What do you think?
Rate this book
The Collection of Heng Souk
For many, Heng Souk is a hero. To others he is a criminal. For Souk himself he is neither, merely a man seeking to balance what he once was, with what he now is. When the daughter of his estranged brother arrives, with her comes the possibility of atonement.
Sun has come to tell him of the death of her father, and to give him a package. Her frail uncle is a very different man from family legend. Yet when she discovers the notebook of an American POW, detailing his torturous relationship with his captor, she is startled by what she learns.
Meanwhile, Thomas Allen, still reeling from the death of his daughter, learns that the man he called Dad was not his biological father. The tragically unresolved love story his mother tells him, prompts Thomas to find out why her ‘greatest love’ never returned to her after the Vietnam War.
His search leads him to the notorious prison ‘the Citadel’, and to Sun and her uncle. Despite the hostility of her family, Sun and Thomas begin a perilous relationship. Aware that the fate of Thomas’ father is revealed in the notebook, she is torn between helping Thomas, and the damaging affect the notebook’s revelations will have on all of them.
Sun has come to tell him of the death of her father, and to give him a package. Her frail uncle is a very different man from family legend. Yet when she discovers the notebook of an American POW, detailing his torturous relationship with his captor, she is startled by what she learns.
Meanwhile, Thomas Allen, still reeling from the death of his daughter, learns that the man he called Dad was not his biological father. The tragically unresolved love story his mother tells him, prompts Thomas to find out why her ‘greatest love’ never returned to her after the Vietnam War.
His search leads him to the notorious prison ‘the Citadel’, and to Sun and her uncle. Despite the hostility of her family, Sun and Thomas begin a perilous relationship. Aware that the fate of Thomas’ father is revealed in the notebook, she is torn between helping Thomas, and the damaging affect the notebook’s revelations will have on all of them.
287 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
102 people are currently reading
578 people want to read
About the author
S.R. Wilsher
9 books13 followersIt didn’t occur to me to write until I was twenty-two, prompted by reading a disappointing book by an author I’d previously liked. I wrote thirty pages of a story I abandoned because it didn’t work on any level. I moved on to a thriller about lost treasure in Central America; which I finished, but never showed to anyone. Two more went the way of the first, and I forgave the author.
After that I became more interested in people-centric stories. I also decided I needed to get some help with my writing, and studied for a degree with the OU. I chose Psychology partly because it was an easier sell to my family than Creative Writing. But mainly because it suited the changing tastes of my writing. When I look back, so many of my choices have been about my writing.
I’ve been writing all my adult life, but nine years ago I had a kidney transplant which interrupted my career, to everyone’s relief. It did mean my output increased, and I developed a work plan that sees me with two projects on the go at any one time. Although that has taken a hit in recent months as I’m currently renovating a house and getting to know my very new granddaughter.
I write for no other reason than I enjoy it deeply. I like the challenge of making a story work. I get a thrill from tinkering with the structure, of creating characters that I care about, and of manipulating a plot that unravels unpredictably, yet logically. I like to write myself into a corner and then see how I can escape. To me, writing is a puzzle I like to spend my time trying to solve.
After that I became more interested in people-centric stories. I also decided I needed to get some help with my writing, and studied for a degree with the OU. I chose Psychology partly because it was an easier sell to my family than Creative Writing. But mainly because it suited the changing tastes of my writing. When I look back, so many of my choices have been about my writing.
I’ve been writing all my adult life, but nine years ago I had a kidney transplant which interrupted my career, to everyone’s relief. It did mean my output increased, and I developed a work plan that sees me with two projects on the go at any one time. Although that has taken a hit in recent months as I’m currently renovating a house and getting to know my very new granddaughter.
I write for no other reason than I enjoy it deeply. I like the challenge of making a story work. I get a thrill from tinkering with the structure, of creating characters that I care about, and of manipulating a plot that unravels unpredictably, yet logically. I like to write myself into a corner and then see how I can escape. To me, writing is a puzzle I like to spend my time trying to solve.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 12, 2017
Heng Souk was a Vietnamese interrogator and prison officer during the war in Vietnam.
Using parallel storylines that come together in the northern Vietnamese town of Thai Binh, writer S. R. Wilsher describes the decades later aftermath of prisoners, guards, soldiers, war and family in this poignant, sometimes difficult to read 2013 novel.
Wilsher is able to minimize his focus of the war to a few distinct lives and how the events of the war affected each and in surprising ways. We see the idealist prison guard who commits atrocities but in defense of his country and the author also shows us the lives left of those American soldiers and airmen who were caught up in the political and military actions of their time.
Readers are also shown the results of the war as to the Vietnamese and how the human costs of victory have touched lives far after the Americans were driven away. Wilsher does not spare us the cold brutality of war, but does so as it relates to individuals, this is a microcosm of war and remembrance of war.
Told with warmth and an emotional depth not usually seen in war novels, Wilsher’s The Collection of Heng Souk will lead me to read more of his books.
Using parallel storylines that come together in the northern Vietnamese town of Thai Binh, writer S. R. Wilsher describes the decades later aftermath of prisoners, guards, soldiers, war and family in this poignant, sometimes difficult to read 2013 novel.
Wilsher is able to minimize his focus of the war to a few distinct lives and how the events of the war affected each and in surprising ways. We see the idealist prison guard who commits atrocities but in defense of his country and the author also shows us the lives left of those American soldiers and airmen who were caught up in the political and military actions of their time.
Readers are also shown the results of the war as to the Vietnamese and how the human costs of victory have touched lives far after the Americans were driven away. Wilsher does not spare us the cold brutality of war, but does so as it relates to individuals, this is a microcosm of war and remembrance of war.
Told with warmth and an emotional depth not usually seen in war novels, Wilsher’s The Collection of Heng Souk will lead me to read more of his books.
September 3, 2015
I know I have read a great book when I turn the last page and wish I could wring the last drop of it, when I feel that I got so involved that I question what I would do if I were the characters. This is one of such books. The story develops in Vietnam. When Sun's father dies, she is asked to go and deliver a box to his brother, Heng, who is old and very sick. When she gets there, he is by no means pleased to see her and wants nothing to do with her. Thanks to a journal from an American POW she takes from him, he learns about his terrible past. She starts spending more time with him and getting to know him better. Is it possible to get to admire and cherish someone who did terrible things in his past? Are we to judge what led him to commit them? How did he carry on with his life knowing what he had done? Sun started despising him and, difficult though it may sound, she gradually started empathizing with him, but with his victims as well. In parallel, Thomas Allen, who hasnt' recovered from his daughter's death and from learning that his father was not his biological father, feels driven him to find out what really happened with his mother's true love who never returned from the Vietnam War. A truly wonderful book.
March 24, 2015
Simply outstanding! Story, characters and writing were attractive, relatable and riveting. Set in current day Viet Nam with flashbacks to the mid-1960s, it's the story of POWs, their guards and the effects of their actions/decisions on future generations. Powerful, emotional, surprising and tender. It is not predictable in any sense and would easily make my best reads list this or any year.
June 10, 2014
A fascinating and nuanced character study of two people whose lives intersect while each is searching for truths buried decades in the past, The Collection of Heng Souk by S. R. Wilsher was a truly enjoyable read that at times was hard to put down. This review is based on a copy provided by the author for that purpose.
The death of two fathers thousands of miles apart sets things into motion, but most of the story takes place in Vietnam — both the nation at war with the United States in the early 1970s and the contemporary, capitalism-tinged version.
Sun Tieng, a doctor who is bullied by her police officer husband and former university professor mother, volunteers to deliver a package from her recently deceased father to his brother, the titular Heng Souk. To Sun, Heng is a mysterious figure known only by reputation: a revered and heroic soldier during the war who was admired by her father and yet reviled by her mother. Her first meeting with Heng does nothing to settle which is the real man, and despite her husband’s threats she quietly sets out to discover who her uncle really is.
Hiding out in London after suffering a heartbreaking tragedy and failed marriage, Thomas makes a return trip to his home village in England to attend his father’s funeral. Afterwards he’s told by his mother, an American expatriate lacking in maternal warmth, the man they buried is not his biological father. This sets the already-reeling Thomas on a journey to Vietnam to find out what happened to his birth father, an American airman who spent just days with his mother before shipping out and eventually going missing in action during the war.
The man who holds many of the answers Sun and Thomas seek is Ephraim Luther, an American prisoner of war who keeps a journal about his captivity at the prison run by Heng. Being captured sends Ephraim on a journey of his own and the flashback scenes from his notebook as read by Sun are quite powerful while also painting a very different picture of Heng, who seems to his niece to be a small and stoic, beaten down man.
