Overview

A magnificent debut novel, which follows in the spirit of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, in which an alienated student named Lopez joins the Vietnam war to escape from his past and himself. Forced out of self-pity by the brutality and injustice surrounding him, Lopez begins to shed his layers of acquired culture, identifying instead with the Vietnamese and their cause. 'Stylistically sophisticated, visually and emotionally present; the pace is good and the author knows how to hold the reader's attention.' - W.G. Sebald

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9781900850728

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Reviews

'Stylistically sophisticated, visually and emotionally present; the pace is good and Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' - W.G. Sebald

'Stylistically sophisticated, visually and emotionally present; the pace is good and the author knows how to hold the reader's attention' -- W. G. Sebald 'one of my books of the year... a superb surrealistic novel of killing and not wanting to kill. Just wonderful!' -- Brian Case * Time Out * 'A River in May is in the World War I tradition of Sassoon, or Graves's Goodbye to All That.' -- Cliff Fell * Listener, New Zealand * 'September 11, the world changes in minutes, and many of its causes are to be found in A River in May' -- Chris Searle * Morning Star * 'The best Vietnam novel ever, which everyone should read.' -- Alan Sillitoe * Independent on Sunday * 'Wilson's tale, addressing the suffering of the Vietnamese, has integrity and evocative details...a worthwhile addition to the war novel.' -- Robert Murphy * Metro London *

Ho Cuc, returning from an ambush patrol, discovers that a 750-pound American bomb has hit the bunker that sheltered his heavily pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter. His world has been blown apart and he learns to embrace hate. Lieutenant Lopez volunteers for service in Vietnam to escape the ghosts of his past but it proves to be his nemesis. Raised by loyal and dedicated step-parents whose two sons have died, he finds their hopes and expectations oppressive. Their home is beautiful but tainted and cursed by the dispossessed spirits of its former tenants. The derelict sheds between the house and the barn were the slave quarters. Now, their roof beams reach like desperate fingers against the dark sky and linger in Lopez's psyche like disquiet souls. This theme, of the lost and betrayed, weaves throughout the book, and the violence, mindless devastation and corruption of the Vietnam War are vividly conveyed. Interspersed with the dismal narrative of Lopez's war experiences are bittersweet flashbacks to his past. These dream-like passages with their gentle sadness serve to reinforce the brutality of the world he has entered. It is a story of contrasts and hypocrisy: the lovely Ntung, her gentle arms full of explosives; the American soldiers immune to the devastating effects of napalm on Vietnamese children, yet proud of their family photographs. Edward Wilson served in Vietnam himself, and he describes the full horror of the war with uncompromising clarity. Not for the faint-hearted or squeamish, this is a powerful and deeply moving story. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Edward Wilson is a native of Baltimore. He studied International Relations on a US Army scholarship and later served as a Special Forces officer in Vietnam. He received the Army Commendation Medal with `V’ for his part in rescuing wounded Vietnamese soldiers from a minefield. His other decorations include the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. After leaving the Army, Wilson became an expatriate and gave up US nationality to become a British citizen. He has also lived and worked in Germany and France, and was a post-graduate student at Edinburgh University. He is the author of seven novels, A River in May, The Envoy, The Darkling Spy, The Midnight Swimmer, A Very British Ending, The Whitehall Mandarin and South Atlantic Requiem, all published by Arcadia Books. The author now lives in Suffolk where he taught English and Modern Languages for thirty years.

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