarily made my way through this book in a few days, not a few weeks, but lately I've been forced to put my spare time and energy elsewhere. I'm not sure if that was to the benefit or detriment of the book.The book is set during the Vietnam War and is centered on Helen, an American woman photojournalist and her two lovers--Darrow, an American, Linh, a Vietnamese. (Not a spoiler--you learn that early on.) I love books like this--one that can open up to you another world, and in these cases two, or rather three: Vietnam. The Vietnam War. Photojournalism. The book starts with a ferocious overture--like Private Ryan's D-Day landing--though in this case the Fall of Saigon, as we watch Helen stay for one more story and try to get out alive. By the time that beginning ended, and we then go back to her days as a tyro journalist in the early days of American involvement in the war, I was thoroughly hooked--and that part I read fast. The prose is strong, by turns visceral and lyrical--painting a picture of Vietnam beautiful, horrifying and mesmerizing. And I certainly cared about the central characters. In a way, my slow reading of the rest built on that, as I took time to get to know the characters, let them sink in.The end did feel a bit to me like an anticlimax--or at least not enough--too abrupt after all this time spent with the characters. (Here is where the loss of momentum with a quick read might have hurt.) I do have another problem with the book--even if for me a minor one--but one that, for instance, would keep me from gifting this to a friend of mine for which it's a pet peeve: holding point of view. Soli doesn't. Now, yes, I know there's such a thing as omniscient. But well-done omniscient has certain hallmarks and quirks that ground you in that point of view. A certain narrative attitude, a bit intrusive in voice and opinion, statements about the future, and of course shifting points of view. When instead what you have in essentials a limited viewpoint mostly told through one character, but then you suddenly abruptly shift to a statement or thought or sight that couldn't come from that character, it feels jarring--worse I feel it's a violation of a contract with the reader. In this case, what was strong in the book--the characters, the sense of place and time--meant I found this a minor point I could overlook--but certainly did notice. But yes, I would recommend this to anyone for whom the subject appeals. As you might guess from the setting and theme this is not a light, happy book--but it does take you on a journey--one I was happy I made.
    • 3/5
      An interesting insight into the Vietnam war, plus the view of war from a woman's perspective. However, the book was far too slow for me & there were too many undefined acronyms.
    • 5/5
      My goodness I love this book so much. It’s a historical fiction novel about a female photographer in Vietnam during the war. As much as I’ve read about World War I and II I know very little about that war. Soli paints an intense picture of the horror of battle and the beauty of the country. The novel is full of beautifully drawn characters trying to come to terms with the contradiction of reporting what’s happening and the inevitability of becoming part of the story of the war. At first you think the book is a love story, but the story that unfolds is not the one you’re expecting. We begin at the end and then trace our way back to the beginning to better understand the characters of Helen and Linh. Structuring the novel in this way makes the whole thing more powerful. Seeing the long journey that our main characters take to get to each other is just enthralling. Yes it's a love story, but it's also story of loss and grief and coping with the trauma of war and the return to the banality of civilian life. It’s about the complicated nature of war and the adrenalin rush that comes from being in danger. It’s about the inevitable impact an invading nation has on the society it’s attempting to “save” Helen’s conflicting feelings about getting the perfect shot and exploiting the people felt so real and relatable. It’s something that all journalists in extreme situations must come to tussle with. She struggles with the potent mix of fear and excitement as she becomes entrenched in the world of Vietnam. **SPOILER**The book has two very complex love stories. Usually when that happens it’s difficult to make the reader connect with both without making one feel unimportant. I felt like the author did a wonderful job with that. She included a crucial time period when Helen is back in the states with neither man. When she returns to Vietnam and reconnects with Lihn while he is helping her recover from her wounds their relationship feels very natural. There is also a stark difference between her relationship with Darrow and the relationship with Linh. Darrow doesn’t coddle her, he challenges her. Linh tries to protect her, not because he sees her as incapable or weak, but because he’s already lost the woman he loved and he doesn’t want it to happen again. **SPOILERS OVER**BOTTOM LINE: This novel, the writing, the characters, the story, was all just gorgeous. I was completely enraptured by the way it evoked the scenes of a foreign war zone and the people affected by it so vividly. The end did feel a bit rushed, like it deviated from the feel of the rest of the book, but it didn’t bother me too much and it certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book overall. “The possibility of time going on, her memories growing dim, the photographs of the battles turning from life into history, terrified her.”“She thought of the rolls of film in the car, the images cradled in emulsion, areas of darkness and light like the beginnings of the universe.”
    • 4/5
      The story is about Helen, a girl who arrives in Vietnam as a novice photographer, ostensibly choosing Vietnam because she wants to discover more about the circumstances of her brother’s death as a soldier. It becomes clear however, that Helen’s own nature has led her there and, now that she is in Vietnam, is intrigued by the land and people. But the overarching theme of the novel is really the addictions that war junkies (the hard core soldiers, the correspondents and photographers who stay on and, the civilians who remain) both relish and suffer despite common sense and the relationships that would otherwise temper risky choices.


      The book opens with the fall of Saigon. The listener becomes a voyeur of events that unfold during that day in April 1975 when the crush of people motivated by fear and desperation struggle to escape the approaching conquering armies. The listener follows Helen, the veteran female war photographer as she negotiates the physical and psychological detritus of the city. It becomes clear that this is not your musical, Miss Saigon. Images of the day imprint upon the mind’s eye as much as a newspaper photograph would, a clever literary technique given the protagonist’s profession. This photograph-as-prose approach is subtle in the beginning and more obvious later when certain scenes are literally framed.