The answers will come out, but Mr. Wilsher has crafted some interesting twists and turns along the way that kept me glued to my Kindle. As much as I enjoyed the journeys of Sun and Thomas, I found Heng to be the most fascinating character in the book. A man many would consider a war criminal and some would call “evil” as well, Heng’s actions during the war, which he does not apologize for, have damaged him extensively.
Asked by Sun why he did some of the things mentioned in Ephraim’s notebook, Heng answers:
There is a lot of depth and nuance to this novel, and I find the setting of Vietnam to be quite interesting. No dates are specified but it appears the story is set just three or at most four decades after U.S. involvement in the war ended. The communists who won the war have become pragmatic proto-capitalists and their enemies have quietly become allies to counter the rise of China. The contrasts are striking as embodied in the multi-faceted character of Heng.
One quick note: some American readers may find themselves wondering about something. The author’s prose is “English” English, which works fine for most of the book but reading about “lorries” in the notebook written by Ephraim, who grew up in Savannah, Georgia, doesn’t sound right. My suggestion: ignore the lorries and “u” words like colour and favourite in Ephraim’s notebook and just enjoy the story. (Update: In an email the author told me an updated version of the book with "American" English where appropriate has been published.)
An interesting and unique setting, finely drawn characters, and well-placed plot twists combine to make this an immersive read that I really enjoyed and recommend.
For more from the author, visit his his website
The death of two fathers thousands of miles apart sets things into motion, but most of the story takes place in Vietnam — both the nation at war with the United States in the early 1970s and the contemporary, capitalism-tinged version.
Sun Tieng, a doctor who is bullied by her police officer husband and former university professor mother, volunteers to deliver a package from her recently deceased father to his brother, the titular Heng Souk. To Sun, Heng is a mysterious figure known only by reputation: a revered and heroic soldier during the war who was admired by her father and yet reviled by her mother. Her first meeting with Heng does nothing to settle which is the real man, and despite her husband’s threats she quietly sets out to discover who her uncle really is.
Hiding out in London after suffering a heartbreaking tragedy and failed marriage, Thomas makes a return trip to his home village in England to attend his father’s funeral. Afterwards he’s told by his mother, an American expatriate lacking in maternal warmth, the man they buried is not his biological father. This sets the already-reeling Thomas on a journey to Vietnam to find out what happened to his birth father, an American airman who spent just days with his mother before shipping out and eventually going missing in action during the war.
The man who holds many of the answers Sun and Thomas seek is Ephraim Luther, an American prisoner of war who keeps a journal about his captivity at the prison run by Heng. Being captured sends Ephraim on a journey of his own and the flashback scenes from his notebook as read by Sun are quite powerful while also painting a very different picture of Heng, who seems to his niece to be a small and stoic, beaten down man.
The answers will come out, but Mr. Wilsher has crafted some interesting twists and turns along the way that kept me glued to my Kindle. As much as I enjoyed the journeys of Sun and Thomas, I found Heng to be the most fascinating character in the book. A man many would consider a war criminal and some would call “evil” as well, Heng’s actions during the war, which he does not apologize for, have damaged him extensively.
Asked by Sun why he did some of the things mentioned in Ephraim’s notebook, Heng answers:
“Few people commit evil without any stain on their conscience. But there are times when your life changes so gradually that you don’t realise what you are doing is wrong. The abnormal becomes the normal in slow uncertain steps of misfortune and poor judgement; the worst can unwind so slowly that it appears reasonable. But if you want to win wars you need men prepared to do terrible things.”
“And were you such a man, uncle?”
“For a time.”
“What happened to make you that way?” Heng Souk looked at his niece as
if the question she had asked was far more complicated than her simple sentence implied. He took a long breath.
“I was young and ambitious, and war removes constraints. Ironically the war took away my ambition too in the end.”
— S.R. Wilsher. The Collection of Heng Souk (Kindle Locations 2197-2203). Kindle Edition.
There is a lot of depth and nuance to this novel, and I find the setting of Vietnam to be quite interesting. No dates are specified but it appears the story is set just three or at most four decades after U.S. involvement in the war ended. The communists who won the war have become pragmatic proto-capitalists and their enemies have quietly become allies to counter the rise of China. The contrasts are striking as embodied in the multi-faceted character of Heng.
One quick note: some American readers may find themselves wondering about something. The author’s prose is “English” English, which works fine for most of the book but reading about “lorries” in the notebook written by Ephraim, who grew up in Savannah, Georgia, doesn’t sound right. My suggestion: ignore the lorries and “u” words like colour and favourite in Ephraim’s notebook and just enjoy the story. (Update: In an email the author told me an updated version of the book with "American" English where appropriate has been published.)
An interesting and unique setting, finely drawn characters, and well-placed plot twists combine to make this an immersive read that I really enjoyed and recommend.
For more from the author, visit his his website
May 18, 2014
Love wears many faces.
This is one of the best novels I have read in a long time, even though it is by a little known author. I was a young woman during the Nam years and through the reports of those who were there, know a little about the emotions, pain, hate, desperation and reactions of humanity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. This author was able to capture the personalities, dreams, hates, pain of both Vietnamese and Americans during these times. Colonel Heng Soul was a commander at the “Citadel,” a prisoner of war encampment at Thai Binh in Vietnam. He was young and ambitious during those years, after having been a professor at a Vietnamese university and he used forms of mental, emotional and physical torture to gain information to help the Vietnamese.
His niece, Sun, approached him when he was an old man, to advise him of his brother and her father’s death. He was cold and disinterested. Sun couldn’t leave it at that, plus the fact that she intuited that her mother, Ahn, had some interest in Heng from past times, which she wouldn’t admit.
One of the prisoners was Carlisle, who had fallen in love with a young woman just prior to shipping overseas, leaving her pregnant and because she wasn’t sure he loved her like she loved him, she never told him. She allowed her son, Thomas, to believe another man whom she married was his father. After this other man died, the mother revealed to Thomas that his real father was Carlisle and she never got over loving him, but believed he died in Viet Nam. During this time when Sun was getting acquainted with her Uncle Heng, Thomas went to Viet Nam seeking Heng to determine if he had a prisoner named Carlisle who may have died there.
Ephraim Luther, an American POW, although beat severely many times by order of Heng, mystified Heng, who believed he had much to tell him, but refused. Finally Heng gave him a notebook and a short pencil and told him to write what he knew. At first, Ephraim refused, but then he wrote what he saw happen, what happened to him and others and how they felt.
There are other characters in this story that enlarged the events of those days and through introspection and in-depth character study, the reader lives those times. I found myself tearing up several times because it was written so that it was like being there and experiencing the sorrows and hopelessness of these people.
I heartily recommend this story, not because it is another war story, but it is too real to be ignored. This is why I said “Love wears many faces,” because that is the essence of this novel.
This ebook was given to me free for an honest review.
This is one of the best novels I have read in a long time, even though it is by a little known author. I was a young woman during the Nam years and through the reports of those who were there, know a little about the emotions, pain, hate, desperation and reactions of humanity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. This author was able to capture the personalities, dreams, hates, pain of both Vietnamese and Americans during these times. Colonel Heng Soul was a commander at the “Citadel,” a prisoner of war encampment at Thai Binh in Vietnam. He was young and ambitious during those years, after having been a professor at a Vietnamese university and he used forms of mental, emotional and physical torture to gain information to help the Vietnamese.
His niece, Sun, approached him when he was an old man, to advise him of his brother and her father’s death. He was cold and disinterested. Sun couldn’t leave it at that, plus the fact that she intuited that her mother, Ahn, had some interest in Heng from past times, which she wouldn’t admit.
One of the prisoners was Carlisle, who had fallen in love with a young woman just prior to shipping overseas, leaving her pregnant and because she wasn’t sure he loved her like she loved him, she never told him. She allowed her son, Thomas, to believe another man whom she married was his father. After this other man died, the mother revealed to Thomas that his real father was Carlisle and she never got over loving him, but believed he died in Viet Nam. During this time when Sun was getting acquainted with her Uncle Heng, Thomas went to Viet Nam seeking Heng to determine if he had a prisoner named Carlisle who may have died there.
Ephraim Luther, an American POW, although beat severely many times by order of Heng, mystified Heng, who believed he had much to tell him, but refused. Finally Heng gave him a notebook and a short pencil and told him to write what he knew. At first, Ephraim refused, but then he wrote what he saw happen, what happened to him and others and how they felt.
There are other characters in this story that enlarged the events of those days and through introspection and in-depth character study, the reader lives those times. I found myself tearing up several times because it was written so that it was like being there and experiencing the sorrows and hopelessness of these people.
