Reading Log of the "Village"

Lorry Luo

November 17, 2006

Reading Log of the “Village”



I think I like this story.

I’ve read some books and watched lots of movies about that period of history that the Americans have suffered so much. And at the same time most normal Vietnamese, was struggling for just a living by whatever they could do, even to end their fellowmen’s or the American soldiers’ lives .

Lots of writers and directors said about how the Vietnam War heartbreaking was and how many families were torn up by the war. And how the feeling of death and horror penetrated the air in the wet jungle in the whole country, how dreadful was the scene when villages were on fire with people lying down on the ground.

The story definitely didn’t jump out of the fundamentals above, but the tender and complicated mental struggles described in some episodes of the story attracted me so much. When I was reading those details in Rico’s mind, I recalled of several well made and designed scenes in some movies. Though it wasn’t a good time to put comment on the facts themselves, I think I was willing to say that as the story reminds me of those movies, I like it and its lines.

The village finally was saved by Rico, however as he’s being made of a soldier, he would receive the penalty from the military court for not taking the order. He should have some kind of shame as a soldier, but the village avoided being flattened. Yes, I’m in favor of his action. I can’t help thinking about the result of Rico’s idea; whether he will be in charged of any guilt and whether the villagers would escape the fate of being eliminated.

I would say frankly, I admire the action of Rico as a man, not from the stand of a soldier.