What do you think?
Rate this book
A Bend in the River: 2 Sisters Struggle to Survive the Vietnam War
In 1968 two young Vietnamese sisters flee to Saigon after their village on the Mekong River is attacked by American forces and burned to the ground. The only survivors of the brutal massacre that killed their family, the sisters struggle to survive but become estranged, separated by sharply different choices and ideologies.
Mai ekes out a living as a GI bar girl in Saigon but Tâm's anger festers, and she heads into jungle terrain to fight with the Viet Cong.
For nearly ten years, neither sister knows if the other is alive. Do they both survive the war? And if they do, can they mend their fractured relationship? Or are the wounds from their journeys too deep to heal?
In a stunning departure from her two series of crime thrillers, Libby Fischer Hellmann delves into a universal story about survival, family, and the consequences of war.
Mai ekes out a living as a GI bar girl in Saigon but Tâm's anger festers, and she heads into jungle terrain to fight with the Viet Cong.
For nearly ten years, neither sister knows if the other is alive. Do they both survive the war? And if they do, can they mend their fractured relationship? Or are the wounds from their journeys too deep to heal?
In a stunning departure from her two series of crime thrillers, Libby Fischer Hellmann delves into a universal story about survival, family, and the consequences of war.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published May 12, 2021
207 people are currently reading
3024 people want to read
About the author
Libby Fischer Hellmann
78 books970 followersLibby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago a long time ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. She soon began writing historical fiction as well. Eighteen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery writing community and has even won a few. Her newest work is MAX'S WAR, her 6th historical saga. MAX, set before and during WW2, It will be released in April, 2024.
Libby began her career as an assistant film editor for NBC News in New York before moving back to DC to work with Robin McNeil and Jim Lehrer at N-PACT, the public affairs production arm of PBS. Retrained as an assistant director when Watergate broke, Libby helped produce PBS’s night-time broadcast of the hearings. She went on to work for public relations firm Burson-Marsteller in Chicago in 1978, where she stayed until she left to found Fischer Hellmann Communications in 1985.
Originally from Washington, D.C.—where, she says, “When you’re sitting around the dinner table gossiping about the neighbors, you’re talking politics”—Libby earned a Masters Degree in Film Production from New York University and a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to writing, Libby writes and produces videos, and conducts speaker training programs in platform speaking, presentation skills, media training and crisis communications.
Libby’s best-selling novels have won widespread acclaim since her first novel, AN EYE FOR MURDER, which was nominated for several awards and described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense”.
Libby is known for her portrayal of strong female characters. EYE introduced Ellie Foreman, a video producer and single mother who went on to star in five more novels in a series described by Libby as “a cross between Desperate Housewives and 24.”
Libby’s second series, also six novels now, follows Chicago PI Georgia Davis, a no-nonsense hard-boiled detective operating in the Northern suburbs and beyond.
In addition to her popular series, Libby has also written five standalone thrillers in diverse settings and historical periods that demonstrate her versatility as a writer. Readers will meet young activists during the late Sixties, a young American woman who marries and moves to Tehran, three women forced to make dire choices during WW2, and a female Mafia boss who chases power at the expense of love. And in A BEND IN THE RIVER, she takes a break from her thrillers to write an award-winning novel of two Vietnamese sisters trying to survive the Vietnam war. MAX is the upcoming 6th addition to the loosely-linked series she calls her "Revolution Sagas."
Libby began her career as an assistant film editor for NBC News in New York before moving back to DC to work with Robin McNeil and Jim Lehrer at N-PACT, the public affairs production arm of PBS. Retrained as an assistant director when Watergate broke, Libby helped produce PBS’s night-time broadcast of the hearings. She went on to work for public relations firm Burson-Marsteller in Chicago in 1978, where she stayed until she left to found Fischer Hellmann Communications in 1985.
Originally from Washington, D.C.—where, she says, “When you’re sitting around the dinner table gossiping about the neighbors, you’re talking politics”—Libby earned a Masters Degree in Film Production from New York University and a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to writing, Libby writes and produces videos, and conducts speaker training programs in platform speaking, presentation skills, media training and crisis communications.
Libby’s best-selling novels have won widespread acclaim since her first novel, AN EYE FOR MURDER, which was nominated for several awards and described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense”.
Libby is known for her portrayal of strong female characters. EYE introduced Ellie Foreman, a video producer and single mother who went on to star in five more novels in a series described by Libby as “a cross between Desperate Housewives and 24.”
Libby’s second series, also six novels now, follows Chicago PI Georgia Davis, a no-nonsense hard-boiled detective operating in the Northern suburbs and beyond.
In addition to her popular series, Libby has also written five standalone thrillers in diverse settings and historical periods that demonstrate her versatility as a writer. Readers will meet young activists during the late Sixties, a young American woman who marries and moves to Tehran, three women forced to make dire choices during WW2, and a female Mafia boss who chases power at the expense of love. And in A BEND IN THE RIVER, she takes a break from her thrillers to write an award-winning novel of two Vietnamese sisters trying to survive the Vietnam war. MAX is the upcoming 6th addition to the loosely-linked series she calls her "Revolution Sagas."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
August 23, 2020
The story of two young sisters in 1968 who are orphaned and homeless after an attack on their village in Vietnam. Their future lead them to take different paths and they lost touch.
I enjoyed this book and it taught me a lot about the Vietnam War and the choices that young girls had to make to survive.
Thank you to NetGalley and The Red Herrings Press for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book and it taught me a lot about the Vietnam War and the choices that young girls had to make to survive.
Thank you to NetGalley and The Red Herrings Press for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 4, 2020
I...I don't know how to say some of the things that I want to say about this book without it sounding harsh and rude, so I'm just going to be honest.
A Bend In the River by Libby Fischer Hellmann is a historical fiction story of two south Vietnamese sisters during the Vietnam War. After their family and village are destroyed by American GIs, the sisters flee to Saigon and start new lives. Splitting after a few weeks, Tam joins the Viet Cong and Mai becomes a bargirl, catering to American GIs at the Stardust Lounge. Years and year go, the sisters face hardship after hardship, love after love, friendship after friendship.
*Sigh. Here is goes. While this story is touching and shows the strength of women, it's hard to read a book - however well written and researched - about the survival of a Vietnamese woman when it's written by a white (white presenting?) American woman. (I do see that there was a Vietnamese editor) Fully understanding that Hellmann has a long career as a journalist and well researched writer, I may not be the target audience - because one of those Saigon bargirls - was my mom. My mom, who left her family and young daughters in the south of Vietnam, to go to Saigon to try for something else. My mom who met an American GI and married him. My mom who lived in a room with another bargirl...who remained her friend until that friend's death earlier this year.
The struggle of immigrants is such a specific type of story that it's hard when others try and tell it. Hearing my mom tell me a five minute story about going to the movies the day before she left for America did more for me than the 400 pages of this book. Fully understanding it's BECAUSE of my personal connection, I still think that immigrant stories should belong to immigrants.
Libby Fischer Hellmann is a talented writer and I am going to try some of her Chicago crime series. This, however, wasn't for me. If I want an immigrant story, I'll just call home.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
A Bend In the River by Libby Fischer Hellmann is a historical fiction story of two south Vietnamese sisters during the Vietnam War. After their family and village are destroyed by American GIs, the sisters flee to Saigon and start new lives. Splitting after a few weeks, Tam joins the Viet Cong and Mai becomes a bargirl, catering to American GIs at the Stardust Lounge. Years and year go, the sisters face hardship after hardship, love after love, friendship after friendship.