I heartily recommend this story, not because it is another war story, but it is too real to be ignored. This is why I said “Love wears many faces,” because that is the essence of this novel.
This ebook was given to me free for an honest review.
March 17, 2016
First off I could not put this book down and I didn't want it to finish either although I had to keep turning the pages.
A multi-layered story steeped in the past and present, telling the story of Sun, her uncle Heng Souk and Thomas who live in different continents but discover a shared history after the death of their fathers.
The bulk of the story takes place in Vietnam and explores the deeds of Heng Souk during the Vietnam war, interrogating American prisoners of war. A history Sun only discovers when she visits Heng Souk after her fathers death.
Circumstances and a revelation after the death of his father lead Thomas to Vietnam to discover more about his history.
The two meet and another chain of events is started leading both on a voyage of self discovery.
The book is brilliantly written and deals very well with the subject matter in a thought provoking way without it being 'preachy' or high brow. The story weaves and winds between past and present at a fast pace tying them both together well and revealing only what's needed to move the story along to a its conclusion, without jumping all over the place and becoming confusing.
I would recommend this book to everyone and I would definitely read it again.
A multi-layered story steeped in the past and present, telling the story of Sun, her uncle Heng Souk and Thomas who live in different continents but discover a shared history after the death of their fathers.
The bulk of the story takes place in Vietnam and explores the deeds of Heng Souk during the Vietnam war, interrogating American prisoners of war. A history Sun only discovers when she visits Heng Souk after her fathers death.
Circumstances and a revelation after the death of his father lead Thomas to Vietnam to discover more about his history.
The two meet and another chain of events is started leading both on a voyage of self discovery.
The book is brilliantly written and deals very well with the subject matter in a thought provoking way without it being 'preachy' or high brow. The story weaves and winds between past and present at a fast pace tying them both together well and revealing only what's needed to move the story along to a its conclusion, without jumping all over the place and becoming confusing.
I would recommend this book to everyone and I would definitely read it again.
December 15, 2014
What I like about the Collection of Heng Souk is the story. It held my interest to the end.
What I didn't like: the lack of editing and proofreading. There are a lot of grammatical and spelling mistakes, typos and poor editing overall.
This is literature - grammar and spelling count.
Self publishing is a fine instrument, but please get a good editor and proof reader. I hate to think this is the future of published books.
What I didn't like: the lack of editing and proofreading. There are a lot of grammatical and spelling mistakes, typos and poor editing overall.
This is literature - grammar and spelling count.
Self publishing is a fine instrument, but please get a good editor and proof reader. I hate to think this is the future of published books.
December 14, 2020
This was a bargain book from BookBub (my new favorite source for surprises). I didn't really know what I was getting. In light of the current controversy surrounding the Senate report on torture or enhanced interrogation techniques, it proved to be timely and enlightening.
It is the story of a small Vietnamese prison camp in 1972; its inmates were primarily US pilots and their crews. A generation later, the Vietnamese niece of the commandant and the American son of a murdered pilot travel separately to the small village where the prison was located. The niece is accompanied by the commandant uncle, now old and ill.
The stories that enfold explore the psychological and emotional life of both the prisoners and the interrogators and is furthered by the niece's discovery of a journal kept by a prisoner which included information about the American's father. The physical brutality is horrific; the mental torture is worse.
The question of who was most brutalized and damaged-the tortured or torturer is for the reader to decide.
It is the story of a small Vietnamese prison camp in 1972; its inmates were primarily US pilots and their crews. A generation later, the Vietnamese niece of the commandant and the American son of a murdered pilot travel separately to the small village where the prison was located. The niece is accompanied by the commandant uncle, now old and ill.
The stories that enfold explore the psychological and emotional life of both the prisoners and the interrogators and is furthered by the niece's discovery of a journal kept by a prisoner which included information about the American's father. The physical brutality is horrific; the mental torture is worse.
The question of who was most brutalized and damaged-the tortured or torturer is for the reader to decide.
April 14, 2015
It's not often I can rate a book that I've gotten for free (Bookbub.com) 5 stars but this is an exception to that rule. Wonderfully written, poignant and intense. I loved the way the author merged the characters in the book and the story flowed seamlessly. A great read!!
June 22, 2014
The Collection of Heng Souk by S.R. Wilsher is a fictional story that takes place 40 years after and during the Vietnam War. Sun (one of the main characters) delivers a box to her uncle, Heng Souk after her father's death. It is during this meeting that Sun takes a notebook written by Ephraim (a POW) from her uncle and reads about the past and what really happened while her uncle was commander of the Citadel (POW Camp).
This is a gripping story about love, forgiveness, understanding, and so much more. The emotions of the characters and intensity of the situations within this novel is beautifully written. In fact, it is written so well that you have to be prepared for that which is not written into words. I don't want to write any spoilers so I really can't explain this statement but you will know what I mean once you read it.
The story has subplots that connect to the plot. At the beginning of the book (which is where it is the slowest) I wasn't quite sure where the story was going but it didn't take long for it to take off and then there was no putting it down. I found it interesting the way the story came together and how the war affected the men on both sides, others, and the generation to come.
The endings were unexpected and by endings I mean the closures for the characters toward the end of the book not necessarily just the very last page of the book. There were many things said and done that I didn't see coming but what Sun did (regarding her husband, Huy) and the closure Thomas provided to his mother was amazing.
The characters in the story were believable. Sun was a curious, brave, and smart young women who really knew how to control her temper. Although she had an abusive husband, she seemed like she could hold her own in most situations. She was likable and I found the 'growth' in her character interesting.
I hate Heng Souk for what he did to the POWs but at the same time I found him to be a fascinating character. It was almost like he was two separate characters because of what he was like during the war isn't what he is like now. He seemed distant and a mystery (as he was to Sun) throughout the book. He never directly answered many questions yet he answered them (I was expecting a simple "yes" or "no"). Even at the beginning when Sun brought him the box and was going to tell him that his brother (her father) had passed away she eventually tells him that her father had spoke highly of him and his reply was, "We had different skills. People often hold the skills they don't have in high regards." At another point she asked if he thought highly of her father and he replies, "He was my brother." The most notable one to me is at the Citadel when Sun asked if it felt wrong for him to kill the men and he answers, "Few people commit evil without any stain on their conscience. But there are times when your life changes so gradually that you don't realise what you are doing is wrong. The abnormal becomes normal in slow uncertain steps of misfortune and poor judgement; the worst can unwind so slowly that it appears reasonable. But if you want to win wars you need men prepared to do terrible things."
Then there is Ephraim Luther and the notebook he wrote while he was being held at the Citadel about himself, Heng Souk, as well as other POWs. Enough was revealed in the notebook about the horrors of being a POW, I was grateful it did not go into vivid details of the treatment, torture, and death of the men. (What is written is sufficient enough to get the point across without making me sick to my stomach.) The notebook also reveals how everything isn't what it seems, even to Heng Souk. It also helps provide a better understanding of the other characters and how the war affected them.
I thought I would mention that although I came across a few errors, the author is from the U.K. so there are some spelling differences from "American" English (e.g., realise instead of realize) which to me are not errors at all. Either way you view it, it didn't take away from the story. I did not come across any kind of formatting issues although I should mention that the cover of the book on Amazon is not the cover that I have on my Kindle. The one on Amazon is a picture that I assume is of a Vietnam but the one on my Kindle is a red background with a single (partial) tree that looks to be drawn (vs. photo). I contacted the author and found out that the cover was in fact drawn by his daughter for his book however with the comments he received he changed it. If the cover matters and you got the wrong one I am sure if you contact him he will send you the one on Amazon because he had offered to send to send it to me but I much rather have his daughter's drawing.
I have gone over the review for this book for weeks. It is taking me longer to write this than it did to read the whole book because I want to convey the emotion, the thoughts, the feelings, and everything else that was written into this book but even now I still feel I am not expressing it enough. This is a powerful book that I do recommend to those who enjoy history based fiction.
This is a gripping story about love, forgiveness, understanding, and so much more. The emotions of the characters and intensity of the situations within this novel is beautifully written. In fact, it is written so well that you have to be prepared for that which is not written into words. I don't want to write any spoilers so I really can't explain this statement but you will know what I mean once you read it.
The story has subplots that connect to the plot. At the beginning of the book (which is where it is the slowest) I wasn't quite sure where the story was going but it didn't take long for it to take off and then there was no putting it down. I found it interesting the way the story came together and how the war affected the men on both sides, others, and the generation to come.
