Read 30 Books - #4 The Lotus Eaters

So, I'm obviously lagging behind on my reading list, but this book took me forever to get through! The weird thing is that I enjoyed it, but it just seemed to go on and on and on.....

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli spans the last 10 years of the Vietnam War and follows Helen, an American female photographer who escapes her comfortable Southern California lifestyle to fill the hole her brother left when he died in the war. She struggles to break the gender barrier of the war being the only female photographer, while simultaneously adjusting to the cultural differences in Saigon. We never know if she supports the war or not, she just continues to focus on capturing the gruesome, terrifying, and sometimes humane and beautiful aspects of this long war.

During her 10 years she has two lovers - her American photographer mentor and her Vietnamese assistant who she ends up marrying. Through the latter relationship she experiences the real Vietnam, even learning the language. I found myself enjoying the love story most and reading the detailed descriptions of landscape, culture, people and food.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get through this book. I loved Vietnam when I visited last December so the setting was easy to get lost in. The love stories were interesting, but amidst a war it was not as lovey dovey as typical romantic novels would considering the circumstances; although the relationships are a sort of escape for Helen. Helen herself is one bad-ass mother - she threw herself in combat missions just to capture the real moments of the war. She immersed herself in the Vietnamese culture, battled sexist colleagues and military, endured injury, lost a lover, went home and then returned soon after, then stayed even after the war was over with the risk of never being able to return...all for another amazing shot.

Again, I have no idea why I wasn't hooked on this book until it was finished. I think the actual war parts dragged on and maybe I just wasn't as interested in that subject matter. It's a war that was before my time whereas others who were alive during that time are probably very passionate about it one way or another. I think I would have loved to see some pictures. I know that sounds weird, but the descriptions of the shots she was taking were amazing in my imagination and I would have loved to actually see them. I think this would actually translate into a good film, but probably wouldn't be my top book recommendation right now.

I'm going to give this one Tiger thumbs up because it was good, but also kinda disappointing!