The Principal's Daughter

Thanks to Dog Ear Publishing and Russ Katz for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion

This book tells a story of survival of a Vietnamese family before and during the war.
Knowing that the story is a true story does add to the recanted accounts.
It is moving and traumatic like any war story is. There is pain, hunger, violence and distress but it is also an uplifting story which tells about the resilience of the human spirit.

The book is mostly written through the eyes of Kim Tuyen, the school principal’s daughter, who was raised in Vietnam during the war.
When the American arrived, her family worked for the soldiers and Kim’s life changed dramatically.
The story is captivating.
Like with any historical account, one feels insightful, curious, lucky and guilty to be reading about some elses’s hardship.
I did not particularly enjoyed the simplicity of a foreigner’s English vocabulary, but it does make for a more authentic account of Kim’s story, and for an emotional read.

It did remind me of the famous movie ‘Indochine’ with Catherine Deneuve.
I am very surprised that this book has not yet gotten more coverage as it definitively is a very interesting book to read and a memorable story.

I really enjoyed this book! It is a true story of a young woman and her family as they undergo the siege of Saigon during the Vietnam war. The main character, Kim, tells her story starting from childhood. As the story unfolds, other members of her family share their story. It is well written and flows nicely between family members.

This was a fantastic story about an inspirational woman, Kim who lives during the Vietnam war and experiences not only their quest for freedom, but also her own. Kim is a resilient soul whose dreams are destroyed and it is up to her bravery and hope to remake them. This is not a typical story and it is one that will both teach you something about Vietnam and touch your heart. Rich in description and food references, the world comes alive and while we will never be able to know these experiences, we begin to get a glimmer of these moments: both good and bad.

5 Stars

I knew little about Vietnam other than living through the war myself. I watched the protests here at home and lost friends over there. One of my favorite movies remains “The Killing Fields” about the journalist Sydney Schanberg and his friend Dith Pran. While that movie is primarily about Cambodia, I believe much applies to Vietnam as well.

This book opened my eyes to a whole new facet of the Vietnam war; the people; the villagers who had to live through it, not only when the US pulled out, but for years after as well.

It is a well written and thoughtful accounting of the day to day life of one young woman. Her terror and hardships were heart wrenching.

If you’d like a down to earth account of the war, this is the book for you. No who is right or wrong, just what was the reality for one woman.

I would like to read more from Russ Katz.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dog Ear Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.