The endings were unexpected and by endings I mean the closures for the characters toward the end of the book not necessarily just the very last page of the book. There were many things said and done that I didn't see coming but what Sun did (regarding her husband, Huy) and the closure Thomas provided to his mother was amazing.
The characters in the story were believable. Sun was a curious, brave, and smart young women who really knew how to control her temper. Although she had an abusive husband, she seemed like she could hold her own in most situations. She was likable and I found the 'growth' in her character interesting.
I hate Heng Souk for what he did to the POWs but at the same time I found him to be a fascinating character. It was almost like he was two separate characters because of what he was like during the war isn't what he is like now. He seemed distant and a mystery (as he was to Sun) throughout the book. He never directly answered many questions yet he answered them (I was expecting a simple "yes" or "no"). Even at the beginning when Sun brought him the box and was going to tell him that his brother (her father) had passed away she eventually tells him that her father had spoke highly of him and his reply was, "We had different skills. People often hold the skills they don't have in high regards." At another point she asked if he thought highly of her father and he replies, "He was my brother." The most notable one to me is at the Citadel when Sun asked if it felt wrong for him to kill the men and he answers, "Few people commit evil without any stain on their conscience. But there are times when your life changes so gradually that you don't realise what you are doing is wrong. The abnormal becomes normal in slow uncertain steps of misfortune and poor judgement; the worst can unwind so slowly that it appears reasonable. But if you want to win wars you need men prepared to do terrible things."
Then there is Ephraim Luther and the notebook he wrote while he was being held at the Citadel about himself, Heng Souk, as well as other POWs. Enough was revealed in the notebook about the horrors of being a POW, I was grateful it did not go into vivid details of the treatment, torture, and death of the men. (What is written is sufficient enough to get the point across without making me sick to my stomach.) The notebook also reveals how everything isn't what it seems, even to Heng Souk. It also helps provide a better understanding of the other characters and how the war affected them.
I thought I would mention that although I came across a few errors, the author is from the U.K. so there are some spelling differences from "American" English (e.g., realise instead of realize) which to me are not errors at all. Either way you view it, it didn't take away from the story. I did not come across any kind of formatting issues although I should mention that the cover of the book on Amazon is not the cover that I have on my Kindle. The one on Amazon is a picture that I assume is of a Vietnam but the one on my Kindle is a red background with a single (partial) tree that looks to be drawn (vs. photo). I contacted the author and found out that the cover was in fact drawn by his daughter for his book however with the comments he received he changed it. If the cover matters and you got the wrong one I am sure if you contact him he will send you the one on Amazon because he had offered to send to send it to me but I much rather have his daughter's drawing.
I have gone over the review for this book for weeks. It is taking me longer to write this than it did to read the whole book because I want to convey the emotion, the thoughts, the feelings, and everything else that was written into this book but even now I still feel I am not expressing it enough. This is a powerful book that I do recommend to those who enjoy history based fiction.
May 25, 2014
S. R. Wilsher’s THE COLLECTION OF HENG SAUK is a beautifully told story of people caught up in generations of secrets. In the aftermath of her father’s death, Vietnamese doctor Sun Tieng pays a visit to Heng Souk, the uncle she never knew. Heng seems disinterested in speaking with her, and unconcerned about his brother’s recent death, but it quickly becomes apparent that Heng’s life is more deeply intertwined with Sun’s and her mother’s than she ever knew. As her relationship with Heng intensifies, she learns a great deal about his past as the commander of a prison called the Citadel of Thai Binh, and the many inhumane things he did there during the Vietnam War.
At the same time, television producer Thomas Allen learns, after the death of his own father, that his mother has kept an important secret from him. His real father was an Air Force pilot named Jefferson Carlyle, who may or may not have died at the prison in Thai Binh. As Sun explores the secrets of her uncle’s past, Thomas journeys to Vietnam to discover the truth about his father. What is the connection between Heng Souk and Jefferson Carlyle, and how can decisions made decades ago affect the lives of both Sun and Thomas today?
Wilsher’s novel is deeply poignant, with beautifully drawn characters and a plot that cleverly meshes multiple stories into one. I was quickly captivated by both Sun and Thomas, even before I saw any connection between them. Wilsher begins with Thomas at his supposed father’s funeral, and then he switches to Sun’s first meeting with Heng after her own father’s passing. It isn’t until the mid-point in the novel that bits and pieces of information begin to suggest that what Sun is discovering from Heng may be pivotal to Thomas’s own journey. Sun herself is a damaged character, a professional woman living with a brutish and controlling husband; she struggles to assert herself while her husband pressures her to be subservient. At the same time, Thomas is struggling to recover from the recent death of his three-year-old daughter and the resulting disintegration of his marriage. Both characters are searching for something, yet neither is fully aware of what that something is.
A big part of THE COLLECTION OF HENG SAUK is taken up with the journal of a man named Ephraim Luther, and American POW at the Thai Binh prison in Vietnam. Sun finds the journal in her uncle’s apartment, and as she reads it, she learns much about her uncle’s horrendous acts of violence, as well as some of the young men who died at his hands. Similarly, a part of Thomas’s story revolves around a series of letters between his mother and Jefferson Carlyle, written during the Vietnam War. For decades Thomas’s mother has wondered what happened to Carlyle, whether he truly loved her, and why he never returned to her. Some of the answers may ultimately come from Sun and Heng Sauk.
My only real criticism of this novel is that the American characters (Thomas and his family, as well as journal-writer Ephraim Luther) don’t sound American. Wilsher is a British writer, and he writes this story using very British phrasing – Americans don’t use words like “spoilt” or “smelt” (it’s “spoiled” and “smelled”), we don’t spell “color” as “colour” or “apologize” as “apologise.” We don’t call the “backyard” the “garden,” nor do we call a pencil “eraser” a “rubber,” nor do we call the “mail” the “post,” nor do we call our mothers “Mum.” This isn’t a huge problem with the novel, but it is a bit confusing when a very American character speaks (or writes) like a very British character. A good editor would be able to catch these, and I would encourage Wilsher to make the effort to Americanize his American characters.
That said, THE COLLECTION OF HENG SAUK is a wonderful novel, regardless of the Britishisms. It has a lot to say about faith, about courage in the face of almost certain defeat, and about repentance and redemption. At one point in the story, prisoner Ephraim Luther says to his torturer, “What about you, Heng Souk? When [the angels] come to collect you at the end of your life, are you ready to accept their choice for you?” In many ways, the greatest journey in this novel is Heng’s, as he comes face-to-face with the truth about his own choices and tries to come to terms both with the man he was, and the man he wants to be before his death. This is a very powerful novel with a lot to say about human behavior and what we owe each other as men and women. I recommend it highly.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
At the same time, television producer Thomas Allen learns, after the death of his own father, that his mother has kept an important secret from him. His real father was an Air Force pilot named Jefferson Carlyle, who may or may not have died at the prison in Thai Binh. As Sun explores the secrets of her uncle’s past, Thomas journeys to Vietnam to discover the truth about his father. What is the connection between Heng Souk and Jefferson Carlyle, and how can decisions made decades ago affect the lives of both Sun and Thomas today?
Wilsher’s novel is deeply poignant, with beautifully drawn characters and a plot that cleverly meshes multiple stories into one. I was quickly captivated by both Sun and Thomas, even before I saw any connection between them. Wilsher begins with Thomas at his supposed father’s funeral, and then he switches to Sun’s first meeting with Heng after her own father’s passing. It isn’t until the mid-point in the novel that bits and pieces of information begin to suggest that what Sun is discovering from Heng may be pivotal to Thomas’s own journey. Sun herself is a damaged character, a professional woman living with a brutish and controlling husband; she struggles to assert herself while her husband pressures her to be subservient. At the same time, Thomas is struggling to recover from the recent death of his three-year-old daughter and the resulting disintegration of his marriage. Both characters are searching for something, yet neither is fully aware of what that something is.
A big part of THE COLLECTION OF HENG SAUK is taken up with the journal of a man named Ephraim Luther, and American POW at the Thai Binh prison in Vietnam. Sun finds the journal in her uncle’s apartment, and as she reads it, she learns much about her uncle’s horrendous acts of violence, as well as some of the young men who died at his hands. Similarly, a part of Thomas’s story revolves around a series of letters between his mother and Jefferson Carlyle, written during the Vietnam War. For decades Thomas’s mother has wondered what happened to Carlyle, whether he truly loved her, and why he never returned to her. Some of the answers may ultimately come from Sun and Heng Sauk.
