Part 6, p. 180 - 211 Summary

The narrative is written in the third person perspective and in the present tense. It describes how the process of writing the novel seems to be boring and unproductive to Kien. Kien encounters a soldier during the war who seems to think an attack of venereal disease is far worse than his other wounds. Kien then contemplates how many of his surviving comrades have settled into quiet lives on their farms and recalls a quiet and peaceful visit that his northern unit paid to a southern farm. That visit illustrated to many soldiers in Kien's unit that the way of life they were fighting for was not necessarily the best and that no matter what political system people lived under, they were still just people.

Kien recalls his youthful romance with Phuong, her skill at the piano, and his...