From Publishers Weekly "Schaeffer has again produced a tour de force in this stunning Vietnam chronicle， in which she conveys the emotions and actions of men in battle and the anguish of those who survive and are irrevocably scarred. She does this in a narrative of epic length that moves， with few lapses， with the implacable power of fate，" commended PW. Author tour. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal At novel's open in Vietnam， young Li is standing on her water buffalo's back when he is shot by American soldiers; emblem of her brutalized country， she haunts what follows like a conscience. Meanwhile， in America， Pete Bravado grows up lonely and confused in an Italian-American family that has just missed the American dream. The two are "wandering souls" who meet briefly when Bravado serves in Vietnam. His service is the centerpiece of the novel， and though initially Schaeffer seems only to be telling and not showing us what happens to him， eventually the telling becomes immensely powerful. For Bravado--as for America itself--there is no explanation for what he has seen， and no absolution; the war "is never going to be over." Only on the final page of this swift if densely detailed novel does Schaeffer offer us some hope: after this war， "Maybe we're new Americans." But what she has shown us so wrenchingly is the old America in agony， and if her reach sometimes exceeds her grasp， still she is to be commended for her vision.- Barbara Hoffert， "Library Journal"Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. See all Editorial Reviews