Hanoi, Adieu
Perkins, MandaleyMichel L'Herpiniere arrived in Hanoi as a teenager in the years before World War II, and fell in love with the country and its people. His story is entwined with the history of Vietnam in those years: the French response to the nationalist movement; the Japanese occupation; the rise of Vietminh and the refusal of the US to aid a "colonial regime", and the political vacuum, chaos and tragedy in the aftermath of war. [Larger font]
Comments from Groups
The group generally enjoyed the book. Insights into the real life aspects of the communist threat to the Vietnamese. The reality of communism is in stark contrast to the idealism. Auckland 134 A general consensus that we learned a great deal about the history of modern Vietnam and it's French Colonial past. The simple language and the obvious affection Michel L'Herpiniere held for the people of Indo China impressed us all. Tauranga 009 All enjoyed the book. Provided lots of discussion, especially those of us who remembered the demonstrations against the war, years ago. Whakatane 002 Fascinating book. A few found it some-what detailed, but most thought it a very interesting read, especially as we all know about the Vietnam war, but not this preceeding period. Te Puki 007 We all felt we learned a great deal about Indo China, the French involvement there and the Vietnam war. All the place names were familiar. Upper Hutt 002
Pages
323
323
Year
2005
2005
Reviews
19-07-2023
This book was universally enjoyed by all members. People were fascinated by the history, and thought the prose was excellent in evoking atmosphere.
01-05-2023
The group enjoyed this book for the historical insights it gave about Vietnam during the French Occupation and the Second World War. Although those who looked up the history found the French were a lot more brutal and exploitative than Michel told. The characterisation of the protagonist was two dimensional and although his idealism was endearing he was a bit annoying! We would have liked more depth. It was also disconcerting to have it ghost written, but in first person narrative. His portrait of the generosity of the Vietnamese was accurate. The notes were very good.
13-09-2021
As with all our books this year our group was divided as to the merits of 'Hanoi Adieu'. For me it was an eye-opener into a period of history I knew little about, and the disastrous consequences of meddling that the great powers caused; much food for thought.
13-09-2021
Mixed review on this book - some liked it better than others. Questions gave us a good discussion.
13-09-2021
Most unusually everyone in the group enjoyed this book. We thought it well-written and very interesting. There was good discussion.
13-09-2021
The writer captures the voice of the subject of the memoir well. The book gives a very interesting insight into the 20th century history of Vietnam.
13-09-2021
Those of us who knew very little about Vietnam found this book fascinating and informative.
13-09-2021
We found this fascinating. None of us had any idea how the Vietnam War started so it was a real 'eye opener'.
13-09-2021
Great discussion about history, war, mankind, oppression, religion, and how we as a race still repeat actions. We found the character of Michael a bit weak in some respects.
13-09-2021
Mostly enjoyed the book - a little brutal at the start. Indo-China is a term that most knew but this book explained its 'recent' history. Except for Covid, Hanoi sounds like a really interesting place to visit. Interesting view on USA and their influence in the area.