*Sigh. Here is goes. While this story is touching and shows the strength of women, it's hard to read a book - however well written and researched - about the survival of a Vietnamese woman when it's written by a white (white presenting?) American woman. (I do see that there was a Vietnamese editor) Fully understanding that Hellmann has a long career as a journalist and well researched writer, I may not be the target audience - because one of those Saigon bargirls - was my mom. My mom, who left her family and young daughters in the south of Vietnam, to go to Saigon to try for something else. My mom who met an American GI and married him. My mom who lived in a room with another bargirl...who remained her friend until that friend's death earlier this year.
The struggle of immigrants is such a specific type of story that it's hard when others try and tell it. Hearing my mom tell me a five minute story about going to the movies the day before she left for America did more for me than the 400 pages of this book. Fully understanding it's BECAUSE of my personal connection, I still think that immigrant stories should belong to immigrants.
Libby Fischer Hellmann is a talented writer and I am going to try some of her Chicago crime series. This, however, wasn't for me. If I want an immigrant story, I'll just call home.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
July 28, 2020
I’m going to preface my review by saying that this isn’t a genre that I read a lot of. But knowing this author’s works, and her total dedication to research, it was a book that I was very much looking forward to reading. AND, I’m so glad that I did!
This story revolves around two sisters in war-torn Vietnam. They endure so much hardship in their young lives, from their village being burned to the ground, to the tragic murders of most of those they love and hold dear, to wondering what their future will bring.
The title is so appropriate for this novel, for A BEND IN THE RIVER, is where their lives are irrevocably changed as they are thrust down two entirely different life paths.
This book made me cry, made me hopeful, made me cry again, and a few times I found myself saying out loud, “NO, don’t do that!” It took me down many twists and turns, that I never expected or saw coming. I read this book in two nights because I simply couldn’t put it down unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, I couldn’t stop thinking about what was next to come.
A heartwarming, heartbreaking, heart-rending story, that will truly touch your heart. I love how the author brought it all together to a surprising conclusion.
I highly recommend this book; A 5 star must read.
This story revolves around two sisters in war-torn Vietnam. They endure so much hardship in their young lives, from their village being burned to the ground, to the tragic murders of most of those they love and hold dear, to wondering what their future will bring.
The title is so appropriate for this novel, for A BEND IN THE RIVER, is where their lives are irrevocably changed as they are thrust down two entirely different life paths.
This book made me cry, made me hopeful, made me cry again, and a few times I found myself saying out loud, “NO, don’t do that!” It took me down many twists and turns, that I never expected or saw coming. I read this book in two nights because I simply couldn’t put it down unless it was absolutely necessary, and even then, I couldn’t stop thinking about what was next to come.
A heartwarming, heartbreaking, heart-rending story, that will truly touch your heart. I love how the author brought it all together to a surprising conclusion.
I highly recommend this book; A 5 star must read.
September 19, 2020
Libby Hellman is known for her slightly gritty mysteries set in Chicago, often reaching back into the past. Her first novel, An Eye for Murder (2002) looked back to the holocaust; she’s ventured to Cuba, to the 60’s in the United States, to WWII, and to Iran. This is her first novel, however, that’s straight up history. As someone who came of age in the late 70’s, the Vietnam War wasn’t history. It was news. It was classmates wearing POW and MIA bracelets. It was on TV and in the newspapers almost every day.
In 2020, the war, which began with an infusion of “advisors” under President Kennedy and ended in 1975 under President Ford, is now history. The story Hellman is telling is historical. In 1968, her two main characters, sisters Tam and Mai, see their family and village wiped out. They are young but fierce and they steal a sampan and head to Saigon. To Tam, it seems to make sense, as US soldiers are headed to Cambodia, not Saigon.
The sisters ultimately get a ride and a bit of a hand and start work in a restaurant, living in a tent in a refugee camp on the edge of town. The two sisters have different ideas about their futures. Mai, the younger, wants a softer, more feminine life. She’s interested in glamor, clothes and men. Tam is the scholar of the family; she’d wanted to study botany before the war stole her family. She’s more serious and more interested in politics.
When Mai decides to take a job as a “bar hostess” chatting up American soldiers and convincing them to order more drinks, her sister says she will suffer when the war is over for consorting with the enemy. Tam goes the other way. She’s recruited by the Viet Cong and trains to work as a driver, delivering supplies to the vast network of tunnels known as the Ho Chi Min trail.
The scenes where Tam learns to navigate the roads and jungles in her truck at night, quickly delivering supplies, reminded me of every book I’ve ever read about resistance fighters in France during WWII. In WWII we were on the right side; in Vietnam, we weren’t. The U.S. was in a far away place trying to change a way of government, while bombing and pillaging their country, leaving the fields razed and ruined by Agent Orange. While I knew this intellectually, Hellman’s novel brought it home to me in an emotionally resonant way that made me think about it differently.
In creating Mai and Tam, yes, they are opposites and could have been cardboard figures, but as Hellman writes about their lives and follows their hardships and the way they change and mature as they age, they both become more shaded and more nuanced. The narrative is propulsive (I read this in about a day and a half), and so are the characters. I cared about them and wanted to know what was going to happen to them.
Neither woman ever gets a chance to take a breath. They are hardly able to process the loss of their family, much less the other events that overtake them throughout the novel. Hellman follows them to the end of the war and their eventual reunion (not a spoiler, it’s on the back cover). While their lives race onward, we as readers can think about them and consider what’s happening to them from the perspective of history. The way the two sisters’ fates and fortunes wax and wane and the ultimate resolution of the book is heartbreaking, memorable, and has real strength. This is a wonderful story as well as a powerful history lesson. It can be read either – or both – of those ways.
In 2020, the war, which began with an infusion of “advisors” under President Kennedy and ended in 1975 under President Ford, is now history. The story Hellman is telling is historical. In 1968, her two main characters, sisters Tam and Mai, see their family and village wiped out. They are young but fierce and they steal a sampan and head to Saigon. To Tam, it seems to make sense, as US soldiers are headed to Cambodia, not Saigon.
The sisters ultimately get a ride and a bit of a hand and start work in a restaurant, living in a tent in a refugee camp on the edge of town. The two sisters have different ideas about their futures. Mai, the younger, wants a softer, more feminine life. She’s interested in glamor, clothes and men. Tam is the scholar of the family; she’d wanted to study botany before the war stole her family. She’s more serious and more interested in politics.
When Mai decides to take a job as a “bar hostess” chatting up American soldiers and convincing them to order more drinks, her sister says she will suffer when the war is over for consorting with the enemy. Tam goes the other way. She’s recruited by the Viet Cong and trains to work as a driver, delivering supplies to the vast network of tunnels known as the Ho Chi Min trail.
The scenes where Tam learns to navigate the roads and jungles in her truck at night, quickly delivering supplies, reminded me of every book I’ve ever read about resistance fighters in France during WWII. In WWII we were on the right side; in Vietnam, we weren’t. The U.S. was in a far away place trying to change a way of government, while bombing and pillaging their country, leaving the fields razed and ruined by Agent Orange. While I knew this intellectually, Hellman’s novel brought it home to me in an emotionally resonant way that made me think about it differently.
In creating Mai and Tam, yes, they are opposites and could have been cardboard figures, but as Hellman writes about their lives and follows their hardships and the way they change and mature as they age, they both become more shaded and more nuanced. The narrative is propulsive (I read this in about a day and a half), and so are the characters. I cared about them and wanted to know what was going to happen to them.
Neither woman ever gets a chance to take a breath. They are hardly able to process the loss of their family, much less the other events that overtake them throughout the novel. Hellman follows them to the end of the war and their eventual reunion (not a spoiler, it’s on the back cover). While their lives race onward, we as readers can think about them and consider what’s happening to them from the perspective of history. The way the two sisters’ fates and fortunes wax and wane and the ultimate resolution of the book is heartbreaking, memorable, and has real strength. This is a wonderful story as well as a powerful history lesson. It can be read either – or both – of those ways.
