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A Wavering Grace : A Vietnamese Family in War and Peace
As an Observer correspondent in Vietnam before the American withdrawal in 1975, Gavin Young met many courageous Vietnamese people. He frequently stayed with one such person, Madame Bong, a woman who had lost her husband when she was only twenty-five, had recovered the mangled limbs of one son from a battlefield and watched as another son was sent off to a 're-education camp' for seven years.
When Young was allowed to return to Vietnam he helped many of Madame Bong's relatives emigrate to the US. A Wavering Grace is a personal account of how one ordinary family survived the horrors of war and a political process that was beyond their control.
'By far ... the most moving account of Vietnam to be written in recent years.' Norman Lewis
'This delicate, terrible and enchanting book ... brings the atmosphere of Vietnam so near that you can almost taste and smell it.' Jonathan Mirsky, The Times
'Full of passion and feeling ... A Wavering Grace could be described as a love story [and] tells the story of Vietnam and Mme Bong's family in its many conflicting complexions.' Andrew Barrow, Spectator
When Young was allowed to return to Vietnam he helped many of Madame Bong's relatives emigrate to the US. A Wavering Grace is a personal account of how one ordinary family survived the horrors of war and a political process that was beyond their control.
'By far ... the most moving account of Vietnam to be written in recent years.' Norman Lewis
'This delicate, terrible and enchanting book ... brings the atmosphere of Vietnam so near that you can almost taste and smell it.' Jonathan Mirsky, The Times
'Full of passion and feeling ... A Wavering Grace could be described as a love story [and] tells the story of Vietnam and Mme Bong's family in its many conflicting complexions.' Andrew Barrow, Spectator
- GenresTravelNonfictionAsia
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 24, 1997
38 people want to read
About the author
Gavin Young
53 books8 followersGavin David Young (24 April 1928 – 18 January 2001) was a journalist and travel writer.
He was born in Bude, Cornwall, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a lieutenant colonel in the Welsh Guards. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of Monmouthshire. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.
Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers shipping company in Basra in Iraq before living with the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He fashioned his experiences into a book, Return to the Marshes (1977). In 1960, from Tunis, he joined The Observer of London as a foreign correspondent, and was the Observer's correspondent in Paris and New York. He had covered fifteen wars and revolutions throughout the world, and worked for The Guardian and was a travel writer. Young died in London on 18 January 2001; he was 72 years old.
He was born in Bude, Cornwall, England. His father, Gavin Young, was a lieutenant colonel in the Welsh Guards. Daphne, his mother, was the daughter of Sir Charles Leolin Forestier-Walker, Bt, of Monmouthshire. Young spent most of his youth in Cornwall and South Wales. He graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history.
Young spent two years with the Ralli Brothers shipping company in Basra in Iraq before living with the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He fashioned his experiences into a book, Return to the Marshes (1977). In 1960, from Tunis, he joined The Observer of London as a foreign correspondent, and was the Observer's correspondent in Paris and New York. He had covered fifteen wars and revolutions throughout the world, and worked for The Guardian and was a travel writer. Young died in London on 18 January 2001; he was 72 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 14, 2014
While it's got a very laudable aim to show how war affects an ordinary family and it did so in heart breaking detail, I felt this was bitty and slightly superficial. I think mostly this is because there is never any in depth description of Madame Bong, the supposed martirach and centre of this family, so the parts - which are excellent - don't hold together properly.
February 16, 2013
Although I've read and enjoyed some of Gavin Young's other books, Slow Boats to China and Slow Boats Home, this book didn't hold and capture my attention; I kept losing interest. Not sure if its the book or me!
November 6, 2024
Young draws on his reporting from Vietnam during the war and on his return in 1985, and adds a travel narrative from visits in 1995/96. The unifying theme is the story of the family he befriends in Hue and their dispersal to Saigon, America and Germany through the upheavals of the war and the subsequent communist rule.
Young's characteristic even-handedness, candour and eye for detail are present here as in his other books and overall this is a useful examination of Vietnam from a Vietnamese point of view. Perhaps the strongest material in the book are the numerous letters from various members of Madame Bong's clan as Young seeks to help them escape the country. The writing from the war is also excellent, especially the account of the death of a South Vietnamese recruit which has however been published in another book by Young (I forget which). The last section, in which the author goes back to the country in the nineties, feels disconnected and relatively inconsequential.
Young's characteristic even-handedness, candour and eye for detail are present here as in his other books and overall this is a useful examination of Vietnam from a Vietnamese point of view. Perhaps the strongest material in the book are the numerous letters from various members of Madame Bong's clan as Young seeks to help them escape the country. The writing from the war is also excellent, especially the account of the death of a South Vietnamese recruit which has however been published in another book by Young (I forget which). The last section, in which the author goes back to the country in the nineties, feels disconnected and relatively inconsequential.
March 1, 2023
Gavin Young obviously had a deep affinity to Vietnam ,his adopted family and the beautiful countryside.It’s a deeply personal book whose main message is of the futility of this conflict and of all wars.The family connections and the going backwards and forwards can be a bit confusing .However,what emerges is a great hope for the country after 1995 and the future of his “ family “ in the US and elsewhere.One hopes that there may be lessons here on how to grab at peace with both hands when given ,but I doubt it. The quotes from Grahame Greene’s “ The Quiet American “ are telling ,as are the wistful poems of Vietnamese poets.A thought provoking read .
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews