Play Book Tag discussion

Tricia is the young, newly married, naïve, and pliable wife of an American advisor in Vietnam, presumably a CIA operative just before the war (the American one) starts in the early 60s. In Saigon, she gets involved with Charlene, another American wife, who fills her days by doing little good deeds (mostly passing out toys and candy) for orphans, hospital patients, and other unfortunates, of whom there was no shortage in the corrupt Diem regime. They hit on the idea of funding these deeds by getting their skilled seamstresses to sew beautiful little ao dai outfits for Barbie dolls, which they hawk to other expatriates. Otherwise, the ladies spend their time napping, lounging by the pool, shopping, and gossiping at cocktail parties. Tricia is desperate to have her own child and McDermott did a good job of showing her longing and anguish, as well as her insecurity around the sophisticated Charlene. The descriptions of expat life in that time and place are good. One senses that Charlene is not to be trusted as Tricia’s friend and some tension mounts, waiting to see if this is true. Meanwhile Tricia’s character is developing as she begins to take more charge of her own life. These factors kept me sufficiently interested to keep reading.

However, one aspect of the book really bothered me, and it’s hard not to let it overshadow everything else. Among the recipients of Charlene’s good deeds are the inhabitants of a leprosarium. McDermott is hardly the first author to take advantage of this trope for do-gooding and to exploit the easy stereotyping in describing people afflicted with leprosy; I’d have hoped, however, that an author of her quality would be more careful and compassionate. Her descriptions contain numerous medical inaccuracies.
Leprosy has never been a fatal nor particularly painful disease for the vast majority who have it, despite the myriad and ancient misconceptions that abound. The worst pain suffered by people afflicted with leprosy over the centuries has been from the cruelty and stigmatization due to societal ignorance. I was dismayed when McDermott described someone with leprosy as a monster. She includes a scene in which the caretakers are astonished that the do-gooding ladies get the leprosy patients to laugh -- as if people with leprosy have lost this basic human characteristic. Every one of the people in that fictional leprosarium was someone’s beloved parent or child or sibling and describing them as she did, invoking disgust and revulsion, is painfully dehumanizing. If authors want to set scenes in leprosaria I wish they’d learn more about the disease and avoid promulgating cruel, inaccurate stereotypes. Unfortunately, this is what I’ll remember from the book.

I agree with what you are saying about leprosy. My take on it (and the reason I liked it more than you did) was that the author was criticizing the women who were trying to get cache' or admiration out of helping those with leprosy rather than truly being interested in them as people. The views of leprosy in the 1960s when the book is set were pretty antiquated and flat out wrong. I thought McDermott was portraying the leprosarium from the viewpoint of the characters, not making general comments on the disease. (But this is just my view and I'm not claiming I am correct.)

Susan wrote: "Tricia is the young, newly married, naïve, and pliable wife of an American advisor in Vietnam, presumably a CIA operative just before the war (the American one) starts in the early 60s. In Saigon, ..."

I knew very little about Hansen’s disease until I read Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa this year. It’s a lovely Japanese book that handled the topic in a very gentle and compassionate way. One of the characters had it in the past, and her story is a significant part of the book. I recommend it.

Thanks, Nancy. Another good one that contains a main component about the disease is Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

Joy D wrote: "I agree with what you are saying about leprosy. My take on it (and the reason I liked it more than you did) was that the author was criticizing the women who were trying to get cache' or admiration..."

Thanks, Joy. I believe you're right about the author's intention to criticize Charlene's intentions, or at least show the shallowness there. And you have a good point about trying to portray the leprosarium from the point of view of the characters. The medical inaccuracies, however, annoyed me.

NancyJ wrote: "Susan wrote: "Tricia is the young, newly married, naïve, and pliable wife of an American advisor in Vietnam, presumably a CIA operative just before the war (the American one) starts in the early 60..."

NancyJ wrote: "Susan wrote: "Tricia is the young, newly married, naïve, and pliable wife of an American advisor in Vietnam, presumably a CIA operative just before the war (the American one) starts in the early 60..."

Several decades ago I read Gail Tsukiyama's book, The Samurai's Garden, and remember it as also as doing a good job portraying a character with leprosy.