Charlie and the Children is a novel about an American soldier who goes to war, fathers a son, and abandons him. He is taken captive by the Viet Cong and held in a cave in a tunnel underground. Sick, starving, and alone, he grdually loses his grip on reality and becomes convinced that one of his captors is his lost son. In clear, lyrical prose, Joanna C Scott has written a book that is at the same time mythic and believable. Although a number of fine Vietnam war novels have been published, Charlie and the Children is unique in its concern and its surpassing quality.
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While living in Philippines in the 1980s, I met a young Amerasian, Vu Hai, at a refugee camp in the mountains of Bataan. Vu Hai's father, an American GI, had married his mother while on tour in Vietnam and had two children with her. He returned to the U.S. promising to send for them, but he never did. Instead, he married someone else. After the fall of Saigon, Vu Hai and his mother became boat people and eventually came to the Philippines. His sister did not make it. She was shot by the Communist Home Guard while trying to get on a boat. The Joint Voluntary Agency helped Vu Hai locate his father, who lived in Florida, but his father refused to sponsor him or help in any way. When I heard this, I asked Vu Hai to let me contact his father. I wanted to tell him what a smart, brave, handsome son he had, to persuade him to change his mind. But Vu Hai said no, he would get to the States without his father's help. And that was that. But Vu Hai's father haunted me. I wanted to know his story, what had befallen him in Vietnam, why he would reject his son. I dreamed of him at night and could not put him from my mind. One day, back home in the US, I was working at my computer. It was one of those gray winter days in Virginia, bleak outside and dark inside. The only light came from my screen. I heard a man crying. I jumped up and searched the house, but there was no one, and I realized I was having an auditory hallucination. I sat back down, set my fingers on the keyboard, and a man's voice came out of the air. It was Charlie's voice. He wrote this novel for me.
See Joanna Catherine Scott's website at joannacatherinescott.com
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Condition: Good. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ][ Ships Daily ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] [ Edition: First ] Publisher: Black Heron Press Pub Date: 1/1/1997 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 235 First edition. Seller Inventory # 5984487
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Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # P06B-02450
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. In VG+ DJ; Black cloth hardback. 236 pp. Novel about Vietnam vet & his Amerasian son; 8vo; 236 pages. Seller Inventory # 30874
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Ex-Library Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good to Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Ex-Library book. Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Refugees--Fiction. Abandoned children--Fiction. 235 pages. 23 cm. Ex-Library. Seller Inventory # 4006945
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st. 235 pp. VG+/VG+. Am american soldier in Viet Nam believes one of his captors is his abandoned son. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book. Seller Inventory # 31841
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. First Edition, inscribed to previous owner on FEP. Very Good black hardcover with silver titling to spine. DJ Very Good with hardly any wear at all. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Inscribed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # G7595
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Condition: As New. First edition copy. . Very Good dust jacket. In protective mylar cover. Seller Inventory # J00D-00667
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