August 31, 2020
After I told the author I would read this book, I asked myself what I had gotten myself into. This isn't my usual genre and I figured it would be a DNF. Boy, was I wrong! I stayed up till 4AM finishing it. This book grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go . You live the life these girls live. You are there with them when their village is massacred, as they escape to Saigon and as they try to survive this awful war. I was a college student during the Vietnam years. I didn't think we should be there but I wasn't an activist. Like much of the American public we believed what our government told us back then. We see the war from their side in this book. Mai, the youngest daughter at 14, is a typical teenager who wants love and marriage and babies. Tam, 17 was the scholar who wanted to study botany, listened to radio broadcasts with her father and came to share his views in favor of the North. Think back to when you were 14-17. Can you imagine living in a hut in a tiny village, seeing your family murdered right in front of you, traveling down a river in a tiny boat to reach Saigon, living in a tent city, and doing whatever you had to just to survive? This book will give you a new perspective on the Vietnamese people. It is fiction but it is well researched fiction. It is powerful, descriptive fiction that will stay with you. It is the best book I have read in a long time. Thank you Libby Fischer Hellman for asking me to read this. I wish I could give it 10 star
April 14, 2022
This is the second book I have read in the last month that presented an inside perspective of a culture with which I was unfamiliar. A Bend in the River is about the Vietnam war presented from the experiences of two sisters who grew up in Vietnam. One sister supported the Viet Cong and the North Vietnam warriors while the other sympathized with the South Vietnamese. My experience as an American college student in the late 60s focused on helping my male friends avoid the draft to fight in this war. Our March on Washington in 1969 was undoubtedly a significant turning point when Americans finally realized they needed to get out of this war, and we did. Americans’ involvement however was hardly over then as the fallout resulting from many dead and wounded soldiers with PTSD hovered over the minds of Americans for decades. The book begs the question: why do we have wars and what exactly are and were we fighting for? We continue to ponder this question. Once again I learned much about the horrors of war from the perspective of those who lived through the bombs and the fighting and who grieved the loss of loved ones. Because Hellman illuminated both sides’ motivations and struggles readers must acknowledge that especially with respect to wars the issues are rarely black and white. When we experience individuals’ sufferings through stories especially in such a descriptive and emotional manner we inevitably will question why we kill other people’s children to resolve disputes. This was a beautiful story although I have read enough about war; time for a lighter read.
December 6, 2020
I preferred Ms Hellman's suspense books, but this historical novel following Vietnamese sisters Mai and Tâm show a side of the war in Vietnam that most Americans do not see. I would have preferred less "soap opera" but cannot really say how I would change it. Give it a shot. I never regretted finishing it.
September 5, 2020
A beautiful story of two sisters and their difficulties during a war and end up in Saigon. They escape but don’t end up staying together. Their lives are totally different. I was lost in their story and hope to read more about them.
August 15, 2020
It has been a long time since my emotions were engaged along with my attention for an entire book like this!
The story of two sisters and their difficult paths after witnessing American forces level their village in Vietnam, along with the rest of their family, is a story of resilience and hope. Mai becomes a bar girl, struggling to stay solvent, and Tam fights for the Viet Cong. Both find love, and have to do painful things to survive. Yet their story is about strength and growth.
Hellmann's always intelligent, well researched writing pulls back the history descriptions to see how difficult life was for everyone involved in the Vietnam War. This would be an excellent book for discussion groups and anyone looking to learn more about that period.
The story of two sisters and their difficult paths after witnessing American forces level their village in Vietnam, along with the rest of their family, is a story of resilience and hope. Mai becomes a bar girl, struggling to stay solvent, and Tam fights for the Viet Cong. Both find love, and have to do painful things to survive. Yet their story is about strength and growth.
Hellmann's always intelligent, well researched writing pulls back the history descriptions to see how difficult life was for everyone involved in the Vietnam War. This would be an excellent book for discussion groups and anyone looking to learn more about that period.
August 15, 2020
Ebook Review: A BEND IN THE RIVER by Libby Fischer Hellmann
(A) gression
(B) oth
(E) scape
(N) either
(D) ìes
( I ) ncorporate
(N) ecessities
(T) he
(H) arm
(E) ncroaches
(R) ealism
( I ) s
(V) ital
(E) mbraces
(R) econciliation
A BEND IN THE RIVER, requires action.
Constant awareness of what's ahead, possible dangers.
Making choices best as can, adjust accordingly.
Learning to navigate the rapids, and recovering.
At times with others, and alone.
Taking it moment by moment, hanging on.
Here's a story to read, and digest.
Understanding what another has experienced, removing bias.
Appreciating every ounce of detail, taking in.
Pick up this book yourself, dig in.
(A) gression
(B) oth
(E) scape
(N) either
(D) ìes
( I ) ncorporate
(N) ecessities
(T) he
(H) arm
(E) ncroaches
(R) ealism
( I ) s
(V) ital
(E) mbraces
(R) econciliation
A BEND IN THE RIVER, requires action.
Constant awareness of what's ahead, possible dangers.
Making choices best as can, adjust accordingly.
Learning to navigate the rapids, and recovering.
At times with others, and alone.
Taking it moment by moment, hanging on.
Here's a story to read, and digest.
Understanding what another has experienced, removing bias.
Appreciating every ounce of detail, taking in.
Pick up this book yourself, dig in.
July 31, 2020
A Bend in the River derives its name from the Mekong River in Vietnam. In 1968 two young Vietnamese sisters witness the murder of all the members of their village, and the village is burned to the ground by American soldiers searching for Viet Cong. The sisters, Tam and Mai, flee to Saigon after their village on the Mekong River is attacked by American forces and burned to the ground. They steal a sampan and start paddling toward Saigon. Tam is older, more serious, scholarly while Mai is younger, flippant, and self-centered. Their personality differences lead them to very different life choices and ideologies. The bend in the river represents the vastly different turns their lives take after a relationship-ending argument. Tam heads into the jungle to help the Viet Cong while Mai becomes a bar girl, then a prostitute.
The reunion of the two sisters seems a bit too coincidental; however, I enjoyed the insights into the Vietnam War and seeing it “from the other side.”
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
The reunion of the two sisters seems a bit too coincidental; however, I enjoyed the insights into the Vietnam War and seeing it “from the other side.”
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
April 25, 2025
Amazing ability to survive and overcome loss, find love and the meaning of family
August 8, 2020
AMBITIOUS, COMPLEX AND COURAGEOUS, THIS IS A STORY OF TWO SISTER WHO SURVIVED THE
VIET NAM WAR EACH GOING HER SEPARATE WAY. A HEART-BREAKING, INFORMATIVE NOVEL OF AN INTENSE, DARK AND DANGEROUS TIME FOR BOTH AMERICA AND VIET NAM. HEART-WRENCHING SCENES GRAPHICALLY PORTRAY THE HORRORS OF WAR AND THE PEOPLE CAUGHT UP IN IT. A NOVEL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. BRILLIANT. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
AN ARC BOOK, THIS IS MY HONEST AND FREELY GIVEN REVIEW.
VIET NAM WAR EACH GOING HER SEPARATE WAY. A HEART-BREAKING, INFORMATIVE NOVEL OF AN INTENSE, DARK AND DANGEROUS TIME FOR BOTH AMERICA AND VIET NAM. HEART-WRENCHING SCENES GRAPHICALLY PORTRAY THE HORRORS OF WAR AND THE PEOPLE CAUGHT UP IN IT. A NOVEL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. BRILLIANT. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
AN ARC BOOK, THIS IS MY HONEST AND FREELY GIVEN REVIEW.
