I feel like ever since The Women by Kristin Hannah came out I’ve been seeing, in book groups I’m in on Facebook, lots of book requests for books set during the Vietnam War. I figured I’d put my recommendations down if you are also seeking the same setting in light of that book (or even if you have your own reasons for seeking this setting).
Out of all the historical fiction I read, I feel like I rarely come across books taking place during the Vietnam War and, a lot of the ones I do come across, are more heavy war/military fiction than the type of historical fiction/literary fiction I gravitate towards.
My recommendations are limited for that reason but I still do have some books I’ve been telling people about when they have this request. Some genre historicals, some more literary fiction set during that time.
I will say though that reading books set during the Vietnam War, from all different perspectives, has definitely been more eye-opening than anything I remember learning in high school in the early 2000’s. It was a war that, while we hadn’t been born for, we certainly had relatives who lived it or were affected by it.
But, at that time, I don’t think I really understood anything at all about it aside from textbook facts I needed to know for tests. Not until I read one book that I’ll name down below.
It made me look at it all with new eyes and new curiosity to actually learn about this period and what led up to it in Vietnam, everything regarding U.S engagement in it home and abroad as well as the effects of the war overall.
One of those reasons I love historical fiction (and narrative non-fiction) so much — I could go on and on about that. I’ll stop and just give you these book recommendations.
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Books Set During The Vietnam War: My Recommendations
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
At A Glance: historical fiction, fall of Saigon, war photographers, love story element, spanning a decade
This one drops you into the Vietnam War from the lens of combat photojournalists documenting the war — one a bit of a naive young woman, a veteran war photographer who is addicted to the danger of war and a Vietnamese man who is their assistant/translator.
They are transformed by their role in documenting the raw realities of war and the act of bearing witness to and documenting it so that others may understand.
There is a love story within this book and I think it’s really well done considering the dangerous setting. A really great read that is vivid in setting and dropping you into the action without it necessarily being about those who fight in the war.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
At A Glance: classic, POV from American soldiers, storytelling
This book found its way into my reading life even though I didn’t want it.
I got assigned this book in high school, didn’t want to read it (so I didn’t) and then still went on to write an A paper about it without reading it. But then it caught back up with me in my last semester of college for a Lit & Arts class and there was NO way I was going to be able to do the same for this HUGE paper so I read the book.
AND I was mindblown — so much so that I wrote the best paper of my life because of how inspired I was by what this story was.
It’s a war story but it’s not. I thought I would hate this book but it still remains one of the best I’ve ever read. Powerfully written (like poetry at times) and just unflinchingly raw when it came to the burden and reality of war. You are really dropped into such a vivid sense of place and emotion in these characters heads.
Essentially the book is interconnected vignettes of these men in a company together in Vietnam — non-linear and, though fictional, definitely based on the author’s time in Vietnam.
If you take one look at the cover and say “no ma’am” like I did — give it a try. One of the best Vietnam War related books and just a masterpiece in general.
Absolution by Alice McDermott
At A Glance: early U.S. involvement in Vietnam, POV of wives stationed in Saigon, character driven, literary fiction
A quiet & thought-provoking novel that focuses on the wives of American men stationed in Vietnam in 1963 — during the earlier parts of U.S. involvement in conflict but on the brink of the part of the war when the boots of U.S. combat troops would land on the ground in Vietnam.
Particularly it’s the story of two of them, Tricia and Charlene, who are trying to be the best “helpmeets” to their husbands as they do their duties and engage in acts of charity to help locals — no matter the cost. Despite their good intentions, things go awry.
The time in Vietnam — which you really can feel the escalation that will come later — is recounted from Tricia to Charlene’s daughter 60 years later after an encounter stirs some memories about that time for her.
They share their memories from that time and complicated reflections on their own involvement/good intentions there as well as the bigger picture of the war.
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
At A Glance: literary fiction, multi-generational family saga, Vietnamese POV
If you want a book set during the Vietnam War that isn’t centered around an American perspective — this is the one. It’s an essential read in my opinion and was the first fiction book I read that really showed the cost of this conflict on the Vietnamese people.
This is a multi-generational family saga about a Vietnamese family that shows much earlier beginnings of the conflict, takes us through their story of trying to survive during the Vietnam War as the conflict ravages their country and their family and then in the aftermath.
The majority of it is about Hương (Vietnam War era) and her grandmother in North Korea during the Land Reform. It really shows the realities of war but there was also a thread of hope and resilience in the face of unspeakable darkness.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
At A Glance: historical fiction, nurses in Vietnam during the War, female friendship
If this book wasn’t the reason you found yourself looking for recommendations for books set in the Vietnam War, then I do highly recommend picking this one up if you love historical fiction that centers around the unseen stories of women during the actual conflict.
It’s a rare perspective and one Kristin Hannah really delivered bringing the often erased stories of women who were there.
It’s from the perspective of a woman who enlists to join the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam and we see the destruction and horror of war from her perspective — along with the strong bonds with the other women she’s there with — and the trauma of returning home a different person and to a place that isn’t the same as she left it.
You May Also Like: New Historical Fiction Books Coming Out This Year
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
At A Glance: graphic memoir, multi-generational family history, immigration
I really need to write a post about my favorite graphic novels (especially graphic memoirs!) but this one is high up there for me and the only historical fiction book for teens that I have seen centering around the Vietnam War.
It’s the story of the author’s family history in Vietnam before and during the terror of war and then in the 1970’s when they are forced to leave and immigrate to America. It’s non-linear so it goes back and forth through the past and present and centered around different family members.
It’s not fiction – obviously being a memoir — but it sure did read like fiction at times to the point sometimes I’d forget the people I was reading about are very real.
ON MY TBR
I haven’t read these ones yet but they are on my to-be-read list as I’ve heard great things about them or were recommended to me personally from a trusted source.
Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
At A Glance: sweeping saga, Vietnamese & American POV, past/present storylines, family secrets
This is one I really wanted to read because it is written by the author of a book I just raved about above (The Mountains Sing). I’ve heard it is really excellent also on audio!
This one is a saga that intersects the stories of two Vietnamese sisters, an American Vietnam vet and an Black Amerasian man (abandoned at birth by his Vietnamese mother and American soldier father).
It’s set during the war and decades later in 2016 and I hear it really explores the terrible cost of this war and its reverberating legacy through all lenses.
I’d love more recommendations for more books that take place during the Vietnam War! What are your favorites? I definitely would love unique perspectives during it especially and, again, I’m less into the very military heavy Vietnam fiction (unless it’s truly exceptional).
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