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libraryjen's review
4.0
War, father-son and marriage relationships, PTSD, homelessness, mental illness, death, families, and love: all dealt with tastefully and honestly.
Thought-provoking and sometimes painful to read, this one will be with me for awhile.
Thought-provoking and sometimes painful to read, this one will be with me for awhile.
gh7's review
4.0
I recently watched the brilliant ten part documentary about the Vietnam war and was keen to learn how it has been dramatized in fiction. There's actually very little of the war itself in this novel; it's more about the repercussions. It could have been a fascinating insight into machismo - the role it plays in a growing male's identity. And though it did make me think of this side of a male's sense of self it fell short in offering revelations perhaps because the author was too tied to his own personal story to embrace wider opportunities for exploring the male psyche.
The father is a proud WW2 veteran whose hero is General Patten. The kind of man who would approve of slapping a soldier suffering from shellshock and calling him a coward. Mr Macho in other words. The kind of father with a narrow stifling principle of manliness. The elder son, to please his father, volunteers for the Vietnam war but secures a safe office job behind the lines; the younger son spits in the face of the father and flees to Canada to evade the draft, never to speak to his father again. The novel doesn't dramatise these events except in brief flashbacks. Mostly, we see the characters as ageing individuals still dealing with the repercussions of these decisions. The premise for most of the introspection in the novel is that the father is proud of his elder son and ashamed of his younger son. It doesn't frankly come as much of s surprise that this isn't the case. A cushy office job behind the lines is hardly going to impress Mr macho male. More likely he's going to be secretly prouder of his younger son who at least showed courage in his convictions. To provide some dramatic tension the author drafts in the mentally damaged son of a Vietnam veteran, a ploy sat a bit awkwardly for me in terms of artistry.
It's a well written novel which held my interest from start to finish but I kept thinking there was a much better novel buried in the material. It has an average rating here of 3.61 and I'd say that's right on the money.
The father is a proud WW2 veteran whose hero is General Patten. The kind of man who would approve of slapping a soldier suffering from shellshock and calling him a coward. Mr Macho in other words. The kind of father with a narrow stifling principle of manliness. The elder son, to please his father, volunteers for the Vietnam war but secures a safe office job behind the lines; the younger son spits in the face of the father and flees to Canada to evade the draft, never to speak to his father again. The novel doesn't dramatise these events except in brief flashbacks. Mostly, we see the characters as ageing individuals still dealing with the repercussions of these decisions. The premise for most of the introspection in the novel is that the father is proud of his elder son and ashamed of his younger son. It doesn't frankly come as much of s surprise that this isn't the case. A cushy office job behind the lines is hardly going to impress Mr macho male. More likely he's going to be secretly prouder of his younger son who at least showed courage in his convictions. To provide some dramatic tension the author drafts in the mentally damaged son of a Vietnam veteran, a ploy sat a bit awkwardly for me in terms of artistry.
It's a well written novel which held my interest from start to finish but I kept thinking there was a much better novel buried in the material. It has an average rating here of 3.61 and I'd say that's right on the money.
madtraveler's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written and nice juggling of characters. Explores the issues of war and what constitutes bravery or honor, especially within the context of father and son.
8little_paws's review against another edition
4.0
This is a mostly very good book about two brothers whose paths intersect after a nearly 50 year separation upon an injury to their elderly father. One of the brothers is a Vietnam vet and the other defected to Canada. It also goes into their relationships and aging. I thought the family stuff was well done, and there's a lot of reflecting on how war changes men, but the stuff about their relationships wasn't necessary and at times was distracting. But all in all, pretty well written.
lonesomereader's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read and admired short fiction by Robert Olen Butler in the past so I was highly intrigued to read his new novel “Perfume River”. The story is centres around brothers Robert and Jimmy who have been separated for almost fifty years. When they were both young men they were pressured by their domineering pro-war father William to fight. Robert enlisted for a non-combat position to avoid causing any bloodshed himself, but he inevitably became entangled in conflict. Jimmy chose to move to Canada and pursue an open relationship within a commune. Ideological divisions have torn this family apart, but when elderly William is seriously injured in 2015 the family comes together again to lay old grievances to rest. This is an elegiac, thoughtful novel which shows the long-term deleterious effects war has upon families, the complex intensity of lifelong relationships and the real meaning of masculinity.
Read my full review of Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler on LonesomeReader
Read my full review of Perfume River by Robert Olen Butler on LonesomeReader
rachel_from_avid_bookshop's review against another edition
4.0
This is a novel about fathers and sons, wives and husbands, war and what comes after. Robert Olen Butler is a gifted writer.
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