September 27, 2020
Seeing Vietnam through the eyes of these two sisters during and after the war was eye-opening and mind-expanding. This book had me re-examining my interpretation of my relatives’s experiences, stationed there after Mei Li, a defining point. Being on the journey with the sisters, both together and separately, presented an interpretation of the times I’d not truly considered. Get this book and journey back with Tam and Mei through Vietnam 4-5 decades ago. It’s necessary and it’s thought-provoking.
March 31, 2022
I have no idea why every book club in America doesn’t have A Bend in the River by Libby Fischer Hellman as a book choice. This book should be a best seller.
This historical novel is a story about the Vietnam War. It is based on two sisters who survived the burning of their Villiage in the Mekong Delta. Together they hijacked a sampan to Saigon and then went their separate ways.
This historical novel is a page turner. It is told from the perspective of the 2 sisters who lived the Vietnam War. It is a must read for everyone especially those of us who lived in the 1970’s.
I do have a few comments about the distribution and the title of the book. There are several different books named A Bend in the River so state the author’s name, Libby Fisher Hellman when ordering it.
Most libraries have yet to purchase this book. My library system in Ohio (which usually has every book) didn’t have a single copy so it had to be ordered through inter library loan. Ask your librarian to put it by on the order list if the library doesn’t have it. It is worth it.
This historical novel is a story about the Vietnam War. It is based on two sisters who survived the burning of their Villiage in the Mekong Delta. Together they hijacked a sampan to Saigon and then went their separate ways.
This historical novel is a page turner. It is told from the perspective of the 2 sisters who lived the Vietnam War. It is a must read for everyone especially those of us who lived in the 1970’s.
I do have a few comments about the distribution and the title of the book. There are several different books named A Bend in the River so state the author’s name, Libby Fisher Hellman when ordering it.
Most libraries have yet to purchase this book. My library system in Ohio (which usually has every book) didn’t have a single copy so it had to be ordered through inter library loan. Ask your librarian to put it by on the order list if the library doesn’t have it. It is worth it.
August 12, 2020
Tears in my eyes when I read the last page. What a great story about 2 young sisters (Mai, 14 and Tam, 17) in the Vietnamese war.
The book tells how both young women make choices that are diametrically opposed to each other, both choosing a different path.
I read the book in one go, so I was drawn into the lives of these sisters. As the writer brings you into the book, it will not let you go.
Sympathy for both main characters, both courageous with what life brings them. Moments of laughter, hope, sadness, despair, love, mistrust but always persist and carry on
After the Americans murdered all the inhabitants of their village, of which they are remotely witness, they flee to Saigon. The personalities of the sisters will already emerge. Tam is very careful and trusts few. Mai is more idealistic and assumes the good of a person. Once in Saigon, they try to survive in a refugee camp. Tam finds work in a restaurant which Mai thinks is too little, she sees the big money in a nightclub, working as a GI bargirl. Tam is disappointed in her sister; how can she go to work in a place where Americans come to relax after her village was massacred?
Both women do whatever it takes to survive. Both find love and lose it again. Both find the chance to escape Vietnam to America and after 10 years they will meet again, both scarred by the war and their choices.
The book depicts life where Tam as Mai are followed in different parts
The story of Tam is emotional and raw started. Through her work in the restaurant, Tam comes into contact with Ms. Hang who works for the South but cooperates with the North. She shows her the way to the work of the Viet Cong and Tam joins. Soldiers choices, the atrocities of war, finding love and losing your loved one because she is murdered. Being on the brink of death yourself, being saved and being used as a spy for the communists. The realization that you are being used, the fear of discovery, the fear for your life. With the help of others she manages to go to America, but the fear of discovery continues to color her life.
Mai follows a completely different route that leads her to America. Mai's story is emotionally heartbreaking, courageous and realistically told.
As a GI bargirl, she works to give Americans a good time when they are on leave. She falls in love with Sandy and hopes he will take her to America but he leaves Vietnam when Mai is pregnant. To survive and to be able to take care of her son, she does everything. Then she finds love with a senior captain in the South Vietnamese navy. When the war between South and North Vietnam comes to an end and where the North is victorious, she gets a chance to go to America. She sets foot in America when her son is 7 years old. Used to hard work, she manages to build an independent life for her and her son. After Tam and Mai find each other again, disaster strikes the sisters again.
A look into the lives of war survivors and their struggle to survive. Highly recommended!
I have received an ARC through the writer and am voluntarily reviewing it
The book tells how both young women make choices that are diametrically opposed to each other, both choosing a different path.
I read the book in one go, so I was drawn into the lives of these sisters. As the writer brings you into the book, it will not let you go.
Sympathy for both main characters, both courageous with what life brings them. Moments of laughter, hope, sadness, despair, love, mistrust but always persist and carry on
After the Americans murdered all the inhabitants of their village, of which they are remotely witness, they flee to Saigon. The personalities of the sisters will already emerge. Tam is very careful and trusts few. Mai is more idealistic and assumes the good of a person. Once in Saigon, they try to survive in a refugee camp. Tam finds work in a restaurant which Mai thinks is too little, she sees the big money in a nightclub, working as a GI bargirl. Tam is disappointed in her sister; how can she go to work in a place where Americans come to relax after her village was massacred?
Both women do whatever it takes to survive. Both find love and lose it again. Both find the chance to escape Vietnam to America and after 10 years they will meet again, both scarred by the war and their choices.
The book depicts life where Tam as Mai are followed in different parts
The story of Tam is emotional and raw started. Through her work in the restaurant, Tam comes into contact with Ms. Hang who works for the South but cooperates with the North. She shows her the way to the work of the Viet Cong and Tam joins. Soldiers choices, the atrocities of war, finding love and losing your loved one because she is murdered. Being on the brink of death yourself, being saved and being used as a spy for the communists. The realization that you are being used, the fear of discovery, the fear for your life. With the help of others she manages to go to America, but the fear of discovery continues to color her life.
Mai follows a completely different route that leads her to America. Mai's story is emotionally heartbreaking, courageous and realistically told.
As a GI bargirl, she works to give Americans a good time when they are on leave. She falls in love with Sandy and hopes he will take her to America but he leaves Vietnam when Mai is pregnant. To survive and to be able to take care of her son, she does everything. Then she finds love with a senior captain in the South Vietnamese navy. When the war between South and North Vietnam comes to an end and where the North is victorious, she gets a chance to go to America. She sets foot in America when her son is 7 years old. Used to hard work, she manages to build an independent life for her and her son. After Tam and Mai find each other again, disaster strikes the sisters again.
A look into the lives of war survivors and their struggle to survive. Highly recommended!
I have received an ARC through the writer and am voluntarily reviewing it
December 4, 2020
HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio Book Review. The Vietnam War started more than a decade before I was born, and I have vague recollections of the final years before it came to an end. Of course I have learned more over the years, with what I have learned having a decidedly American slant to it. A BEND IN THE RIVER begins in 1968, when I was just a year old, and it provides an entirely different, thought-provoking perspective.
“She watched flames devour the huts like they were hungry.”
Author Libby Fischer Hellmann’s descriptions – whether of the destruction of a village or the crumbling of a person’s soul – is outstanding. Readers are quickly put into the scenes and the minds of the characters, sisters Tam and Mai. Though the sisters seem to have little in common, they are both resilient, resourceful, and strong women who are survivors, at all costs. It’s heartbreaking to watch their journeys, which take them in separate directions, but it’s also rewarding to watch them grow and learn and eventually forgive. I found many parallels between A BEND IN THE RIVER and Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale – which is nothing but good news for readers.
From a historical perspective, it’s clear that Hellmann has done her research. As an American, I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and uncomfortable to not only observe the atrocities of our soldiers, but to feel them via the characters in A BEND IN THE RIVER . Add to that the pain of experiencing the atrocities of the Communists, via Tam’s perspective as she fights with the Viet Cong, the war is horrifyingly real. Tam is constantly reminded of the real people, the innocent people, that her actions and allegiances directly or indirectly affected. We’re all reminded that in war, there are no winners.
