Quotes
“If you have wondered what it’s like to be a combat photographer and what kind of toll such brutal work exacts on the soul, you must read The Lotus Eaters, Tatjana Soli’s beautiful and harrowing new novel. Its characters are unforgettable, as real as the historical events in which they’re enmeshed.” Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls, Bridge of Sighs, and That Old Cape Magic
“The very steam from Vietnam’s jungles seems to rise from the pages of Tatjana Soli’s tremendously evocative debut, a love story set in the hallucinatory atmosphere of war, described in translucent, fever-dream prose.” Janice Y. K. Lee, author of The Piano Teacher
“[A] splendid first novel…Helen’s restlessness and grappling, her realization that ‘a woman sees war differently,’ provide a new and fascinating perspective on Vietnam. Vivid battle scenes, sensual romantic entanglements and elegant writing add to the pleasures of The Lotus Eaters. Soli’s hallucinatory vision of wartime Vietnam seems at once familiar and new. The details…arise naturally, underpinning the novel’s sharp realism and characterization.” New York Times Book Review
“[A] haunting debut novel…quietly mesmerizing…If it sounds as if a love story is the central element in The Lotus Eaters, Ms. Soli’s book is sturdier than that. Its object lessons in how Helen learns to refine her wartime photography are succinct and powerful. By exposing its readers to the violence of war only gradually and sparingly, the novel becomes all the more effective.”
Janet Maslin, New York Times
“Anyone who has seen Kathryn’s Bigelow’s Oscar-winning film, The Hurt Locker, understands that the obsession with violence and risk, at least for a certain personality type, is hard to shake. That Soli’s story explores this mindset from a woman’s perspective (and a journalist, not a soldier) adds interesting and unexpected layers…The author explores Helen’s psyche with startling clarity, and portrays the chaotic war raging around her with great attention to seemingly minor details.” Boston Globe
“The novel is steeped in history, yet gorgeous sensory details enliven the prose…thirty-five years after the fall of Saigon, Soli’s entrancing debut brings you close enough to feel a part of it.” People
“This suspenseful, eloquent, sprawling novel illustrates the violence of the Vietnam War as witnessed by three interconnected photographers…Soli looks at the complex motivations and ambitions of the waves of American photographers who descended on Vietnam seeking glory and fame through their gut-wrenching photos of mass graves, crippled children, and dying soldiers, while also reveling in sex, drugs, and good times as the war raged around them. This harrowing depiction of life and death shows that even as the country burned, love and hope triumphed.” Publishers Weekly
“Evocative…Soli’s poignant work will grab the attention of most readers. A powerful new writer to watch.” Library Journal (starred review)
“The strength here is in Soli’s vivid, beautiful depiction of war-torn Vietnam, from the dangers of the field, where death can be a single step away, to the emptiness of the Saigon streets in the final days of the American evacuation.” Booklist
“An impressive debut…A visceral story about the powerful and complex bonds that war creates. It raises profound questions about professional and personal lives that are based on, and often dependent on, a nation’s horrific strife. Graphic but never gratuitous, the gripping, haunting narrative explores the complexity of violence, foreignness, even betrayal. Moving and memorable.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
