For Libby Fischer Hellmann, A Bend in the River (our review here) represents a polished segue into historical fiction after her previous work as an accomplished writer of mystery and suspense. Her well-honed sense of pace shines through every chapter, whether we are with Tâm in a Vietnamese jungle planting explosives with VietCong guerrilla fighters or in a smoky bar with Mai as she learns the tricky bar-girl trade of befriending beleaguered and lonely soldiers whose own sense of ethics have been sorely tried in a difficult war.
The author recently provided more insights into her book and its themes.
Q: Where did the idea for this book come from?
A: I visited Vietnam on a three-week tour because I wanted to see the country that had taken more than 50,000 American lives during the Vietnam War. We were in an art gallery in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) when I saw the painting of the two girls now on the cover. As soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to write a book about two Vietnamese sisters and how they coped with the war.
Q: This work is a departure from your earlier books. What prompted you to branch out?
A: As I started to conceptualize the story, it became obvious that a standard mystery or thriller just wasn’t going to work. In fact, it would have probably confined it in some ways. So I took the plunge into “straight” historical fiction. There is still inherent suspense, however, in discovering the two sisters’ individual journeys. At least I hope so.
Q: Your scenes set in Saigon were so vividly done, such as creating the feel of the bar with the soldiers and the mansion. How did you go about the research for what Saigon in those days would have been like?
A: Lots of research. I found interviews with bargirls that had been written in the late Sixties. Reading them was a surprise in that some of the girls loved their jobs because they had choices they would never have had in “traditional” Vietnamese society. I also found articles explaining what went on in the Viet Cong training camps. And, of course, I walked the streets where the “Stardust” nightclub would have been.
Q: Your understanding of how the Viet Cong ran their war against the South was also compelling and believable. How did you decide on a job for Tâm within the VietCong soldier ranks? An intelligence job would have fit her well given her academic proclivities, but you chose to put her in more dangerous situations. We’d love to know your thinking behind why you did that.
A: Actually, Tâm wanted to be on the battlefield, but I wasn’t prepared to write battle scenes, so I gave her a job as a truck driver where her assignments would often take her to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside Saigon. The tunnels are probably the most popular tourist attraction in Vietnam — they housed thousands of North Vietnamese fighters and Viet Cong guerrillas at various points during the war, and I knew Tâm was going to spend time in them. Happily, it all worked out in a credible way. By the way, the tunnels are fascinating, and I recommend readers check out other sources that can explain and illustrate them in more detail than I could in the book.
Q: Was the mansion of Tâm’s Viet Cong benefactor based on a real house that you saw or toured? We loved the details you provided and also the biography of that woman. Was she based on someone in real life?
A: She actually was a real person. In Stanley Karnow’s excellent Vietnam, A History, he interviews Dr. Duong Quynh Koa, a doctor in South Vietnam who was a closeted Communist. It was unclear whether she was a spy, but she did socialize within the Diem regime before it fell. Again, her story both surprised and fascinated me, so I turned her into a fictional character. The real doctor had a son who perished in the war, and she did renounce Communism at the end, but the Doctor in Bend has her own agenda.
Since she was a socialite, she would have lived in District 1, and yes, I spotted an apartment building, yellow with white decorative flourishes, and decided that’s where she would have lived. I imagined what the interior would have looked like based on mansions I’ve visited in the past.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
A: Essentially, the Vietnam War was a civil war that began before we got involved, and continued after we left. The U.S. justified its involvement as a fight against Communism and the “Domino Theory.” But that wasn’t the motivation from the Vietnamese side. They wanted their country to be unified, but the South was bitterly anti-Communist, so they welcomed our help.
In addition, most of the literature about Vietnam, at least in the U.S., is written from the American point of view. Former soldiers, officers and draftees have written some beautiful memoirs and stories. Even short stories. Until The Sympathizer, however, there wasn’t very much literature written from the Vietnamese perspective. Recently, there’s been more, and I tried to read as much as I could of Vietnamese authors. But I saw an opportunity to provide more information and context, even though I’m not Vietnamese.
Another factor is the two generations of younger people who have only learned about the War from a history course in high school or college. I wanted to offer them a fictional account that is based on accurate research and facts. Finally, I am drawn to stories about ordinary people in extraordinary times. A Bend In the River clearly qualifies. Who becomes a hero? Who remains a coward? I’m always eager to explore those themes.
https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/New-profile-pic-19-copy.png
About Libby Fischer Hellmann:
Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC, and moved to Chicago 35 years ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Thirteen novels and twenty short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery writing community and has even won a few.