ABOUT THE NARRATION. Narrator Robin Rowan takes this story to the next level with her precise and excellent performances of a wide cast of characters. She knows the nuances and inflections of the Vietnamese language, so listeners have an authentic listening experience. This narration coupled with Hellmann’s prose are a perfect pairing to provide a complete immersion into the story and lives of Mai and Tam. While it’s a challenge for those of us not familiar with Vietnamese to remember the names, words, and places, the story would lose much of its luster without them. (I intend to get the book in print since reading with my eyes tends to make words foreign to me stick.)
Reading A BEND IN THE RIVER is a fully immersive experience into the history, geography, and language of a place and time that is painful to visit but so important to remember. With an intriguing story and characters to care about, I’m adding A BEND IN THE RIVER to my Best of 2020 list.
Thank you to the author and Audiobookworm Promotions for providing me an audio download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give. This full review and more special features on Hall Ways Blog.
“She watched flames devour the huts like they were hungry.”
Author Libby Fischer Hellmann’s descriptions – whether of the destruction of a village or the crumbling of a person’s soul – is outstanding. Readers are quickly put into the scenes and the minds of the characters, sisters Tam and Mai. Though the sisters seem to have little in common, they are both resilient, resourceful, and strong women who are survivors, at all costs. It’s heartbreaking to watch their journeys, which take them in separate directions, but it’s also rewarding to watch them grow and learn and eventually forgive. I found many parallels between A BEND IN THE RIVER and Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale – which is nothing but good news for readers.
From a historical perspective, it’s clear that Hellmann has done her research. As an American, I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and uncomfortable to not only observe the atrocities of our soldiers, but to feel them via the characters in A BEND IN THE RIVER . Add to that the pain of experiencing the atrocities of the Communists, via Tam’s perspective as she fights with the Viet Cong, the war is horrifyingly real. Tam is constantly reminded of the real people, the innocent people, that her actions and allegiances directly or indirectly affected. We’re all reminded that in war, there are no winners.
ABOUT THE NARRATION. Narrator Robin Rowan takes this story to the next level with her precise and excellent performances of a wide cast of characters. She knows the nuances and inflections of the Vietnamese language, so listeners have an authentic listening experience. This narration coupled with Hellmann’s prose are a perfect pairing to provide a complete immersion into the story and lives of Mai and Tam. While it’s a challenge for those of us not familiar with Vietnamese to remember the names, words, and places, the story would lose much of its luster without them. (I intend to get the book in print since reading with my eyes tends to make words foreign to me stick.)
Reading A BEND IN THE RIVER is a fully immersive experience into the history, geography, and language of a place and time that is painful to visit but so important to remember. With an intriguing story and characters to care about, I’m adding A BEND IN THE RIVER to my Best of 2020 list.
Thank you to the author and Audiobookworm Promotions for providing me an audio download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give. This full review and more special features on Hall Ways Blog.
October 12, 2020
Award-winning crime writer Libby Fischer Hellmann takes readers back in time to 1968 Vietnam in this excellent historical novel that shows what the war looked like from the point of view of the citizens trying to survive against brutal fighting.
Tam and Mai are washing clothes in the river near their Vietnam village and return in time to watch soldiers wipe out their family and neighbors. With no money, food or survival skills, they flee to Saigon. Mai cuts her wrist trying to fish for the first time, and Tam doesn’t know how she will keep herself and her sister safe even when they get to the city. A kind man and his son take them via boat, and eventually they find work in a restaurant for very little pay.
Tired of living in a dirty refugee camp, Mai decides to work as a GI bar girl. In this job, she can dress nicely and flirt for better wages than they earned slaving away in a restaurant. She tries to learn English and seizes the opportunity to move into an apartment. Tam is disappointed and says she will cut Mai out of her life.
Tam finds a doctor who invites her to live in an apartment instead of the muddy camp where she has been trying to make a go of it. Dr. Hằng encourages her to join the Viet Cong so she can channel her grief and rage into fighting. Before long, she finds herself driving trucks through dangerous territory. She is forced into the tunnels because of the danger involved and falls in love with one of the female officers in the rebellious group. When her lover is killed, Tam is kicked out.
Meanwhile, Mai quickly becomes the head girl at the bar, showing others how to sell drinks and charm soldiers for higher pay. She falls in love with an American soldier and believes that he will take her back home with him. Instead, he leaves her pregnant and alone after he returns. Other soldiers from his unit try to befriend her, but morale is low among them, and they would rather drink than visit with Vietnamese women.
Both ladies find themselves in the increasingly desperate and dangerous city, trying to find work. Mai resorts to jobs that she never thought she could do to keep herself and her son alive. She becomes the mistress of a kind man who eventually will help them get to the U.S. Tam manages to hide and also make her way to the U.S. Mai builds a life and a business for herself and her son outside of Chicago, but she always wonders about her sister. Their paths will cross again.
Libby Fischer Hellmann brings Vietnam to vivid life in a story about a period rarely talked about in historical fiction. While the journeys for Mai and Tam are filled with struggle and hardship, each evokes hope and resilience. A BEND IN THE RIVER will stay with readers long after they have turned the last page.
Reviewed by Amy Alessio
Tam and Mai are washing clothes in the river near their Vietnam village and return in time to watch soldiers wipe out their family and neighbors. With no money, food or survival skills, they flee to Saigon. Mai cuts her wrist trying to fish for the first time, and Tam doesn’t know how she will keep herself and her sister safe even when they get to the city. A kind man and his son take them via boat, and eventually they find work in a restaurant for very little pay.
Tired of living in a dirty refugee camp, Mai decides to work as a GI bar girl. In this job, she can dress nicely and flirt for better wages than they earned slaving away in a restaurant. She tries to learn English and seizes the opportunity to move into an apartment. Tam is disappointed and says she will cut Mai out of her life.
Tam finds a doctor who invites her to live in an apartment instead of the muddy camp where she has been trying to make a go of it. Dr. Hằng encourages her to join the Viet Cong so she can channel her grief and rage into fighting. Before long, she finds herself driving trucks through dangerous territory. She is forced into the tunnels because of the danger involved and falls in love with one of the female officers in the rebellious group. When her lover is killed, Tam is kicked out.
Meanwhile, Mai quickly becomes the head girl at the bar, showing others how to sell drinks and charm soldiers for higher pay. She falls in love with an American soldier and believes that he will take her back home with him. Instead, he leaves her pregnant and alone after he returns. Other soldiers from his unit try to befriend her, but morale is low among them, and they would rather drink than visit with Vietnamese women.
Both ladies find themselves in the increasingly desperate and dangerous city, trying to find work. Mai resorts to jobs that she never thought she could do to keep herself and her son alive. She becomes the mistress of a kind man who eventually will help them get to the U.S. Tam manages to hide and also make her way to the U.S. Mai builds a life and a business for herself and her son outside of Chicago, but she always wonders about her sister. Their paths will cross again.
Libby Fischer Hellmann brings Vietnam to vivid life in a story about a period rarely talked about in historical fiction. While the journeys for Mai and Tam are filled with struggle and hardship, each evokes hope and resilience. A BEND IN THE RIVER will stay with readers long after they have turned the last page.
Reviewed by Amy Alessio
September 26, 2020
It's 1968, and Tam and Mai are two teenage girls living in a small village in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The war is raging, though they are, they think, in an out of the way spot. Their village hasn't been directly affected--yet.
And then it changes. The girls are out gathering fruit, maybe the only two not in the village, when an American unit moves in, and massacres the inhabitants. The girls see everyone they know, including their parents and baby brother, die.