My only real criticism of this novel is that the American characters (Thomas and his family, as well as journal-writer Ephraim Luther) don’t sound American. Wilsher is a British writer, and he writes this story using very British phrasing – Americans don’t use words like “spoilt” or “smelt” (it’s “spoiled” and “smelled”), we don’t spell “color” as “colour” or “apologize” as “apologise.” We don’t call the “backyard” the “garden,” nor do we call a pencil “eraser” a “rubber,” nor do we call the “mail” the “post,” nor do we call our mothers “Mum.” This isn’t a huge problem with the novel, but it is a bit confusing when a very American character speaks (or writes) like a very British character. A good editor would be able to catch these, and I would encourage Wilsher to make the effort to Americanize his American characters.
That said, THE COLLECTION OF HENG SAUK is a wonderful novel, regardless of the Britishisms. It has a lot to say about faith, about courage in the face of almost certain defeat, and about repentance and redemption. At one point in the story, prisoner Ephraim Luther says to his torturer, “What about you, Heng Souk? When [the angels] come to collect you at the end of your life, are you ready to accept their choice for you?” In many ways, the greatest journey in this novel is Heng’s, as he comes face-to-face with the truth about his own choices and tries to come to terms both with the man he was, and the man he wants to be before his death. This is a very powerful novel with a lot to say about human behavior and what we owe each other as men and women. I recommend it highly.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
May 27, 2014
"A Very Emotional Story of Redemption and Forgiveness"
First, I have to say once you get into this remarkable story, you will be compelled to read it to the very end. The center character of this story is Heng Souk, who was the commander of the Citadel of Thai Binh in Vietnam in the early '70s where American soldiers were held captive, and where they were executed and buried. Souk personally executed most of the men. Now, 40 years later, Sun Tieng, is on a mission her father had asked her to do upon his death: deliver a box to his brother, Heng Souk. He is not very friendly to his niece, but he does reveal what is in the box. Her uncle is now a thin, short, aged man, and appears to have no interest in the lose of his brother. Sun is very mad and upset. She follows him to his wooden shanty at the end of an alley where they talk briefly. She is surprised to see stacks of books arranged on the floor, and also a Bible beside his bed. Before she leaves, she tucks under her arm a notebook...old and worn, yellowed pages with English writing. At home, she starts to read what appears to be a diary written by Ephraim Luther, an American prisoner held captive by her Uncle Heng. It painfully reveals the cruelties suffered by prisoners. When Sun confronts her mother about her uncle who she now despises, but wants to know more about him, Ahn refuses to talk about Heng. In fact, her husband, Hug, and her mother both forbid her to go back to see Heng. As she reads the notebook, Sun finds it shocking to realize her uncle, this old man, was a monstrous soldier, who now appears to be weak and humble, who chooses not to discuss history with her. Another character is an American man, Thomas, who has lost his 3-year old daughter in a drowning, and also loses his wife in divorce. The world tumbles down around him when he finds out that his real father had never returned from the Vietnam war and his mother never had closure as to what really had happened to him. Thus, Thomas sets off to Vietnam determined to find the truth about his father. These three stories entwine around the Citadel and the nearby burial grounds. This novel starts a little slowly introducing the several characters, but before long one becomes so involved in the deep tensions suffered by so many. It's very revealing and powerful, a story which will move you, and one you'll never forget. Thank you author S. R. Wilsher for bringing reality to readers of the impact war has on everyone.
First, I have to say once you get into this remarkable story, you will be compelled to read it to the very end. The center character of this story is Heng Souk, who was the commander of the Citadel of Thai Binh in Vietnam in the early '70s where American soldiers were held captive, and where they were executed and buried. Souk personally executed most of the men. Now, 40 years later, Sun Tieng, is on a mission her father had asked her to do upon his death: deliver a box to his brother, Heng Souk. He is not very friendly to his niece, but he does reveal what is in the box. Her uncle is now a thin, short, aged man, and appears to have no interest in the lose of his brother. Sun is very mad and upset. She follows him to his wooden shanty at the end of an alley where they talk briefly. She is surprised to see stacks of books arranged on the floor, and also a Bible beside his bed. Before she leaves, she tucks under her arm a notebook...old and worn, yellowed pages with English writing. At home, she starts to read what appears to be a diary written by Ephraim Luther, an American prisoner held captive by her Uncle Heng. It painfully reveals the cruelties suffered by prisoners. When Sun confronts her mother about her uncle who she now despises, but wants to know more about him, Ahn refuses to talk about Heng. In fact, her husband, Hug, and her mother both forbid her to go back to see Heng. As she reads the notebook, Sun finds it shocking to realize her uncle, this old man, was a monstrous soldier, who now appears to be weak and humble, who chooses not to discuss history with her. Another character is an American man, Thomas, who has lost his 3-year old daughter in a drowning, and also loses his wife in divorce. The world tumbles down around him when he finds out that his real father had never returned from the Vietnam war and his mother never had closure as to what really had happened to him. Thus, Thomas sets off to Vietnam determined to find the truth about his father. These three stories entwine around the Citadel and the nearby burial grounds. This novel starts a little slowly introducing the several characters, but before long one becomes so involved in the deep tensions suffered by so many. It's very revealing and powerful, a story which will move you, and one you'll never forget. Thank you author S. R. Wilsher for bringing reality to readers of the impact war has on everyone.
January 25, 2014
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest reviews. The full version of this review can be found at http://thebookstop.wordpress.com.
I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book. A young woman in modern-day Vietnam, Sun Tieng, gets to know her uncle, who was a commander in a Vietnam War prison camp known as “The Citadel.” At the same time, Thomas Allen in Britain learns he was the son of a soldier who never came home from Vietnam, so he begins to trace his father’s path in Vietnam.
What I liked most about this book was the rich characterization. Sun is struggling with a difficult marriage and she is shocked to find out how little she knows about her uncle. As she gets to know her uncle, she gets a better sense of who she is. Thomas has gone through the death of his child, a bitter divorce, and the death of his father, and then he finds out he had a biological father he never knew.
The story kept my attention throughout. There’s a lot going on but Wilsher keeps the story moving at a nice pace and I always wanted to know what would happen next. A lot of books that alternate past and present get bogged down in trying to tell both stories at once, but this book never did.
I wouldn’t say this is a subtle book, but it is a look at the complexities of war, and how past actions burden our lives. I learned a little about the Vietnam War, although the focus of this story isn’t on the politics or events of the war. It’s more about the lives of a handful of men caught up on opposing sides, and the lasting impacts on their families. I do wish Wilsher had included information on what was historical in this book and what wasn’t.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to read about the Vietnamese War, or just those interested in history and reading about other countries. It’s a well-written, thoughtful novel.
I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book. A young woman in modern-day Vietnam, Sun Tieng, gets to know her uncle, who was a commander in a Vietnam War prison camp known as “The Citadel.” At the same time, Thomas Allen in Britain learns he was the son of a soldier who never came home from Vietnam, so he begins to trace his father’s path in Vietnam.
What I liked most about this book was the rich characterization. Sun is struggling with a difficult marriage and she is shocked to find out how little she knows about her uncle. As she gets to know her uncle, she gets a better sense of who she is. Thomas has gone through the death of his child, a bitter divorce, and the death of his father, and then he finds out he had a biological father he never knew.
The story kept my attention throughout. There’s a lot going on but Wilsher keeps the story moving at a nice pace and I always wanted to know what would happen next. A lot of books that alternate past and present get bogged down in trying to tell both stories at once, but this book never did.
I wouldn’t say this is a subtle book, but it is a look at the complexities of war, and how past actions burden our lives. I learned a little about the Vietnam War, although the focus of this story isn’t on the politics or events of the war. It’s more about the lives of a handful of men caught up on opposing sides, and the lasting impacts on their families. I do wish Wilsher had included information on what was historical in this book and what wasn’t.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to read about the Vietnamese War, or just those interested in history and reading about other countries. It’s a well-written, thoughtful novel.
March 4, 2014
Synopsis: "When her father dies, Sun Tieng visits his estranged brother, Heng Souk. Yet her frail, elderly uncle, a Vietnamese War hero, is very different from her tough and testing father. When she discovers in his house a notebook written by American POW, Ephraim Luther, detailing his torture by the prison commandant she is startled by what she learns.
Meanwhile, Thomas Allen, still reeling from the death of his daughter and the breakup of his marriage, is told that the man he always called Dad was not his father. His mother gives him a batch of letters she still has from the ‘real’ father, Jefferson Carlisle. Their tragic love story prompts Thomas to find out why his mother’s ‘greatest love’ never returned to her after the Vietnam War.
