Vincent Lam, a Canadian physician who
is part of the Chinese expatriate community living in Canada, has
written a luminous, harrowing, and totally satisfying novel about the
life of a Chinese resident in Vietnam during the Viet Nam war. The
Headmaster's Wager (Hogarth,
Division of Random House, 2012, $25.00, 423 pages) details the story
of Chen Pie Sou (Percival Chen), the headmaster of the Percival Chen
English Academy through the period of the Vietnam war in the
mid-1960's through the early seventies, with frequent flashbacks to
China and earlier periods of Japanese and French occupation of
Vietnam. Told in third person narrative from Chen's point of view,
the novel details the highs and lows of his life as he seeks to
prosper in a society in which he remains the “other,” an alien
setting himself apart through both his arrogance and his foolishness.
The story of Vietnam has been told to seldom in a form which
humanizes it. As The Headmaster's Wager
unfolds, the reader is treated a nuanced understanding of the
cultural and political forces tearing Vietnam apart within the
self-imposed tragedy of this foolish and self-delusional man. The
writing is superb, as Lam builds a portrait of a society, the story
of a doomed love, and the tragedy of a country torn apart by all who
would possess it.
Inheriting
Chen Hap Sing, a rice warehouse, from his father when he moved from
his native China to Cholon, a Chinese suburb of Saigon, Chen had
changed it to the Percival Chen English Academy, during the Japanese
occupation of World War II. With the help of the always elusive Mr.
Mak, also from China but born in Vietnam, the school succeeds by
providing translation services to the various groups whose interests
in Vietnam race across the political map. With Mr. Mak's loyal
assistance, Chen's school becomes an integral part of the effort to
provide able English teachers to the American military and CIA as it
becomes increasingly important after the removal of the French
colonialists.
His
school prospers despite Chen's many personal weaknesses, mostly
because of the astute management of Mak and the loyalty of some of
his other employees. Nevertheless, Chen has appetites for women and
gambling, which often place him in both political and financial
jeopardy. His self-identification is always as Chinese, seeing
himself and his ethnicity as being superior to the Vietnamese, among
whom he lives. As the political situation in South Vietnam
deteriorates, Chen seeks to remain removed from the fray, always
maintaining that he's not at all political, merely a businessman and
that business knows no politics. Meanwhile, he finds himself deeply
in debt and must win an exciting and dangerous mah jong game to pay
his debts. As events unfold, the tension grows and becomes
increasingly harrowing. While the novel includes significant
instances of violence and sexuality, they always serve to forward the
story, keeping it moving and interesting. The personal interactions
between between the many characters and factions who people the book
capture the reader's imagination while providing insights into the
rapidly changing world of Vietnam in the 1960's and 70's. Throughout
encounters with the Vietnamese society, Chen remains both apart and
of the culture, opening a way to view it with some objectivity.
Vincent Lam
In
The Headmaster's Wager
Vincent Lam has provided us with a novel of unusual beauty within a
poltical thriller. He uses an historical time and place to weave a
story of love, loyalty, danger, and risk. Lam is a writer worth
looking for and experiencing. The book is published by Hogarth, a
division of Random House (2012, 423 Pages) It retails for $25.00 and
is available from all the usual sources. It was provided to me by TLC
Book Tours.
Other
Stop on this Book Tour
Monday, September 10th: The Bowed Bookshelf
Monday, September 17th: Book Chase
Wednesday, September 19th: Bibliophiliac
Monday, September 24th: My Bookshelf
Wednesday, September 26th: Lit and Life
Monday, October 1st: BookNAround
Wednesday, October 3rd: Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms
Thursday, October 4th: Mom in Love with Fiction
Monday, October 8th: Paperback Princess
Wednesday, October 10th: Susan’s Literary Cafe
Wednesday, October 10th: Unabridged Chick
Monday, October 15th: A Book Geek
Thursday, October 18th: Bookish Habits
Monday, October 22nd: Girls Just Reading
Thursday, November 1st: A Novel Review
It is not often that you can use "unusual beauty" and "poltical thriller" in the same sentence ... what a unique book this seems to be!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on this one for the tour.