Tam is a little older, a little more possessed of a personality that can make decisions in the face of the tragedy. Once the Americas are safely gone from the village, she steals a sampan, and gets them moving down the river, toward Saigon. They may be able to get jobs there, and survive.
Once they get to Saigon, it's not long before the two sisters separate. Tam is more serious, more interested in the long term; Mai is more self-indulgent, focused on Right Now, and a bit selfish. Tam sees Mai as lazy and self-centered; Mai sees Tam as rigid, demanding, and bossy.
They're both right.
Mai lies about her age to get a job as a bargirl, and Tam, while working in a restaurant, gets recruited into the Viet Cong. Mai learns to speak English, dress attractively but respectably, charm and manage GIs, and eventually to manage her fellow bargirls. She has a child, which plays a big role in breaking through the selfishness of her early teen years.
Tam is sent north for training. She learns to fight, build booby-traps, scavenge inert bombs to make new bombs, leave coded messages. She learns to do serious maintenance on the truck she drives to deliver supplies for the Viet Cong and the NVA.
They each find friendship and love, for a while. They each learn the cruelties and corruptions of the side they've chosen.
They both need to find ways to survive.
We follow them through the agonies of the war, and its end, and getting to America as refugees.
This is a beautifully done depiction of two very real young weomen living through incredible hardships and challenges. It's the Vietnam war, from not an anti-American, but from simply a Vietnamese perspective--the viewpoint of ordinary people trying to survive, not a particular ideological perspective. It's very moving, and I'm finding it staying in my head, actively, even as I've started reading my next book.
Recommended.
I received a free electronic galley from the publisher, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
And then it changes. The girls are out gathering fruit, maybe the only two not in the village, when an American unit moves in, and massacres the inhabitants. The girls see everyone they know, including their parents and baby brother, die.
Tam is a little older, a little more possessed of a personality that can make decisions in the face of the tragedy. Once the Americas are safely gone from the village, she steals a sampan, and gets them moving down the river, toward Saigon. They may be able to get jobs there, and survive.
Once they get to Saigon, it's not long before the two sisters separate. Tam is more serious, more interested in the long term; Mai is more self-indulgent, focused on Right Now, and a bit selfish. Tam sees Mai as lazy and self-centered; Mai sees Tam as rigid, demanding, and bossy.
They're both right.
Mai lies about her age to get a job as a bargirl, and Tam, while working in a restaurant, gets recruited into the Viet Cong. Mai learns to speak English, dress attractively but respectably, charm and manage GIs, and eventually to manage her fellow bargirls. She has a child, which plays a big role in breaking through the selfishness of her early teen years.
Tam is sent north for training. She learns to fight, build booby-traps, scavenge inert bombs to make new bombs, leave coded messages. She learns to do serious maintenance on the truck she drives to deliver supplies for the Viet Cong and the NVA.
They each find friendship and love, for a while. They each learn the cruelties and corruptions of the side they've chosen.
They both need to find ways to survive.
We follow them through the agonies of the war, and its end, and getting to America as refugees.
This is a beautifully done depiction of two very real young weomen living through incredible hardships and challenges. It's the Vietnam war, from not an anti-American, but from simply a Vietnamese perspective--the viewpoint of ordinary people trying to survive, not a particular ideological perspective. It's very moving, and I'm finding it staying in my head, actively, even as I've started reading my next book.
Recommended.
I received a free electronic galley from the publisher, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
September 3, 2020
This is an interesting and informative book about two sisters in Vietnam during the war. It covers the years of 1968-1978. The sisters, after watching their family being murdered by US forces, take different paths. One finds a job in South Vietnam, serving soldiers at a nightclub. The other joins forces with the North; her goal is to help reunify the country and avenge her family. Know going in that the author does not appear to be a supporter of the US’s involvement in the conflict.
I enjoyed reading this book. The author always puts in the effort for her readers. I will say that at times, her intent to educate the reader goes a little overboard and gets heavy-handed, but I could, and did, overlook that.
Know that this book does not have a traditionally happy ending. All aspects of the plot are resolved though, and I was happy enough with the conclusion. It did seem a bit unfair, but such is life.
I did feel that the LGBTQ aspect of this book was unnecessary. It added little to the story. The only thing it did do is give the one sister cause to act in what turned out to be an unwise manner. I could see that happening.
I enjoyed the book, and while it’s good, I don’t think it’s the best that this author has written. I will say that I always like her books because there’s always at least some mention of areas I know, in this case, it’s a neighborhood in Chicago.
I definitely think this book is worth a read.
I received an ARC of this book from the author. I thank her for her generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
I enjoyed reading this book. The author always puts in the effort for her readers. I will say that at times, her intent to educate the reader goes a little overboard and gets heavy-handed, but I could, and did, overlook that.
Know that this book does not have a traditionally happy ending. All aspects of the plot are resolved though, and I was happy enough with the conclusion. It did seem a bit unfair, but such is life.
I did feel that the LGBTQ aspect of this book was unnecessary. It added little to the story. The only thing it did do is give the one sister cause to act in what turned out to be an unwise manner. I could see that happening.
I enjoyed the book, and while it’s good, I don’t think it’s the best that this author has written. I will say that I always like her books because there’s always at least some mention of areas I know, in this case, it’s a neighborhood in Chicago.
I definitely think this book is worth a read.
I received an ARC of this book from the author. I thank her for her generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
September 21, 2020
~Thank you NetGalley and The Red Herrings Press for sending me an e-ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.~
Rating: 5/5
Mai and Tam are two sisters in wartime Vietnam, 1968, who struggle for survival after their small village is destroyed by the Americans and their family is slaughtered. Mai and Tam, even before this tragedy, have not had the best relationship; tensions finally build and boil over, leaving the sisters estranged from each other, each taking separate paths to salvation: Mai, to become a bar girl hanging on the arms of American GIs, and Tam, to become a fighter for the North, to destroy the Americans who took everything from her.
I could not put this book down. Everything from the development of Mai and Tam from girls to women, to the story-telling, was impeccable. There was not a single moment that I found myself bored or skipping ahead to get to the "meat" of the story. It keeps you on your toes, always guessing and wondering what will happen to the sisters next; without spoiling anything, I can say that it was a very unpredictable ending.
Mai and Tam are so different and unique in their attitudes and actions and Ms. Hellmann portraited that perfectly. The way she describes the scenes make you feel like you're right there with the sisters, living through their hardships, your heart breaking when theirs do. She shows you the realities of what lives were like for the Vietnamese unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire of the "American War," how drastically things can change for the worst, and how quickly people can die.
This is the first novel I have ever read by Ms. Hellmann, and I can only hope the rest of her novels are as extraordinary. I absolutely recommend picking up a copy of A Bend in The River--you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 5/5
Mai and Tam are two sisters in wartime Vietnam, 1968, who struggle for survival after their small village is destroyed by the Americans and their family is slaughtered. Mai and Tam, even before this tragedy, have not had the best relationship; tensions finally build and boil over, leaving the sisters estranged from each other, each taking separate paths to salvation: Mai, to become a bar girl hanging on the arms of American GIs, and Tam, to become a fighter for the North, to destroy the Americans who took everything from her.
I could not put this book down. Everything from the development of Mai and Tam from girls to women, to the story-telling, was impeccable. There was not a single moment that I found myself bored or skipping ahead to get to the "meat" of the story. It keeps you on your toes, always guessing and wondering what will happen to the sisters next; without spoiling anything, I can say that it was a very unpredictable ending.
Mai and Tam are so different and unique in their attitudes and actions and Ms. Hellmann portraited that perfectly. The way she describes the scenes make you feel like you're right there with the sisters, living through their hardships, your heart breaking when theirs do. She shows you the realities of what lives were like for the Vietnamese unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire of the "American War," how drastically things can change for the worst, and how quickly people can die.
