I love reading books set in and about the countries or areas that I’m visiting. They add to the excitement and anticipation during the preparation phase, they give extra flavour and texture to the actual experience and they extend that delicious holiday feeling long after the visit is nothing more than a memory.
Vietnam is a small country with a long and complex history. My list will never be complete. Therefore, my plan is to focus on books that I have read, or would like to read, or have had recommended to me.
Links are to reviews on my book blog, Brona’s Books.
Novels and Short Stories Set in Vietnam
The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith
A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler
The Quiet American (1955) by Graham Greene
The Sympathiser (2015) by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Lover (1984) by Marguerite Duras
The Book of Salt (2003) by Monique Truong
The Boat (2008) by Nam Le
Novels and Short Stories by Vietnamese Authors
Ticket to Childhood (2014) by Nguyen Nhat Anh
Non-Fiction and Memoirs About Vietnam
The Prison Diary of Ho Chi Minh (1962) by Ho Chi Minh
Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War (1981) by Michael Maclear
The Happiest Refugee by Ahn Do
Where the Sea Takes Us: A Vietnamese-Australian Story (2008) by Kim Huynh
Destination Saigon: Adventures in Vietnam (2010) by Walter Mason
