The Vietnam War Topics in Contemporary North American Literature

by Boyle, Brenda M.; Graham, Sarah

• ISBN13: 9781472512048
• ISBN10: 1472512049
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-02-12
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Reverberations of the Vietnam War can still be felt in American culture. The post-9/11 United States forays into the Middle East, the invasion and occupation of Iraq especially, have evoked comparisons to the nearly two decades of American presence in Viet Nam (1954-1973). That evocation has renewed interest in the Vietnam War, resulting in the re-printing of older War narratives and the publication of new ones. This volume tracks those echoes as they appear in American, Vietnamese American, and Vietnamese war literature, much of which has joined the American literary canon. Using a wide range of theoretical approaches, these essays analyze works by Michael Herr, Bao Ninh, Duong Thu Huong, Bobbie Ann Mason, le thi diem thuy, Tim O'Brien, Larry Heinemann, and newcomers Denis Johnson, Karl Marlantes, and Tatjana Solis.

Including an historical timeline of the conflict and annotated guides to further reading, this is an essential guide for students and readers of contemporary American fiction

Author Biography

Brenda M. Boyle is Associate Professor of English at Denison University, USA. Her previous publications include Masculinity and Monstrosity in Contemporary Hollywood Films (2013) and Masculinity in Vietnam War Narratives (2009).

Table of Contents

Map of Vietnam
Historical Timeline
1. Introduction (Brenda M. Boyle, Denison University, USA)
2. Michael Herr's Dispatches (Mark Heberle, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA)
3. Vietnamese Novels in Translation (Michael Janette, Kansas State University, USA)
4. Bobbie Ann Mason's In Country (Joanna Price, Liverpool John Moores University, UK)
5. Vietnamese-American Novels and Memoirs (Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, San Francisco State University, USA)
6. Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato and The Things They Carried (Susan Farrell, College of Charleston, USA)
7. Larry Heinemann's Paco's Story (Stacey Peebles Centre College, USA)
8. Vietnam Writing After 9/11 (Brenda M. Boyle, Denison University, USA)
Further Reading
Index