This is the first novel I have ever read by Ms. Hellmann, and I can only hope the rest of her novels are as extraordinary. I absolutely recommend picking up a copy of A Bend in The River--you won't be disappointed.
September 28, 2020
The author is known for her crime fiction—award-winning stories at several levels. This enthralling story contains many mysteries, many still unanswered sixty years on. Why were American soldiers fighting in Viet Nam, being one of them. But this is not an academic examination of the politics of the 1960s, although international politics, brought down to an intensely personal level, is a thread that weaves throughout and informs this excellent novel.
This is an intimate look at the lives of two young Vietnamese sisters who see their family and their village near the shore of the Mekong River, obliterated by American army action. But the novel is not an excoriation of the American expedition to Southeast Asia, nor is it an apologia for the actions of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. The novel is instead, a close examination of the diverging lives of two children who are both determined to persist and to attempt to live normal positive lives in the midst of war and constant turmoil. Throughout their personal and professional development along widely divergent paths, Mai and Tam must respond, however unwillingly at times, to the implacable forces that uproot society, alter their circumstances, bring love and despair and validation.
Carefully researched, thoughtfully organized and appealingly written by a master storyteller, A BEND IN THE RIVER will teach readers about the Viet Nam era in the world while illuminating and venerating the stubborn persistence and humanity of two sisters caught in the vicious tentacles of a wartime society. I fully endorse and recommend this novel. It is an emotional, thoughtful and ultimately positive story.
This is an intimate look at the lives of two young Vietnamese sisters who see their family and their village near the shore of the Mekong River, obliterated by American army action. But the novel is not an excoriation of the American expedition to Southeast Asia, nor is it an apologia for the actions of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese. The novel is instead, a close examination of the diverging lives of two children who are both determined to persist and to attempt to live normal positive lives in the midst of war and constant turmoil. Throughout their personal and professional development along widely divergent paths, Mai and Tam must respond, however unwillingly at times, to the implacable forces that uproot society, alter their circumstances, bring love and despair and validation.
Carefully researched, thoughtfully organized and appealingly written by a master storyteller, A BEND IN THE RIVER will teach readers about the Viet Nam era in the world while illuminating and venerating the stubborn persistence and humanity of two sisters caught in the vicious tentacles of a wartime society. I fully endorse and recommend this novel. It is an emotional, thoughtful and ultimately positive story.
September 20, 2020
Living in the UK, and just being ten years old when this book starts, I have to admit that although I was aware of the Vietnam war (or American war if you are from Vietnam) I didn't really know a great deal about it, I just became aware later in my teens and early twenties about the anti-war rallies across the US, and something of the plight of the Boat People. I now have a new insight because of this wonderful, well researched book. It is told from the perspectives of two teenage sisters whose village is destroyed and their family massacred by American soldiers, they each find their own way to survive the war, ironically each ends up on different sides. Tam being idealistic turns to the communist North, whilst Mai relies on the South and the American soldiers for her survival.
There are many twists and turns that each sister takes and each one is used to give more information about the politics and reality of this awful conflict.
But please don't think that this is a dry history book, it is far more than that, it is moving, at times exciting and at other times quite romantic, but above all it is entertaining story and makes an amazing read, with a very emotional ending.
What really brings this book to life to me is the way that the two main characters are portrayed, they are so believable and human.
This author has written some great books, including some other historical stories, but for me this is by far the best thing that she has written and I feel very privileged to be an advance reader and write this honest review.
There are many twists and turns that each sister takes and each one is used to give more information about the politics and reality of this awful conflict.
But please don't think that this is a dry history book, it is far more than that, it is moving, at times exciting and at other times quite romantic, but above all it is entertaining story and makes an amazing read, with a very emotional ending.
What really brings this book to life to me is the way that the two main characters are portrayed, they are so believable and human.
This author has written some great books, including some other historical stories, but for me this is by far the best thing that she has written and I feel very privileged to be an advance reader and write this honest review.
September 21, 2020
Libby Fischer Hellmann is not a crime fiction writer. She is a chronicler of life from a gritty perspective and a seeker of truth. Her mysteries are as much about a detective solving a murder as a tour guide showing us the City of Chicago from its underbelly.
"A Bend In the River" is a highly researched, distinctive diversion from her many mystery novels. I liken it to three of her previous books:
- "War, Spies and Bobby Sox", which guides us thru a WWII espionage story that culminates in Chicago and the Manhattan Project.
- "Havana Lost", a study of a woman’s conflict between her family life amid the mafia and her subsequent life, fighting in the Cuban Revolution.
- "Set The Night on Fire", part thriller, part historical novel, which combines the 1960’s riots with contemporary life in Chicago.
"A Bend In the River" is the story to two sisters amid The American War (as the southeast Asians called it) who escape, separate, and reunite over a period of years. It tells us a saga somewhat different than what we saw on our TVs and read about in the newspapers. It personalizes the inhuman loss of life, territory, and the incalculable cost of war.
Wherever Libby Fischer Hellmann takes us, whichever period she drops us into, her research is spot on, the characters highly developed and a new eye-opening experience delivered. A half century later, it brings new perspective to an era many would like to forget. But, as Santayana said: “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.”
"A Bend In the River" is a highly researched, distinctive diversion from her many mystery novels. I liken it to three of her previous books:
- "War, Spies and Bobby Sox", which guides us thru a WWII espionage story that culminates in Chicago and the Manhattan Project.
- "Havana Lost", a study of a woman’s conflict between her family life amid the mafia and her subsequent life, fighting in the Cuban Revolution.
- "Set The Night on Fire", part thriller, part historical novel, which combines the 1960’s riots with contemporary life in Chicago.
"A Bend In the River" is the story to two sisters amid The American War (as the southeast Asians called it) who escape, separate, and reunite over a period of years. It tells us a saga somewhat different than what we saw on our TVs and read about in the newspapers. It personalizes the inhuman loss of life, territory, and the incalculable cost of war.
Wherever Libby Fischer Hellmann takes us, whichever period she drops us into, her research is spot on, the characters highly developed and a new eye-opening experience delivered. A half century later, it brings new perspective to an era many would like to forget. But, as Santayana said: “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.”
December 5, 2020
Vietnam. 1968.
A peaceful village by the Mekong is destroyed by American soldiers. The only survivors of this brutal attack are sisters, Mai, and Tam.
Traumatized and orphaned, the two sisters are suddenly dependent on their own mettle for survival.
Making their way to Saigon, they are given work from a sympathetic restaurant owner, set up in a refugee camp, and attempt a precarious existence in their new reality.
Older, serious-minded Tam is bent on survival. Younger, idealist Mai is seeking a finer life.
An irreparable rift separates the two and each goes off on their own to face their uncertain futures.
After meeting an influential figure with an agenda, Tam is persuaded to fight for the North. After years on the run and hiding from the law, Tam feels aged. She is tired of being alone and longs for sanctuary.
Mia’s beauty pays off working in a Saigon bar frequented by lonely, thirsty American GIs. After an emotional rejection, Mai has more at stake than ever and is desperate to find security and safety.
A bending of events brings both sisters to America where once again, they must each rely on their own wits and grit...until fate finally decides to criss-cross their paths.
A magnificently written novel of courage, sacrifice, survival, and ultimately family fidelity.
Highly recommend A Bend in the River.
Thank you to NetGalley and The Red Herrings Press, for the read of Libby Fischer Hellmann's. A Bend in the River.
A peaceful village by the Mekong is destroyed by American soldiers. The only survivors of this brutal attack are sisters, Mai, and Tam.
Traumatized and orphaned, the two sisters are suddenly dependent on their own mettle for survival.
