ABOUT FLESH
I suppose I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. Yes, I can agree without a doubt that this is a book that is full of history that I honestly had never heard. I know very little about Vietnam, and this told me much about nineteenth-century Annam (which became Vietnam). I was horrified to discover how the people were treated by the Chinese, and the barbarism nearly sickened me. The realism of the book certainly made an impression on me.
I was somewhat turned off by the unnecessary profanity. Thankfully the bedroom scenes were not described. And sex did not seem to rule the characters in the book–which was nice. The book was so dark that I often struggled to read it. It is not an easy read. It is one of those books where you must engage your brain thoroughly as you read. I found I could not read the book at night because it was too depressing and too realistic at the time.
The strength of this book (in addition to the history) is the author’s descriptions. He is a master at detailed descriptions to the point that you can see it happening the way the author intended you to. The brutality in the book was descriptive but not to the point that I had to “look away.” Granted, I would not have wanted to see a film of those scenes, but I felt that all the scenes were tastefully written.
While this is not a book that I would pick up for a light read, if you are in the mood for some historical fiction with intense descriptions, this is the book for you!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh (Black Heron Press) and The Demon Who Peddled Longing (Underground Voices). He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, a Best Indie Lit New England nominee, a twice finalist of THE WILLIAM FAULKNER-WISDOM CREATIVE WRITING AWARD, the recipient of Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, and Greensboro Review’s ROBERT WATSON LITERARY PRIZE IN FICTION. The Demon Who Peddled Longing was honored by Shelf Unbound as a Notable Indie Book. Ha graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
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1 Comment
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Thank you, Ruth, for your very honest opinion. I’m always surprised to read my reader’s viewpoints, their reactions, and their feelings about my book. It’s a revelation, to a certain degree, to see how people take on a book. To an author it’s like seeing his work in multiple personalities. And to me, it’s a nice little secret.
