All the Wrong Places: Adrift in the Politics of the Pacific Rim ANNOTATION
From the fall of Saigon to war-ravaged Cambodia and Corazon Aquino's assumption of power in the Phillipines, this is a visceral and unforgettable view.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
British poet and journalist Fenton reported for British and American newspapers from Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Korea from 1973 to 1987, and here recounts, with cynicism and an eye for detail, his remarkable experiences. A self-proclaimed sympathizer to liberation movements, he first went to Vietnam in 1973 to ``see a war, and . . . a communist victory'' but does not romanticize his encounters with the Viet Cong, which included participation in the looting of the American embassy and a ride on the first North Vietnamese tank to enter the Saigon palace grounds. His impressionistic description of a Cambodian monastery, even as the country is ravaged by the Khmer Rouge, recalls both the nuances of everyday life and his private feelings. Reportage from South Korea is less self-indulgent and covers aspects of that country's struggle for democracy not usually detailed in Western media. Throughout, Fenton avoids sensationalism, but a dense prose style and an abundance of personal and historical references diminish the strength of his more insightful anecdotes. (Oct.)
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