Making their way to Saigon, they are given work from a sympathetic restaurant owner, set up in a refugee camp, and attempt a precarious existence in their new reality.
Older, serious-minded Tam is bent on survival. Younger, idealist Mai is seeking a finer life.
An irreparable rift separates the two and each goes off on their own to face their uncertain futures.
After meeting an influential figure with an agenda, Tam is persuaded to fight for the North. After years on the run and hiding from the law, Tam feels aged. She is tired of being alone and longs for sanctuary.
Mia’s beauty pays off working in a Saigon bar frequented by lonely, thirsty American GIs. After an emotional rejection, Mai has more at stake than ever and is desperate to find security and safety.
A bending of events brings both sisters to America where once again, they must each rely on their own wits and grit...until fate finally decides to criss-cross their paths.
A magnificently written novel of courage, sacrifice, survival, and ultimately family fidelity.
Highly recommend A Bend in the River.
Thank you to NetGalley and The Red Herrings Press, for the read of Libby Fischer Hellmann's. A Bend in the River.
August 14, 2020
Thanks to netgalley for ARC copy
In 1968 two young Vietnamese sisters flee to Saigon after their village on the Mekong River is attacked by American forces and burned to the ground. The sole survivors of the brutal massacre that killed their family, the sisters struggle to survive but become estranged, separated by sharply different choices and ideologies. Mai ekes out a living as a GI bar girl, but Tam’s anger festers, and she heads into jungle terrain to fight with the Viet Cong. For nearly ten years, neither sister knows if the other is alive. Do they both survive the war? And if they do, can they mend their fractured relationship? Or are the wounds from their journeys too deep to heal? In a stunning departure from her crime thrillers, Libby Fischer Hellmann delves into a universal story about survival, family, and the consequences of war.
What a wonderful read. Broke my heart at start and also at end. Hellman has researched this book well. I wanted to read this book as was lucky enough to go to the north of Vietnam 20 years ago and stayed on the Mekong River. I have never met such friendly people, and was interesting to read how they suffered.
Highly recommend
#ABendintheRiver #NetGalley
In 1968 two young Vietnamese sisters flee to Saigon after their village on the Mekong River is attacked by American forces and burned to the ground. The sole survivors of the brutal massacre that killed their family, the sisters struggle to survive but become estranged, separated by sharply different choices and ideologies. Mai ekes out a living as a GI bar girl, but Tam’s anger festers, and she heads into jungle terrain to fight with the Viet Cong. For nearly ten years, neither sister knows if the other is alive. Do they both survive the war? And if they do, can they mend their fractured relationship? Or are the wounds from their journeys too deep to heal? In a stunning departure from her crime thrillers, Libby Fischer Hellmann delves into a universal story about survival, family, and the consequences of war.
What a wonderful read. Broke my heart at start and also at end. Hellman has researched this book well. I wanted to read this book as was lucky enough to go to the north of Vietnam 20 years ago and stayed on the Mekong River. I have never met such friendly people, and was interesting to read how they suffered.
Highly recommend
#ABendintheRiver #NetGalley
October 7, 2020
This is normally not a book that I would read, just not the genre I would embrace, but because Libby wrote it, I figured I'd give it a go. I'm so glad I did. This book grabs you from the beginning and envelopes you to the point where it's difficult t put down. The book describes the lives of Mai and Tam, who end up orphaned after an American raid in her Vietnamese village during the Vietnam War, and the turns their lives take as a result. The reader is immersed in their lives and is kept riveted until the last words. Mai is the younger and more self-involved of the two who ends up working in a restaurant, and Tam is the older more determined, and headstrong sister who ends up working for the North. The plot is well presented from beginning to end, and if you have any doubt regarding whether or not you'd enjoy this book, erase them now. An emotion-evoking look at the lives of these two girls through their eyes, with a satisfying conclusion for the reader. Even though I initially was skeptical since this is something I wouldn't generally consider, I am so glad I read this book and highly recommend it. You won't be sorry! I received an ARC of this book and freely submit this review. All ideas expressed here are mine and mine alone.
December 14, 2024
Spanning the decade 1968-78, and told through the eyes of two young sisters growing up in the Mekong Delta, this book gives a wonderful insight into life for the ordinary Vietnamese on both sides of the war and the politics that came into play, not only to cause it, but to prolong it. After being orphaned and left homeless following a murderous attack on their village by American soldiers, we follow the lives of both girls, where at first they cling together for survival as they head to Saigon. But, being very different personalities, their relationship inevitably fractures, and each one embarks on a very different pathway to survive the war years and beyond. Tam, the eldest, finds work in a cafe before being recruited into the ranks of the Viet Cong, heading off into Vietnam’s jungles to fight on the side of the Communists. Mai, not content with the low wages she and her sister earn at the cafe, becomes a favourite at a GI escort bar, before falling in love with an American soldier. Both lives are filled with challenges and sadness that truly reflect the hardships endured by Vietnam’s people during the war and its aftermath. The only disappointing element for me was the end which was so sudden.
August 30, 2020
This book is a gift to people who lived through the horrifying period of the Vietnamese War. It's a terrible validation of all we feared. Yes, it was a cruel and horrible war, and yes, we effectively lost this war. With this war we lost the right to call ourselves the heroes we believed ourselves to be after the Second World War. We lost the idealism that our patriotism is based upon. We, to a certain sense, now see ourselves as thugs and opportunists.
The story of the two Vietnamese sisters is compelling and gives the facts we know of the war flesh and blood. Both girls find themselves in extreme situations that they never could have imagined in their small jungle village. They must reimagine themselves to survive. Their decisions are a response to the immediacy of the need to survive and their unique usefulness to certain hardened players in the war effort.
This book is beautifully researched, it gives a whole picture to a fractured and anxious time. The storytelling is masterful. You read as though you are rafting down a waterfall. I am grateful to have this new understanding of a time I largely dealt with through denial. We should know the truth about this time.
The story of the two Vietnamese sisters is compelling and gives the facts we know of the war flesh and blood. Both girls find themselves in extreme situations that they never could have imagined in their small jungle village. They must reimagine themselves to survive. Their decisions are a response to the immediacy of the need to survive and their unique usefulness to certain hardened players in the war effort.
This book is beautifully researched, it gives a whole picture to a fractured and anxious time. The storytelling is masterful. You read as though you are rafting down a waterfall. I am grateful to have this new understanding of a time I largely dealt with through denial. We should know the truth about this time.
October 7, 2020
I felt compelled to read this story of two sisters surviving after the raid on their village.
Part of the compulsion was due to the description enticing readers to pick this novel to read, the other was due to my life experiences. My father was stationed in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. He didn’t talk about it a lot but through some poignant discussions on military strategies, police procedures, occupation, and people’s behavior and fears, I came to respect each person’s outlook of this war. Many of our men and women were sent to Vietnam and that experience has shaped the rest of their lives.
I liked that this book was written from a Vietnamese perspective. I like how it shows the differences between members of the same family that shared an awful experience and their choices in relation to the violence/destruction in their community. Mot everyone sees experiences the same way nor do they react the same way.
I highly recommend this book.
I won this book on Goodreads. I am not required to leave a positive review.
Part of the compulsion was due to the description enticing readers to pick this novel to read, the other was due to my life experiences. My father was stationed in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. He didn’t talk about it a lot but through some poignant discussions on military strategies, police procedures, occupation, and people’s behavior and fears, I came to respect each person’s outlook of this war. Many of our men and women were sent to Vietnam and that experience has shaped the rest of their lives.
I liked that this book was written from a Vietnamese perspective. I like how it shows the differences between members of the same family that shared an awful experience and their choices in relation to the violence/destruction in their community. Mot everyone sees experiences the same way nor do they react the same way.
I highly recommend this book.
I won this book on Goodreads. I am not required to leave a positive review.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews