The Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam

by Paisley Rekdal

The Broken Country uses a violent incident that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2012 as a springboard for examining the long-term cultural and psychological effects of the Vietnam War. To make sense of the shocking and baffling incident―in which a young homeless man born in Vietnam stabbed a number of white men purportedly in retribution for the war―Paisley Rekdal draws on a remarkable range of material and fashions it into a compelling account of the dislocations suffered by the Vietnamese and also by American-born veterans over the past decades. She interweaves a narrative about the crime with information collected in interviews, historical examination of the arrival of Vietnamese immigrants in the 1970s, a critique of portrayals of Vietnam in American popular culture, and discussions of the psychological consequences of trauma. This work allows us to better understand transgenerational and cultural trauma and advances our still complicated struggle to comprehend the war.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2017

About the author

Rekdal grew up in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of a Chinese American mother and a Norwegian father. She earned a BA from the University of Washington, an MA from the University of Toronto Centre for Medieval Studies, and an MFA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is the author of the poetry collections A Crash of Rhinos (2000), Six Girls Without Pants (2002), and The Invention of the Kaleidoscope (2007) as well as the book of essays The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee: Observations on Not Fitting In (2000).

In reviewing The Invention of the Kaleidoscope for Barn Owl Review, Jay Robinson observed that it’s “the razor’s edge that always accompanies eros that makes the poems of Paisley Rekdal fresh, intense and ultimately irresistible.” Rekdal’s work grapples with issues of race, sexuality, myth, and identity while often referencing contemporary culture.

Rekdal has been honored with a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, a Village Voice Writers on the Verge Award, and a Fulbright Fellowship to South Korea. Her work has been included in numerous anthologies, including Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century (2006) and the 2010 Pushcart Prize Anthology.

Rekdal teaches at the University of Utah.

Reviews

[Liz Dzwonczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Our national monuments and museums memorialize trauma through odes to institutional power, death, and loss, but they do not always ask to consider ourselves as part of the story we tell about loss. Monuments are locked into time in ways that culture, which changes, isn’t. A monument tells us war is over. But everything about the ways that we process war suggests it never is.”

A great read of the legacy of war and trauma. I picked up this book because Dr. Rekdal’s invitation to speak at the Air Force Academy was rescinded. An absolute shame, as this book is a great read for future military officer challenging us to think beyond the uniform.

As a veteran of war, I think this book is a beautiful reminder to all the lasting ramifications of violence.
Violence touches so many more people than those that wear a uniform. Highly recommend.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

GNa I received a free electronic copy of this work from Netgalley, Paisley Rekdal, and University of Georgia Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

This was my first exposure to the works of Paisley Rekdal, but certainly will not be the last. She writes a tight story with precise attention to detail and brings us to understand the nuances behind these events. We follow several incidents involving Vietnamese immigrants to conclusion with an understanding of the pain behind the facts. We see the way our world is now colored by repercussions of the Vietnam War through our soldiers, both those who came home and those who couldn't, the families of those vets, and Vietnam immigrants and the descendents of those immigrants. These are spots on our copybooks that will take generations to work through.

Pub date Sept 15, 2017
University of Georgia Press

Not available at B&N

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book left me feeling unsatisfied, not to mention left me with more questions than answers. Because the author was not able to talk with the family of Kiet Thahn Ly, a homeless man who stabbed and nearly killed two men in 2012, I really couldn't grasp the concept that this man suffered from cultural/historical trauma from the Vietnam War along with some form of mental illness because his family chose not to talk to the author which made the concept that historical trauma effected him hard to swallow for this cynic. I do believe historical trauma does exist especially amongst the Native and black communities with their past history of genocide and lynchings to the present day of poverty, gun violence, drugs/alcohol abuse, and no economic opportunities. I also believe this is also true for the refugees who came to the US to escape the communist rule of the North Vietnamese. The author makes a very strong case in general that Vietnamese refugees have been traumatized when they came to this country by both the war and the US forcing them to assimilate into America ASAP but she doesn't make a great case when Kiet Thahn Ly's situation. I think he was more mentally ill than traumatized. Personally she should have done a book on the effects of war and coming to America for the Vietnamese refugees and just left off the Kiet Thahn Ly story.

[Stephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched, thoughtful, and beautiful telling and examination of the long-term cultural effects of the Vietnam War. Rekdal skillfully weaves the stories and studies she has read and interviewed for, as well as her own experiences and thoughts, in a way that ponders the traumatic effects of war on all the bodies who knew it through experience, or conversation, or relation to those who experienced it. These bodies go beyond the veterans and refugees who directly experienced the war and expand to include all of America and all of Vietnam.

[Jenna S · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for school. It was really interesting and taught me a lot about the legacy of war and generational trauma. I also liked that it connected large themes to individual people that might be seen as insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I probably would have liked it more if I didn't read it for school but sometimes reading things for credit makes them harder to enjoy them (but easier to analyze and understand).

[Glori Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her poetry and prose, Rekdal confronts taboo topics with a balance of self-inquiry and research. THE BROKEN COUNTRY challenged what I thought I knew about the experience of Vietnamese Americans in surviving war and their harrowing travels to the states. The silence around war experiences for soldiers and survivors continues the cycle of misunderstanding and alienation.

[Paul Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful book on memory, trauma, and the urgent need to make sense of history and life events. Offers additional sources to read. But, most powerfully, reminded me once again that civilians then and their children long after, like the children of soldiers, suffer the effects of violence and uprootedness.

[Jhoanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚📚📚📚📚 A tremendous work of scholarship and investigative journalism, “The Broken Country” focuses on one terrible case of near-murder, in which a homeless Vietnamese American man stabs several white men outside a Salt Lake City store, to examine the greater and continued consequences of war, trauma and relocation.

Required, and sobering, reading for all Americans, Rekdal’s book challenges us to rethink our understanding of the victims and legacy of war and trauma, as well as mental health and inherited suffering.

[Simeon Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brutal, prismatic book on the confluence of an inherited wartime imagination and immigrant trauma is required reading.

[Risa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read

[Krystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated by this gripping, astute non-fiction exploration of the far reaching repercussions of the Vietnam War! This book was truly a revelation and should be read by every human.