Indochine

by Christie Dickason

Nina, a half-French, half-Vietnamese woman left to fend for herself in the wake of the French withdrawal from Vietnam, rises to a powerful position amidst the chaos of Saigon

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

688 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

About the author

I started to write at the age of three, long before I could spell. Understandably, I hid my poems and (very) short stories from my English professor father, who could spell words like ‘desiccate’ and also insisted on correct grammar. All the same, he passed on to me his delight in books and words as well as his joy in pursuing intellectual curiosity. Under his influence, I learned to relish research and value accuracy. (He also kick-started my interest in mountain climbing by putting his uncensored edition of Lady Chatterley’s Lover on the highest shelf of his study.)

While living abroad with my family for most of my teens, in Thailand, Mexico and Switzerland, I studied anywhere I could, from the International Children’s Centre in Bangkok, through home-tutoring, to an old-fasioned Swiss convent school. I went on to read English at Harvard University (BA, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa), then earned an MFA in Theatre at the Yale University Drama School (winning a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and the Shubert Memorial Fellowship for Best Director).

From the age of eleven, I also studied dance (and performed): ballet at the Lichine School in Lausanne, modern dance with a former member of Martha Graham’s company, Robert Cohan, and Thai classical dance with a retired member of the King of Thailand’s troupe. At the age of fifteen, I once found myself teaching Thai folk dance to the Thai Women’s Culture club in Bangkok. At the age of 23, I thought writing was far too much fun to be a serious way to earn a living, so I became a director and choreographer.

After fourteen years in the theatre (with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Rocky Horror Show, Oh! Calcutta!, and at Ronnie Scott’s, among others) illness forced me to stop . While convalescing, I read a particularly dire paperback and decided in exasperation to see if I could do any better. Bed-bound and with L-plates on, I returned to my secret passion for writing and hand-wrote my first novel. This book was never published, but it brought me a commission for my ‘official’ first novel (THE DRAGON RIDERS, published by Century), which astonished me by reaching number twelve on the best-seller list. What had seemed at first like a health disaster led me ‘home’ into a new career that not only allows time to eat and sleep but also lets me do what I love most. (My illness also, when I was ready to deal with it, fuelled my historical novel, QUICKSILVER, about a supposed 17th c. 'werewolf'.)

As well as seven internationally-published novels (most recently THE PRINCIPESSA, I also write poetry, short stories, newspaper articles and works for the theatre. I particularly enjoy collaborating with the award-winning composer Cecilia McDowall on musical works ranging from conventional songs and cantatas to the huge and indescribable, all of which have been performed.

Our most recent project was a 'green cantata', FIVE SEASONS, commissioned ‘to celebrate the organic landscape in the 21st century’ by the Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir. And we are currently (2007) setting up a follow-on community music project in Cumbria.

As a change from my computer, I enjoy extreme trekking and scrambling in Bolivia and the Western Highlands of Scotland, organic gardening, cooking, eating and recreational talking with friends and family. I don’t think writers take holidays.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this novel 3*'s but I guess maybe it should have 3.5*'s, I found the first 2/3's of the novel very interesting and well developed, however the last third was very disappointing. I felt she tried to hard to make the American in the story like the American in Graham Greene's The Quiet American and did not pul it off and she disappointed me with her characterization of the female protagonist in the end. I do not want to give anything away since I think it is a book that should be be read or reread, so that is all I will say. The 2/3's of the book was excellent and the protagonist of the part of the book, the father of the woman in the last 1/3, was very well drawn and believable....

[Warren Fretwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirkus reviews says this is "a sprawling romantic novel in the epic mode." Well, they got that much right, but do you really want to waste your time on 581 pages of implausible plot twists, stereotyped characters and unbelievable love interests?

I am a slow reader, but plugged along hoping there would be something redeeming in this overlong tale, but I didn't find much.

Young Nina, a half Vietnamese, half French teenager--takes over her father's opium empire after he escapes to the Asian jungle while the French are forced out of Vietnam, Ho begins his takeover of the south, and America builds up its disastrous defense of the domino theory. Seems like it might lead to an interesting story, but for the fact that it doesn't.

Do you think a teenager has the chops to head a drug trafficking operation, run a transport company and oversea a "love" hotel? Can that same person learn the entire operation of these activities by reading documents found in her father's safe deposit box? Does it seem likely she would be able to navigate the political and social upheaval of the times while rising from the bombed out remnants of her father's home, scavenging on the streets while dodging bullets and explosions, then playing the French, the Americans, various Vietnamese elements and the MAFIA off one another?

Well, you might think this is a bit of a reach. The author apparently thought it was all quite plausible. I thought it was nonsense.

In the end Nina falls for the big, tall American in whose arms she finally feels safe and secure. Mind you, this occurs after Nina essentially establishes herself as the Dragon Lady! What tripe!

Save yourself a considerable amount of time and effort and skip this book!

BTW, a movie by the same name with Catherine Denueve was released in 1992, but, although it covers some of the same period as well as conflicts, it is not based on Dickason's 1987 novel. Unlike the book, "Indochine," the movie, won a couple of awards: the academy award and golden globe for best foreign film.

[Lynne Hazlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the history of the french occupation of indochina. It is one of my favorite books of all times. well written, it draws you into the story, letting you see, breathe, and feel the life of a French landowner.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the one hand, one does admire the amount of research and writing that's gone into this "epic" story. Some of the characters are well crafted and there are some effective explorations of particular periods in the 20th century history of Vietnam. On the other hand, it's hard to image a teenager taking a drug outfit; the role of the father ultimately doesn't make sense; the final love interest feels like a piece of Mills & Boon Orientalism. If you want to know all about the drug industry in Vietname in the 1950s and 1960s, this is the book for you.

[Peter Chao]

I learned some French: 'mon dieu' or my god(!). Something #StarTrekTNG Picard Captain Picard Jean Luc Picard would say.
I wasn't associating/thinking about Captain Picard at the time I was reading Indochine. But it seemed keyful. 'Mon dieu' is French and Picard is a vintner.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly, no big deal.

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book randomly at a book fair. It intrigued me because I have been to Vietnam twice and am fascinated by the country and its relationship with colonialism and the United States. I also happen to like historical fiction, so this seemed like my type of book. The first half of the book went really quickly for me, but I felt it was just too long and my attention span really began to wane as it went on. It's not that I have anything against long books. I read Ken Follett's novels in days. I just didn't find myself turning the pages once I got to the middle and later on. It definitely could have been more concise, and that is the main reason I gave it three stars rather than four. For anyone interested in the colonial era of Vietnam, I highly recommend the unrelated French film Indochine. The storyline is completely different, but the movie gives a great view of Vietnam before the war.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it! And thought the background information, historical and cultural was very interesting. I did not know that opium was so pervasive in Indochina. How could I not know? An eyeopener.

The character of Nina was very well drawn and totally sympathetic. How could anyone manage to live through that time?

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great sense of place and history; Vietman through six decades. But characters seem a little articifial. In their poace and time they are interesting, but in the end they become artifacts, just there to illustrate a story. With the exception that the heroine Nina is very well done...

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical fiction about french controlled vietnam. Very moving.

[Mickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memorable Vietnam Saga spanning 15 years, told from the viewpoint of a Vietnames/French woman.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book very much. The characters and setting gave me a different prespective about Vietnam during it's French Colonial period in history.