July 10, 2024

Twilight Territory dedicates more space to the experiences of civilians than the experiences of soldiers on the battlefield. Did the novel illuminate anything about the effects of war on colonized countries and citizens for you? Why do you think the author chose to focus on everyday people’s lives?

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Camille

The story is about the everyday people and how they cope with the different groups that were occupying their country. It shows how little control they had in their own country. They were victimized. The focus bring to light in allowing the reader to visualize what normal everyday people did to survive.

Hannah

I think humanizing the day to day actions and hi lighting the quality of life varying through the stages of war and occupation casts a realistic light on the effects of colonization. Showing how quickly everything can change and also how some areas seem nearly untouched during portions of the book really showed me how unpredictable war time and life in general can be, and there is nothing that can prepare you. I really enjoyed the simplicities of everyday life contrasting the struggles, even during the worst of it they made the best of it.

Sarah

I believe that this influence of the war on the citizens provided a unique angle of how war impacts everyday life (including family dynamics, routines, finances, security) even for those not in the immediate fighting. I love this “living book” style of narration that conveys how Tuyet and her family struggle and provides a view of the impact of occupation ( of both colonial and Japanese) on life of the native people. I believe the author portrays the accounts of common struggles to illuminate an untold story of the impacts of war that is often not discussed as the uncomfortable… Read more »

Joy

Because it was devasting to the common folk

Fran

Yes, it definitely was very illuminating to me. It was heartbreaking to learn what it was like to live through those experiences. It was easy to identify with the characters and feel their pain.

Kassandra

We don’t hear too often about the everyday lives of regular citizens. We can only assume what they go through, but I think the author focused on the citizens to bring to light the atrocities that they’re faced with.

Erika

Pham does an excellent job of enlightening the reader to the harsh realities of occupation. While the USA has been involved in numerous wars, we average citizens have no idea what it is really like because it’s so “far away” and for the most part does not impact our daily lives – unless a loved one is serving. I hope we never find out how our perspectives might change.

Christine Navarro

I didn’t know much about Vietnam’s history prior to US involvement. I felt sad to know that the Vietnamese people had suffered so much under other nations prior to “the Vietnam war.”

Dana

Erica, yes we Americans have been so insulated from this horror. It sure is clear that we were inserting ourselves into a complicated multi faceted situation in Vietnam when we decided to go to war there. The Viet people apparently had been occupied and at war for decades already.

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