His search leads him to the notorious prison ‘the Citadel’, and to Sun and her uncle. Despite the hostility of her brutal husband and mother, Sun is drawn to Thomas. Aware that the fate of Thomas’ father is revealed in Ephraim’s notebook, she is torn between helping Thomas in his search and the damaging effect revealing what is in the notebook will mean for them."
My Review: This book packs quite a punch, it takes some time to build steam but once it gets going there is no stopping. At the beginning I was struggling with the connection between the main characters, but once I found that connection the story really started to come together for me. I fell in love with all of the characters and honestly want the best for each of them, flaws and all. It really hit me on all levels, emotionally and mentally. There really isn't much more to say other than to read this book for yourself and find out how it speaks to you.
Meanwhile, Thomas Allen, still reeling from the death of his daughter and the breakup of his marriage, is told that the man he always called Dad was not his father. His mother gives him a batch of letters she still has from the ‘real’ father, Jefferson Carlisle. Their tragic love story prompts Thomas to find out why his mother’s ‘greatest love’ never returned to her after the Vietnam War.
His search leads him to the notorious prison ‘the Citadel’, and to Sun and her uncle. Despite the hostility of her brutal husband and mother, Sun is drawn to Thomas. Aware that the fate of Thomas’ father is revealed in Ephraim’s notebook, she is torn between helping Thomas in his search and the damaging effect revealing what is in the notebook will mean for them."
My Review: This book packs quite a punch, it takes some time to build steam but once it gets going there is no stopping. At the beginning I was struggling with the connection between the main characters, but once I found that connection the story really started to come together for me. I fell in love with all of the characters and honestly want the best for each of them, flaws and all. It really hit me on all levels, emotionally and mentally. There really isn't much more to say other than to read this book for yourself and find out how it speaks to you.
September 12, 2016
Tragedy and Triumph
In Hanoi, Sun delivers a package to her uncle Heng Souk. The package was left behind by her father, to be given to her uncle upon her parent's death. Her uncle's indifference to her brother's death enrages her. Yet, Sun struggles to express her rage.
"She tried to catch her anger before it touched her lips, tensing her muscles and blushing with the effort. She could not manage barbed rage like her mother, only silent disappointment, like her father. She wanted to berate him for not caring about his brother, but she knew her words would come out soft and woollen and tame. She always felt like a small girl when she was angry, as if she was only one disagreeable word away from a stamped foot."
Sun follows her rude uncle into his impoverished living quarters. When she notices an old notebook, she picks it up. On the front cover is the name Ephraim Luther. She asks about the man.
Her uncle finally admits Ephraim Luther was an American prisoner of war.
Sun manages to steal the notebook. Within its pages, through the voice of Ephraim Luther, she enters another world.
S. R. Wilsher's The Collection of Heng Souk is a wonderful book. The characters reflect their yearnings and growth across both short and long increments of time, as well as the author's deep knowledge of human nature. Sun wants and needs her freedom, yet she is bound by deep cultural ties, as well as her marriage to a traditional, jealous man. Anh, Sun's mother, presents a façade to the world while guarding her secrets. Thomas' search takes him into Sun's life. He wants to numb himself to his own tragedy and heartbreak, and discovers shocking secrets through his journey.
In Hanoi, Sun delivers a package to her uncle Heng Souk. The package was left behind by her father, to be given to her uncle upon her parent's death. Her uncle's indifference to her brother's death enrages her. Yet, Sun struggles to express her rage.
"She tried to catch her anger before it touched her lips, tensing her muscles and blushing with the effort. She could not manage barbed rage like her mother, only silent disappointment, like her father. She wanted to berate him for not caring about his brother, but she knew her words would come out soft and woollen and tame. She always felt like a small girl when she was angry, as if she was only one disagreeable word away from a stamped foot."
Sun follows her rude uncle into his impoverished living quarters. When she notices an old notebook, she picks it up. On the front cover is the name Ephraim Luther. She asks about the man.
Her uncle finally admits Ephraim Luther was an American prisoner of war.
Sun manages to steal the notebook. Within its pages, through the voice of Ephraim Luther, she enters another world.
S. R. Wilsher's The Collection of Heng Souk is a wonderful book. The characters reflect their yearnings and growth across both short and long increments of time, as well as the author's deep knowledge of human nature. Sun wants and needs her freedom, yet she is bound by deep cultural ties, as well as her marriage to a traditional, jealous man. Anh, Sun's mother, presents a façade to the world while guarding her secrets. Thomas' search takes him into Sun's life. He wants to numb himself to his own tragedy and heartbreak, and discovers shocking secrets through his journey.
July 25, 2014
This was a really well written story. The diary pages that were from a POW were outstanding. I wasn't extremely impressed with the feelings and slight romance in the story. I feel it took too much away from the history being revealed. I loved the Old War stories and the plot that unfolded. Searching for what happened to his father, Thomas was a well written character. Sun is who I wasn't overly thrilled with. She's the neice of a Vietnam soldier who was brutal and merciless. I felt that instead of making her situation better, she fed into it.
If you're looking for a great past time story, read this. Everyone who's fascinated with war, POW's, this is a book for you. It reads like a mystery of sort, even though we know what's happening. Seeing the changes of the men involved in the story was great. The ways that Sun's uncle explained his feelings of the things he had done was really the highlight of the book for me. It certainly showed the changes in his character.
The way that Sun and Thomas were connected through their family histories was very interesting. I think that without the "sparks" between them, it would have been better. It's truly a gripping story with a heart warming ending. This was a good book.
If you're looking for a great past time story, read this. Everyone who's fascinated with war, POW's, this is a book for you. It reads like a mystery of sort, even though we know what's happening. Seeing the changes of the men involved in the story was great. The ways that Sun's uncle explained his feelings of the things he had done was really the highlight of the book for me. It certainly showed the changes in his character.
The way that Sun and Thomas were connected through their family histories was very interesting. I think that without the "sparks" between them, it would have been better. It's truly a gripping story with a heart warming ending. This was a good book.
October 31, 2015
This book is hard to adequately describe as it is a story of many levels. A father seeking forgiveness for the accidental death of his daughter, a daughter grieving for the loss of her father and an old Colonel regretting the needless lives he sacrificed during a horrible war with no real resolution. It is also the story behind the events and the human character that isn't seen in a newspaper account or public depictions of war. The need to save face, the brutality of persons in authority, torture, human humiliation and the victims who had lives, lovers and families who they will never have a life with again. It is well written and researched.
A story of the very unpopular Vietnam war. A war that only now is being written about and still many secrets of horrors only those who experienced them can understand. Poignant and at times almost overwhelming. I felt as other reviewers mentioned that I wanted the story to go on to see how the survivors were able to continue with their lives after such an emotional experience.
A story of the very unpopular Vietnam war. A war that only now is being written about and still many secrets of horrors only those who experienced them can understand. Poignant and at times almost overwhelming. I felt as other reviewers mentioned that I wanted the story to go on to see how the survivors were able to continue with their lives after such an emotional experience.
April 29, 2014
This lovely book deals with indecent brutality yet never stoops to sensationalism or pathos. Three characters converge in search of a truth buried in The Citadel prison in Thai Binh in Vietnam. All are effectively deeply by a notebook written in captivity by Ephraim Luther. One of the three is a son of a fellow prisoner, hollowed by his own tragedy. Accompanying one of the most feared interrigators, is his niece Sun who has recently learned he may be her father.
The novel beautifully proposes the result if each of us were to be able to leave the citadels of our own minds and observe the soul of other men and women. This construct can easily become maudlin and the temptation must always be to resolve terrifying differences neatly. This author has resisted these traps and crafted a novel that makes me pause deeply. The language is literate and used with elegance. I recommend you read this unknown book and find a truly gifted writer.
The novel beautifully proposes the result if each of us were to be able to leave the citadels of our own minds and observe the soul of other men and women. This construct can easily become maudlin and the temptation must always be to resolve terrifying differences neatly. This author has resisted these traps and crafted a novel that makes me pause deeply. The language is literate and used with elegance. I recommend you read this unknown book and find a truly gifted writer.
July 7, 2017
I was told about this book when looking for something new to read. I read the reviews which intrigued me, a lot of people commenting that they read it because of their interest in the history that the book is set in. So I wanted to give it a read as someone who likes good books that are set in that time.
I was instantly drawn towards all the characters, written so humanly with the pain and challenges each faced. The past and present both fit so well together. It becomes a beautiful piece about people and their relationships with others that they come to find and get to know. As a woman I loved the women in this book. They are true people and not just there as secondary characters.
