COLLATERAL DAMAGE

by Alice K. Boatwright

 

In these three linked novellas, Boatwright explores the lasting effects of the Vietnam War on people living in its shadow – both those who fought and those who didn’t. These moving stories from one of American history’s most divisive eras show us that Vietnam may not be as far behind us as we think. Who goes to war and why — and the consequences for them and the people who love them — are issues that we still face today.“These are engrossing stories told with considerable artistry, full of recognition and sympathy.” – Diane Johnson, Author of Le Divorce“

 

All three novellas in Collateral Damage are wonderful stories, and I like the way they are connected. The first is a great exploration of the damage that war can do even when people haven’t gone to war. The second is a painfully realistic depiction of how family members so often avoid talking about the very things that are happening to them. My favorite was the third, since Hanoi is my favorite city, and the story is so closely bound up with the experience of emerging Vietnam. “– John Merson, author of War Lessons

 

“All three stories recognize pain and estrangement and even violence as part of the quotidian. Explosions and shooting are not cathartic, and the book doesn’t hang the whole Vietnam War on one individual’s experience. Rather, Boatwright creates a many-voiced work in which more people live than die, and damage is as everyday as aging. It is about repercussions of events forty, thirty, and twenty years ago, but you feel the march of time into today, and the continuation of struggle and hope.” – Meredith Sue Willis, Books for Readers