Perspective

Huynh Quang Nhuong was a Vietnamese-born author writing about his experiences growing up in the rural highlands of Vietnam during the 1950s. He was born in Mytho, Vietnam. He writes in the first-person, autobiographically. Beyond the early formative years described in the book, his family (along with the entire country) was impacted by the Franco-Vietnamese War and later the Vietnam War. Nhuong fought in the Vietnam War, and was paralyzed by a bullet wound. Afterwards, he came to the United States for medical treatment, and stayed in the States to study literature. The Land I Lost was his first book, published in 1982.

Given Nhuong's terrible experiences with war, The Land I Lost is a very nostalgic look at an innocent time period in Nhuong's life. It is a recollection of a time full of adventure and wonder, when the world was new and anything seemed possible. Adult Nhuong...