A must read for anyone who likes stories about people who want to step out of their own view point, to walk in somebody else's shoes. Each character is written without prejudice and are complex enough for you to forget they aren't real people that you come to understand and like. Very hard to put down.
I was instantly drawn towards all the characters, written so humanly with the pain and challenges each faced. The past and present both fit so well together. It becomes a beautiful piece about people and their relationships with others that they come to find and get to know. As a woman I loved the women in this book. They are true people and not just there as secondary characters.
A must read for anyone who likes stories about people who want to step out of their own view point, to walk in somebody else's shoes. Each character is written without prejudice and are complex enough for you to forget they aren't real people that you come to understand and like. Very hard to put down.
May 26, 2015
I enjoyed reading this book. An unusual story taking place in VietNam, a place that to this day brings chills to my bones. But I persevered and found I enjoyed the story of family, war, and connection. Yes, there is a fair amount of abuse that is aptly and well written. There is judgement, blood, torture and pain, all part of a well-woven story that runs from present day back to the 1970's from the point of view of both American POW's and the Vietnamese that tortured them, and the aftermath of both. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because of a lack of a good editor. I found I was distracted by the many grammar and punctuation errors, but other than that, The Collection of Heng Souk was an excellent read and a great story.
December 16, 2014
This novel started slowly, but it picked up about 40% through the book. The characters are well created. The reader sees change, strengths and foibles in almost all the characters. The characterization is a strength in this novel. the plot and the realism, especially at the end are strengths. The structure of the novel is the weakness. There are three stories in this novel: at the story of Sun anther uncle Heng Souk, the journal left by Luther Ephraim, a POW in Vietnam, and the story of Tom who discovers the day of his father Jack's funeral that Jack is not his father. There is no clear reason for the transition from one story to another. The stories are not alternated in a reasonable way.
December 24, 2014
I didn't want this story to end
The characters in this book are intertwined through time between the present and the Vietnam war; place from London,the U.S. and Vietnam; and the two peoples engaged in the conflict and those affected by the events of the past on the present. I loved this book. The characters had depth and grew with the telling. The story, while not comfortable, is engrossing and compelling. It left me wanting to know more.
The characters in this book are intertwined through time between the present and the Vietnam war; place from London,the U.S. and Vietnam; and the two peoples engaged in the conflict and those affected by the events of the past on the present. I loved this book. The characters had depth and grew with the telling. The story, while not comfortable, is engrossing and compelling. It left me wanting to know more.
May 22, 2015
Intriguing story
I wavered between a 3 and a 4 star for this one. It is worthy of a 3 1/2, at least. Resolution for lives fraught with questions, pain, and regret happens as one man delves into a search for his biological father through a long abandoned prisoner of war camp in Vietnam. While this is happening, the Colonel, who ruled the particular prison, meets his niece. The story that unfolds reveals human nature at its best and worst, sometimes epitomized in one person.
I wavered between a 3 and a 4 star for this one. It is worthy of a 3 1/2, at least. Resolution for lives fraught with questions, pain, and regret happens as one man delves into a search for his biological father through a long abandoned prisoner of war camp in Vietnam. While this is happening, the Colonel, who ruled the particular prison, meets his niece. The story that unfolds reveals human nature at its best and worst, sometimes epitomized in one person.
May 2, 2016
I have never read a novel about Vietnam. I've read several nonfiction works about the war and about the occupation of the French.
The Collection of Heng Souk was absolutely terrific. The characters were rich and the interconnection of the threads of thought, plot and generations were enticing. The language of the book was choice.
I think I just must read more by S.R. Wilsher.
The Collection of Heng Souk was absolutely terrific. The characters were rich and the interconnection of the threads of thought, plot and generations were enticing. The language of the book was choice.
I think I just must read more by S.R. Wilsher.
February 7, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. Admittedly it could have been proofread better, but the story was so compelling I was willing to overlook this. I'll think about this book for a long while.
February 16, 2019
Powerful novel of redemption and forgiveness
I don’t know who Simon Wilsher is and I have no idea how he could write such an extraordinary novel. What I do know is that this is the best novel I have read in many moons. His sense of character and his ability to bring people to life is remarkable. He uses interior monologues (or introspections), dialogue and, most of all, action to allow the reader to discover the personalities of his characters. But more than this (and creating character is very much of what novel writing is all about) is Wilsher’s sense of plot, of the necessity of structure, which all art has, and the necessity of maintaining a narrative tension that makes the reader turn the page until there are no more pages to turn.
So what is this book about? It’s about the brutality of power, the raw horror of the Vietnam War as experienced by both the Americans and the Vietnamese. It’s about love and the dignity of life and the horrible things that humans do to one another. It’s about redemption and forgiveness, and how time can change so much.
The title character is a onetime professor at the University of Hanoi who becomes during the Vietnam War an interrogation officer of the communist forces. Wilsher explores his contradictory character beginning with him as a dying old man and then traveling back in time to when he tortured and killed American prisoners of war. His niece, Sun, who is the central female character in the novel, is a doctor married to a controlling and violent man. Against her husband’s wishes she goes to find the old man to give him something and in doing so opens wide the past of his life. The reader along with Sun begins to learn who this man was and why he did what he did; and because of Wilsher’s skill and deep understanding of human emotions we go from loathing to a kind of understanding, although in my case not to the point of forgiveness.
The next most important person in the story is the American soldier Ephraim Luther who appears via a notebook he kept during his captivity. He is brutally beaten and forced to dig graves for his fellow American POWs all the while being interrogated by Souk while he wonders if the grave he is digging today is his.
But most of all I think we see the story from the point of view of Ephraim Luther’s son Thomas who was born into the generation following those who fought in Vietnam. He goes to Vietnam long after the war is over to find out what happened to his father.
What Wilsher does that is so hard to do and so very rare among aspiring novelists is to fashion a meld of character and plot in an artistic and emotionally compelling way. There is nothing fake about the story or anything dictated by contrivance. Wilsher thought this out very well (and/or has a rare gift for plotting) so that what happens is seen by the reader as compelling psychologically and realistically. Part of this is due to foreshadowing which, by the way, is almost a lost art these days. What happens when you foreshadow events as Wilsher does is you include the reader in the discovery so that when something happens the reader either thought it might happen (guessed) or the reader feels that what happens is exactly right. But of course the author must employ a deft and light touch, which Wilsher does.
A case in point is the position that the General occupies in the novel. Notice that he doesn’t just serve as window dressing or background color: he is an intricate part of the plot. He begins modestly as a chess partner to the title character, advances to the status of a powerful man, and before the novel is over that power is called into play. Another neat plot point (and a means of leveling cultures) is the fact that two of the characters in the novel—one Vietnamese and the other American—come to find that the man they thought was their father was in fact not their biological father.
Finally I would say there is a deep cultural underpinning to this novel emphasizing both the differences between Vietnamese ways and means and those of Americans and the similarities born of the fact that we are all human beings. In the final analysis the story is redemptive among the melancholy remembrances and we experience a sense of catharsis which is part of what literature is all about.
—Dennis Littrell, author of “Teddy and Teri” and other works.
I don’t know who Simon Wilsher is and I have no idea how he could write such an extraordinary novel. What I do know is that this is the best novel I have read in many moons. His sense of character and his ability to bring people to life is remarkable. He uses interior monologues (or introspections), dialogue and, most of all, action to allow the reader to discover the personalities of his characters. But more than this (and creating character is very much of what novel writing is all about) is Wilsher’s sense of plot, of the necessity of structure, which all art has, and the necessity of maintaining a narrative tension that makes the reader turn the page until there are no more pages to turn.
So what is this book about? It’s about the brutality of power, the raw horror of the Vietnam War as experienced by both the Americans and the Vietnamese. It’s about love and the dignity of life and the horrible things that humans do to one another. It’s about redemption and forgiveness, and how time can change so much.
The title character is a onetime professor at the University of Hanoi who becomes during the Vietnam War an interrogation officer of the communist forces. Wilsher explores his contradictory character beginning with him as a dying old man and then traveling back in time to when he tortured and killed American prisoners of war. His niece, Sun, who is the central female character in the novel, is a doctor married to a controlling and violent man. Against her husband’s wishes she goes to find the old man to give him something and in doing so opens wide the past of his life. The reader along with Sun begins to learn who this man was and why he did what he did; and because of Wilsher’s skill and deep understanding of human emotions we go from loathing to a kind of understanding, although in my case not to the point of forgiveness.
The next most important person in the story is the American soldier Ephraim Luther who appears via a notebook he kept during his captivity. He is brutally beaten and forced to dig graves for his fellow American POWs all the while being interrogated by Souk while he wonders if the grave he is digging today is his.
