Official Review: The Girl From Hanoi by Tom Myers
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Official Review: The Girl From Hanoi by Tom Myers
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Girl From Hanoi" by Tom Myers.]
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“The Girl From Hanoi” follows the life of Austin Mars, a young man enlisted in the military and sent to Vietnam. While expecting to only stay on the base in Vietnam for a night, he ends up being stationed there and so is forced to spend much more time there than he wants. Mars is eager to leave Vietnam because he is certain that he’ll die there; so he sets out to find a way out of Vietnam using any means necessary, even going as far as drug smuggling. Along the way he is flown into some harrowing situations and meets a beautiful officer whom he takes up relations with, even though it isn’t exactly encouraged. He also takes up relations with a few young, local, women whom have the potential to help him get out of Vietnam.
The plot of this book was relatively engaging. The book mostly revolves around the relationships of the characters and the dialogue between them in making the action happen, but there is still enough action throughout the story to keep it engaging. There is a lot of mystery as to who the characters are really loyal to and who they actual are, making this book an interesting book to read from a mystery perspective. The parts of the story that involve drug running are interspersed throughout the story and are full of action and are exciting to read.
For the first couple chapters in this book the characters really got on my nerves. Mars was disrespectful, obnoxious, and seemed to have a real problem with authority. Although I felt that way at first, by a couple chapters in Mars began to change (or I just got used to his character). Once I got used to his character, I found Mars to be rather funny and amusing throughout the story. There were many other characters throughout the story that had a lot more intrigue about them than Mars did. Lang and Cami were two young women whom Mars took up relations with in the hopes of securing their help to get out of Vietnam. Both women are of Asian descent and are shrouded in mystery, making them extremely interesting characters for Mars to interact with.
Meyers definitely understands how to write an engaging war story. The descriptions of the fighting scenes were so vivid that the action felt real. The relationship between all of the people, whether they were officers or enlisted men, was also extremely well written. The author definitely understands the workings of the military and some of the unwritten rules that go along with it, making this book a realistic and pleasurable read.
In the end, I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. While I struggled with liking the main character during the first few chapters and didn’t know if I would be able to enjoy the story, he quickly grew on me and I found myself sucked into the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in war stories or stories with really realistic character interactions.
***
Buy "The Girl From Hanoi" on Amazon
Share This Review
The plot of this book was relatively engaging. The book mostly revolves around the relationships of the characters and the dialogue between them in making the action happen, but there is still enough action throughout the story to keep it engaging. There is a lot of mystery as to who the characters are really loyal to and who they actual are, making this book an interesting book to read from a mystery perspective. The parts of the story that involve drug running are interspersed throughout the story and are full of action and are exciting to read.
For the first couple chapters in this book the characters really got on my nerves. Mars was disrespectful, obnoxious, and seemed to have a real problem with authority. Although I felt that way at first, by a couple chapters in Mars began to change (or I just got used to his character). Once I got used to his character, I found Mars to be rather funny and amusing throughout the story. There were many other characters throughout the story that had a lot more intrigue about them than Mars did. Lang and Cami were two young women whom Mars took up relations with in the hopes of securing their help to get out of Vietnam. Both women are of Asian descent and are shrouded in mystery, making them extremely interesting characters for Mars to interact with.
Meyers definitely understands how to write an engaging war story. The descriptions of the fighting scenes were so vivid that the action felt real. The relationship between all of the people, whether they were officers or enlisted men, was also extremely well written. The author definitely understands the workings of the military and some of the unwritten rules that go along with it, making this book a realistic and pleasurable read.
In the end, I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. While I struggled with liking the main character during the first few chapters and didn’t know if I would be able to enjoy the story, he quickly grew on me and I found myself sucked into the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in war stories or stories with really realistic character interactions.
***
Buy "The Girl From Hanoi" on Amazon
