By using a non-linear writing style, author's can easily confuse the reader as the events in the book become one big blur. There is no defined chronological order of events as thoughts and memories mesh together into one big picture. Non-linear storytelling does have a positive aspect to it though. By not writing through a stream of consciousness in The Sorrow of War, Bao Ninh gives you a more personal look into the character's lives before and after the war. He lets the characters unfold before the reader's eyes as they come into a new perspective with each scene that they're in. Kien's old girlfriend Phuong is brought up numerous times throughout the novel. The first the reader meets her after the war when she is leaving Kien's life for good. As the novel progresses the reader sees the loving sides of Phuong and...