      Kirsten Potter’s voice is very cool, calm and detached and, appropriate for the novel. Her voice is clear and transparent enough to tell the story and very subtle changes in her tone convey a shift in mood and/or speaker and, accents are used sparingly. The listener is relegated to the third person omniscient POV from the onset of the book and remains there as the author intends. And therein lies my quibble. I don’t want distance from the events. I want to feel them. And I don’t. Still, the highly descriptive prose and the writing technique make this a worthwhile listen.

      Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, The Lotus Eaters; 09/29/2010
    • 3/5
      The Lotus Eaters tells the story of Helen, a photojournalist who travels across the world to cover the Vietnam War. While in Vietnam, she becomes obsessed and consumed by the war and the country, all the while making a name for herself as a renowned combat photographer. Along the way, she develops relationships with two men: Darrow, a fellow photojournalist and Linh, a Vietnamese man. With help from Darrow, Linh and the war itself, Helen transforms from a naive young girl into an ambitious woman wrestling with the complexities of a harrowing war.I gave this book three stars. At times, I found it captivating and interesting. At times, I was really bored. When I put this book down, it was really hard to find the motivation to pick it back up again. After I started reading this book, I read three other books before I got around to finishing this one. I enjoyed the story, but the story was never calling my name to come back and read it. I definitely felt like this book could have been edited and made shorter. It was just too long.It was obvious that Soli did her research on Vietnam. Her descriptions of the people and places, along with attitudes about the war, felt truly authentic. I also liked the idea of writing about female combat photographer, which I am guessing was (is) not very common. I just wish this story would have done more to grab my attention and keep it all the way to the end.
    • 4/5
      The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli tells the story of Helen, a young American woman who arrives in Viet Nam in 1965 totally innocent as to the effects this country will have on her, but by 1975, after 10 years of working as a photojournalist, the war, the soldiers, the people and the country have changed her forever. This is both a story of war and of love, both evolving and changing throughout the book. The author captures the essence of this time period effectively and paints many vivid and graphic pictures of this war that headlined throughout the sixties and early seventies. I was carried away and totally lost myself in the characters and descriptions of this exotic country. Being the author’s first book there were a few things that I could quibble about. The main character felt a little remote and the relationships seemed to hold very little passion. I think the book would have been more powerful with a different ending but overall The Lotus Eaters was both gripping and interesting and there was no doubt over the author’s love for this country.
    • 3/5
      I am going to agree with the few reviewers below who have mixed feelings about The Lotus Eaters. The book is a well written story about a female photographer covering the Vietnam War. The topic is very interesting, the language is at times quite beautiful, but the book didn't capture me at all. The most important reason for that, I think, is that I couldn't relate to the main character. Helen goes to Vietnam and stays there for reasons I just cannot grasp. One of the things I find important in reading a novel is that I can relate to or understand the decisions a character makes. With Helen, that never worked out for me. Still, I would recommend reading this novel if the topics appeal to you, because you may not have the same issue as I did and love the novel.
    • 5/5
      Only my second five star rating to date. A book that had to be enormously difficult to make believable - but succeded.
    • 4/5
      A gripping novel set during the Vietnam War, chronicling the struggles of the photojournalist Helen, her mentor Sam Darrow, and her Vietnamese lover Linh. The Lotus Eaters manages to capture a sense of the war, the horror, the sense early on that it would soon be over, and the addiction of the journalists to covering the story. Helen, Sam, and Linh emerge and develop into unique characters who struggle with their roles and actions, sometimes with serious consequences. While rarely addressing the political realities which surrounded the war, The Lotus Eaters is nevertheless an excellent novel, a good work of historical fiction.
    • 4/5
      Helen's brother has died in Viet Nam, and she wants to go there and find out the truth behind his death. She goes as a novice photographer and soon finds herself trapped in the horror of the Viet Nam War and the love of a country and its people whose hold on her keep her in the miidst of the terror and uncertainty of life there.
    • 4/5
      The Vietnam war is a strong memory and a great sadness for many of us that lived through those times and this book gave us a wide view of the events and effects of this war. “The Lotus Eaters” is the story of a Vietnamese photographer named Sam Darrow and Helen Adams, a photojournalist from America who is covering the war. Their relationship is a complicated one and causes Helen to question her return to the states. It is full of the details of people’s lives, beautiful landscapes, the horrors of war and it’s aftermath. The book reflects the ‘forever effects’ on the lives of people on both sides of this war. The war is brought back to life in it’s telling of the horror of war, the brutality of some individuals and the kindness and courage of others. A vivid portrayal of what war does to all those involved and the innocent bystanders who are forever changed by it, this book tells an important story of history. There are some gentle moments but they are few and I will long remember the pictures this book has painted in my mind. Having taught “boat children” arriving from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in California in the early 80’s and having personally heard some of their stories and those of their families, this book had an even greater impact on me than it would have if it had just been another novel. If you were glad you read this book and want to read more about the families of this time, I would also recommend “The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir” by Kao Kaila Yang. I gave “The Lotus Eaters” four stars and recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I usually don't read war stories but this caught my imagination and I can't get it out of my mind. A nice combination of the feel of a country and a fast moving story. Our female protagonist struggles to be courageous and challenges herself in situations a normal person would never consider. She falls in love with the beauty of the countryside, and even the seediness of Saigon. I also identified with the male, Vietnamese, protagonist, who lived through loss and some awful dilemmas. I'm left with a feeling of curiosity and appreciation. Great read.
    • 5/5
      Lotus eaters is a phenomenal study of a woman in a man's job as a war photographer. The author give a realistic look at the motivations of why one would put oneself in danger.
    • 2/5
      The book dragged very slowly in terms of plot, and there were significant gaps in information. I was listening with a friend and we both got fed up after four hours....threw in the towel!