Good Scent from A Strange Mountain: Stories by Robert Olen Butler
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(Paperback - Reprint)
- Pub. Date: April 2001
- 288pp
- Sales Rank: 79,669
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Product Details
- ISBN-13: 9780802137982
- ISBN: 0802137989
- Edition Description: Reprint
Synopsis
Robert Olen Butler's lyrical and poignant collection of stories about the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its impact on the Vietnamese was acclaimed by critics across the nation and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Now Grove Press is proud to reissue this contemporary classic by one of America's most important living writers, in a new edition of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain that includes two subsequently published stories -- "Salem" and "Missing" -- that brilliantly complete the collection's narrative journey, returning to the jungles of Vietnam.
Annotation
In a collection of bittersweet stories about Vietnamese expatriates living in the American South, Butler blends Vietnamese folklore and American realities, lyric, dreamlike passages and comic turns, to create a panoramic tapestry of a people struggling to find a balance between their hearts and their hopes.
Library Journal
In a short span of time, many Vietnamese immigrants to the United States have quietly made good in their adopted country. Butler, who served in Vietnam as a translator, now has given this silent community a voice. The first-person narrators in these tales explore both the old country and the new (primarily Louisiana), as well as the realm of the spirits. Each story unfolds like a delicate paper fan, with startling, ghostly images hiding in every crevice. While many writers have finely described the daily grind of the immigrant experience, Butler has gone one step further, evoking the collective unconscious of a displaced population. Recommended for all literary fiction collections and essential for libraries seeking to expand Asian American literature collections.-- Rita Ciresi, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
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A delight for allby Anonymous
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November 11, 2006: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain is a delight for readers of all backgrounds. It is a collection of fifteen stories about Vietnamese men and women living in Louisiana post-Vietnam war. The author, Robert Olen Butler, does an excellent job of creating imagery for the reader and lets the reader experience Vietnam culture. ?We are all like that in Vietnam. We honor our families. My four children honor me very much and I honor them. My wife is devoted to me and I am devoted to her. I love her. We are very lucky in that our parents allowed us to marry for love. That is to say, my mother and father and my wife?s mother allowed it. Her father was dead. We still have a little shrine in our house and pray for him, which is the way of all Vietnamese, even if they are Catholic.? It is easy to get lost in the novel and forget that the stories, some told from a woman's point of view, were actually written by an American man. ?I said nothing, and I almost raised my hand to put it on his shoulder, but my husband is old-fashioned, really. He would rather touch me first. So I simply nodded at his words.? These short stories are definitely worth reading for their entertainment and the validity of the Vietnam culture represented. Butler?s narrators are very believable characters and it is a joy to get an insight into their different lives. Each of the fifteen short stories is separate from each other and has their own plot and characters. Although this book is not well known, Butler won a Pulitzer Prize for it in 1993. I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a light read that is a little out of the ordinary.
Many Stories, Many Charactersby Anonymous
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November 10, 2006: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain is a diverse collection of short stories about the lives of Vietnamese immigrants in America after the Vietnam War. Each story distinguishes itself from the rest due to Robert Olen Butler?s proficiency in characterization. After each story a new character has emerged in your imagination?dynamic and interesting and unlike the characters preceding and those still to come. No matter their age, gender, or particular circumstance Butler creates a character you can get to know and understand. For instance, in Letters from my Father Butler portrays ?a child of dust,? that is, a young Vietnamese girl who was separated from her American father after the war had ended. The story emphasizes their relationship and the struggle they encounter in trying to know one another even after she is able to come to America. As well, a man occupied with jealousy over his wife?s indiscretions is depicted in Love. Ironically, love isn?t a dominant sentiment in this eccentric tale. Mid-Autumn narrates the story of a mother connecting with her unborn baby by sharing how she and the father first met. The father died fighting in the war and yet the woman is preparing to welcome her baby into a life full of hope and warmth. The remaining stories are enriched with characters of quality and sincerity that are all worthy of thoughtful recognition. By reading A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain an array of characters and situations are exposed. Butler?s characterizations fill the pages and connect you into the unique lives of its characters.
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