But most of all I think we see the story from the point of view of Ephraim Luther’s son Thomas who was born into the generation following those who fought in Vietnam. He goes to Vietnam long after the war is over to find out what happened to his father.
What Wilsher does that is so hard to do and so very rare among aspiring novelists is to fashion a meld of character and plot in an artistic and emotionally compelling way. There is nothing fake about the story or anything dictated by contrivance. Wilsher thought this out very well (and/or has a rare gift for plotting) so that what happens is seen by the reader as compelling psychologically and realistically. Part of this is due to foreshadowing which, by the way, is almost a lost art these days. What happens when you foreshadow events as Wilsher does is you include the reader in the discovery so that when something happens the reader either thought it might happen (guessed) or the reader feels that what happens is exactly right. But of course the author must employ a deft and light touch, which Wilsher does.
A case in point is the position that the General occupies in the novel. Notice that he doesn’t just serve as window dressing or background color: he is an intricate part of the plot. He begins modestly as a chess partner to the title character, advances to the status of a powerful man, and before the novel is over that power is called into play. Another neat plot point (and a means of leveling cultures) is the fact that two of the characters in the novel—one Vietnamese and the other American—come to find that the man they thought was their father was in fact not their biological father.
Finally I would say there is a deep cultural underpinning to this novel emphasizing both the differences between Vietnamese ways and means and those of Americans and the similarities born of the fact that we are all human beings. In the final analysis the story is redemptive among the melancholy remembrances and we experience a sense of catharsis which is part of what literature is all about.
—Dennis Littrell, author of “Teddy and Teri” and other works.
May 15, 2020
The Collectionof Heng Souk has multiple story lines. One is the story of Sun, a Vietnamese woman whose father has died. She seeks out his brother, Heng Souk, with whom she has never had any contact in an attempt to know more about her family and to deliver a package from her father to him. Once she does find him, the notebook he shares with her becomes a major part of the novel as the contents are revealed. The writing in the notebook was done by a prisoner of war held by Heng Souk during the Vietnam War. Another story revolves around Thomas who has come to Vietnam to find out what happened to the man he has just discovered was his biological father. He is also struggling with the death of his daughter and failure of his marriage a year ago. Eventually the lives of Sun, Heng Souk, and Tom all intersect.
Although I felt the parts of the novel which reveal the prisoner of war's writings were the best part of the novel, they were also difficult for me to read at times because of the details given of his brutal treatment. I felt really drawn in to the thoughts he shared as he continued in his imprisonment.
The character of Sun was harder to relate to because she never seemed real. Although she was a doctor, virtually nothing is mentioned about her work or background as a doctor. Very little background information is given to show how she has become the person she is.
Thomas Allen, in his struggles with grief over the death of his daughter, the failure of his marriage and the discovery that the man who just died was not his biological father, was a much more real character.
Even though I struggled at times with reading this novel, I would highly recommend it to others. It was a very thought-provoking read.
Although I felt the parts of the novel which reveal the prisoner of war's writings were the best part of the novel, they were also difficult for me to read at times because of the details given of his brutal treatment. I felt really drawn in to the thoughts he shared as he continued in his imprisonment.
The character of Sun was harder to relate to because she never seemed real. Although she was a doctor, virtually nothing is mentioned about her work or background as a doctor. Very little background information is given to show how she has become the person she is.
Thomas Allen, in his struggles with grief over the death of his daughter, the failure of his marriage and the discovery that the man who just died was not his biological father, was a much more real character.
Even though I struggled at times with reading this novel, I would highly recommend it to others. It was a very thought-provoking read.
September 26, 2024
The Collection of Heng Souk by S. R. Wilsher (4 Stars)
This is a powerful story of war and its aftermath. Who is the coward, who is the hero and are there any victors? How do you resolve inner conflict based on your actions? Will you ever find absolution and peace?
The book has a parallel plot structure, with the first being the story of Heng Souk. 40 years after the Viet Nam war, Souk appears to have accepted his past actions as an interrogator at The Citadel. He is peacefully retired, when he meets his niece, Sun. Souk’s brother has died, and Sun finds her estranged uncle to deliver a box from her father. Sun discovers a journal written by an American POW, and as her curiosity about her uncle develops, they begin a relationship.
The second plot structure is the story of Thomas, who recently learns that the person he thought of as dad wasn’t his biological father. In search of answers for his mother as well as himself, Thomas travels to Viet Nam. He is able to locate The Citadel, where he believes his father was held. The three meet, and Thomas and Sun begin an illicit relationship, as Sun is already married.
I don’t want to give anything away with further plot details. The story is a poignant examination of love and war and everything in between, told from multiple perspectives. It is well-written, clear and concise, yet like any good book it is thought-provoking and will leave you with questions.
Highly recommend!
“The history of a man isn’t only in his eyes, it can be witnessed in his stance. He holds all that has happened to him in his skeleton to carry all his days.”
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
This is a powerful story of war and its aftermath. Who is the coward, who is the hero and are there any victors? How do you resolve inner conflict based on your actions? Will you ever find absolution and peace?
The book has a parallel plot structure, with the first being the story of Heng Souk. 40 years after the Viet Nam war, Souk appears to have accepted his past actions as an interrogator at The Citadel. He is peacefully retired, when he meets his niece, Sun. Souk’s brother has died, and Sun finds her estranged uncle to deliver a box from her father. Sun discovers a journal written by an American POW, and as her curiosity about her uncle develops, they begin a relationship.
The second plot structure is the story of Thomas, who recently learns that the person he thought of as dad wasn’t his biological father. In search of answers for his mother as well as himself, Thomas travels to Viet Nam. He is able to locate The Citadel, where he believes his father was held. The three meet, and Thomas and Sun begin an illicit relationship, as Sun is already married.
I don’t want to give anything away with further plot details. The story is a poignant examination of love and war and everything in between, told from multiple perspectives. It is well-written, clear and concise, yet like any good book it is thought-provoking and will leave you with questions.
Highly recommend!
“The history of a man isn’t only in his eyes, it can be witnessed in his stance. He holds all that has happened to him in his skeleton to carry all his days.”
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
March 19, 2017
2.5 stars but loser to 2 than 3
The book starts in present day, a funeral, then quickly moves to present day Vietnam where a young lady is returning something from her Father to her uncle whom she has never met. Because the Uncle is not interested in her Father or her, she becomes interested in him and follows him home and later returns to his house on her own.
The parellel story takes place in London, a man comes to the funereal of his Father and discovers he is not his Father.
The book started out kinda interesting, I enjoyed reading about Vietnam and the man in London,
. The story of the Vietnam prisoner of war was also interesting and for the most part it was all believable.
However Sun who is a Dr. Never goes to work at all in the book and she takes her Uncle to Thai Binh where is was an interrogator in the Vietnamese army while Sun read about one of the prisoner of war .
Thomas who finds out his Dad left for Vietnam as a pilot while his Mother was pregnant ( of course he didn't know) and never answered her letters. His Mother never knew if he lived or not. Thomas doesn't call sonnys parents, he hops a plane to Vietnam where of course Sun and souk are and where the pow writes about Sonny.
Just too easy and unbelievable.
Of course Thomas and Sun make love after Thomas was beaten so badly he can't move for four hours.
So the book had a few problems, but I'm glad I read it, just wish the author had tried a little harder to write a believable book. In fact I really enjoyed until the last part.
The book starts in present day, a funeral, then quickly moves to present day Vietnam where a young lady is returning something from her Father to her uncle whom she has never met. Because the Uncle is not interested in her Father or her, she becomes interested in him and follows him home and later returns to his house on her own.
The parellel story takes place in London, a man comes to the funereal of his Father and discovers he is not his Father.
The book started out kinda interesting, I enjoyed reading about Vietnam and the man in London,
. The story of the Vietnam prisoner of war was also interesting and for the most part it was all believable.
However Sun who is a Dr. Never goes to work at all in the book and she takes her Uncle to Thai Binh where is was an interrogator in the Vietnamese army while Sun read about one of the prisoner of war .
Thomas who finds out his Dad left for Vietnam as a pilot while his Mother was pregnant ( of course he didn't know) and never answered her letters. His Mother never knew if he lived or not. Thomas doesn't call sonnys parents, he hops a plane to Vietnam where of course Sun and souk are and where the pow writes about Sonny.
Just too easy and unbelievable.
Of course Thomas and Sun make love after Thomas was beaten so badly he can't move for four hours.
So the book had a few problems, but I'm glad I read it, just wish the author had tried a little harder to write a believable book. In fact I really enjoyed until the last part.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews