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Summary: Loved The Aroma!
Review: Robert Olen Butler cooks up a feast of spices -- some sweet, some bitter ... all very moving. His ability to capture so many voices is facinating. It is a special collection of human recipes which satisfies the most challenging literary appetite.
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Summary: The Vietnam we never knew
Review: Robert Olen Butler was ordered to Vietnam, like several hundred thousand young Americans of his generation. But while he was no stranger to the visceral terrors of that politically, tactically and morally awkward war, Vietnamese culture was not opaque, puzzling and frustrating to him, as it was to most American soldiers. Because of his facility with language, Butler was first assigned to master the complexly musical Vietnamese language, so that he could serve as a translator-liaison between the American military and their South Vietnamese counterparts. Once in Vietnam, Butler used his fluency for a more humane pursuits: When off-duty he went into the streets in civilian garb, conversing with common people in doorways, homes and businesses -- a crucial tutorial in their character, attitudes, history and culture. Butler says that this uncommon access compelled him to "fall in love" with the Vietnamese people and their ancient culture, and that love shines in the remarkable set of stories compiled in "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain." The unifying aspect of these touching stories, which captured the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is that each is told in the gentle voice of a Vietnamese dislocated by war and resettled in southern Louisiana, The Vietnam War and its aftermath are addressed in dozens of books, but this compilation offers a unique and revealing perspective on Vietnam for a country still haunted by that doomed, ambiguous war. Poetic without being precious, sentimental without being maudlin, sensitive but far from enervated, these stories are a must-read landmark of literary humanity.
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Summary: Traces in Memory
Review: The stories contained in this volume explore the aftermath of the Vietnam War from the point of view of the Vietnamese. I found this aspect of the book intriguing. There have been so many books written about the effects of the war from the American point of view, but very few written from the point of view of the Vietnamese.For me, the overriding emotions in A GOOD SCENE FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN were beauty, tragedy and, most of all, a profound sense of loss. At first, I was a little disappointed that the stories took place in Louisiana rather than in Vietnam, but after reading only a few, I realized that placing the stories (all but two) outside of Vietnam only added to their poignancy. These characters are people who've lost everything, including their own identity. Even though most of them have rebuilt a successful material life, their emotional life consists, for the most part, of memories, and very fragile memories at that. Robert Olen Butler's prose fits the mood of his stories perfectly. It's lyrical, poetic and ephemeral. It's spare and beautifully melancholic, just as his stories are. Butler resists the urge to tell us "too much" and this lack of detail only adds to the beauty of his narrative. I loved all of the stories contained in this volume and felt so much empathy with the characters. Even though their experience of tragedy, pain and loss was different from my own, Butler somehow managed to convery the connections all of us share, despite our diversity of culture. Although I loved the protagonist of the book's final novella, I didn't care for the story, itself. It seemed to lack the depth and beauty of the short stories. This is just personal preference, though, and this novella might end up being your favorite. It is certainly beautifully written. A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN contains stories I'll remember for a long, long time to come and no doubt will visit again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Too subtle for my tastes
Review: There are some wonderful stories in this collection, including Love, which is poignant and witty. However, those that take in the form of letters lack cohesive plots, and talks about the same situations (that of American fathers with offspring in Vietnam). I especially dislike the long story American Couple (80 pages) which goes nowhere and is too subtle for my taste (also seems like a ripoff of Heart of Darkness).
Rating:
Summary: Too subtle for my tastes
Review: There are some wonderful stories in this collection, including Love, which is poignant and witty. However, those that take in the form of letters lack cohesive plots, and talks about the same situations (that of American fathers with offspring in Vietnam). I especially dislike the long story American Couple (80 pages) which goes nowhere and is too subtle for my taste (also seems like a ripoff of Heart of Darkness).
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Summary: An amazing masterpiece
Review: This book has many good things. But the one short story, "Fairy Tale" -- how this man ever managed to write something so true and beautiful and wise -- every time I read it, it brings happy tears to my eyes. This one short story is worth much more than "the price of admission." It is a work of art which may change your life forever.
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Summary: So goood it's scary
Review: This book is so good, it makes you want to cry. I was hesitant to pick it up at first. For some reason, the subject matter didn't appeal to me (or maybe I thought it didn't apply to me.) But the stories are so good, and so well told, it's beyond words. At the end of a couple of them, I felt like I'd just been punched in the gut. And I mean that in a good way.
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Summary: Very spiritual, make's you think about yourself and life
Review: This book made me think, about life and our every day living. It showed me that the Vietnamese people are very spiritual. When you read each story and think about it, it brings out so many feelings about yourself and the meaning of life, and how precious it is. In many of the stories I cried, and I laughed. I now see life with different eyes. I taught me to pay attention to life. Fantastic book.
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Summary: searing stories about the pain of Vietnamese in America
Review: This collection of stories uses the experiences of Vietnamese in the U.S. to create moving minimalist portraits. Using cultural adjustments as a theme, Butler hones in on the small compromises and lies which get each of us through our days. Seen thru the eyes of those who must adjust, America is a huge, noisy machine. Layered one on top of the other, these stories create a subtle portrait of the country, its new people and life in these times.
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Summary: Stunning achievement
Review: This is a work of art. Read it and weep. Read it and touch the soul of the Vietnamese who lost their country and gained their humanity. Read it and savor language at its finest, writing that is poetic and powerful, spare and wispy.
All of the stories are masterful. Some are great ... stories that will offer more light and more meaning with every visit. This is one of the best books of the Vietnam experience -- a literary gift.
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