The Sorrow Of War By Bo Ninh

The Sorrow of War, a work of historical fiction by Bo Ninh, follows a Vietnamese boy, Kien, drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. The novel is third person limited, using flashbacks and flash-forwards to reveal Kien’s story as he deals with the impact his trauma has on his memory. Numerous examples in Kien’s story illuminate not only the harrowing nature of war, but also his reliance on the more untroubled past, the exponentially declining tolerance for man’s barbarity, and the personification of society’s misogynistic treatment toward women. The author establishes Kien's character early in the story as a soldier heavily affected by war. Through the use of auditory imagery and analepsis, Kein is inconsistently humane and merciful towards perpetrators, yet has a

Though the way the soldier's insensitive treatment of the corpse is disgusting, Kien still maintains a sense of morality. In both of these illustrations of brutality against women, a spark of Kien’s inner balance between right and wrong allows him to place the value of human life over violent emotional responses. Ironically, these merciless actions point to Kien’s evident misogyny and carelessness towards women in general. Further in the book, Kien establishes disinterest for any woman other than Phuong in his life. This novel offers numerous examples of social commentary through the use of irony, symbolism, and point of view. Ninh clearly illustrates the patriarchal structure of Vietnamese society through an experience with a young female comrade of Kien’s. When Ninh introduces Hoa, a young female comrade, “Kien... [has] no confidence in Hoa...[and] he spoke threateningly: ‘If you don't lead us to the riverbank... you understand the consequences...’” (Ninh 185-186). Being a woman, he immediately does not trust her nor believe that she has any competence as a