Romancing Vietnam: Inside the Boat Country

by Justin Wintle

Examines popular myths and misconceptions about the country, offers a view of postwar Vietnam, and discusses its landscape, the dignity of the peasantry in the face of poverty, and more

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

464 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1991

Reviews

[Dillon Patel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took a hefty time to finish - about 6 weeks. That includes 3 weeks in situ of the country the author describes.

I’m glad I finished this, it was nostalgic to read about places I visited but it suffered from repetitiveness of diary style entries. The language and outdated views from the late 80s means it’ll be 2 stars - but I was thankful for the history and economics lesson to add a bit of context to the beautiful country that has suffered so much.

[Enrico · Rating 3 out of 5]

A time capsule of a very specific time (autumn of 1989) - the diary format makes it a bit of a slog to read at times, but there's a lot of interesting interviews, stories and political commentary

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling account of Vietnam as it awoke from the isolation of the post war period, Wintle's book is a very readable travelogue that paints a vivid portrait of this remarkable country. Today, sat among the travellers' cafes of Hanoi's Old Quarter, the descriptions of yesteryear seem a world away - then, the Metropole hotel was something of a fleapit; now, it's owned by Sofitel and charges 290 dollars for a room.

Wintle's guides are briefed to provide a party line and Ho Chi Minh is shown to be a man who almost transcends the nation - his influence is all pervading. Many Saigon 33s are drunk and many a bowl of pho consumed as the author plays the role of intrepid, grizzled hack to a tee. But, beneath the generally relaxed tone are some astonishing revelations - most notably, the discovery of a massacre perpetrated by South Korean troops in the Vietnam War, almost on a par with the much more famous My Lai atrocity. Subsequent internet searches revealed to me little more information on this Binh Hoa incident - which would seem to indicate blatant suppression. Interviews with locals are very moving and despite the author's avowed intention to cover the Vietnam of 1989-90, the US campaign looms large.

Wintle's grasp of geopolitics is also nuanced and the book was written in the decade following Vietnam's ousting of the Khmer Rouge and significant border clashes with China. The countty's fate was to suffer as a pawn in superpower games but an interview with a tourism minister of the time shows that there has been a method and strategy behind Vietnam's twenty years of economic growth.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully affectionate view of Vietnam and its people.

The author walks, cycles and rides by bus from Saigon to create a traditional travel book, but in so doing elaborates on the Vietnam we have come to know through journalism, books and film and its comparison to the real place.

[Hulananni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting .... the perspective is from 1989 / 1990...very different from what we're seeing now in the country.