Dragon House Paperback - 2009

Summary

Media reviews

"In a large cast of appealing characters, thestreet children are the heart of this book; theirtalents, friendships, and perils keep you turningthe pages."
-Karen Joy Fowler, New York Timesbestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club

"I loved this book and cared deeply aboutthe characters brought to life by Shors' clearsensitivity to the plight of the unseen andunwanted in Vietnam."
-Elizabeth Flock, New York Timesbestselling author of Me & Emma

"Amid the wreckage of what's known in Vietnam as the "American War," Shors has set his sprawling, vibrant novel. All of his characters--hustlers, humanitarians, street children--carry wounds, visible or otherwise. And in the cacophony of their voices, he asks that most essential question: "How can we be better?"
-David Oliver Relin, bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea

"There is a tenderness in this moving, deeply descriptive novel that brings all those frequently hidden qualities of compassion, purity of mind, and, yes, love-the things we used to call the human spirit-into the foreground of our feeling as readers. This is a beautiful heart speaking to us of the beautiful world we could and should find, even in the darkness that so often floods the world with fear."
-Gregory David Roberts, bestselling author of Shantaram

"John Shors has written a wonderful novel about two American lives shaped by an encounter with the lives of the Vietnamese people in this present age, decades after that country has faded from the ongoing clamor of news in this country. For that very reason, Shors transcends politics and headlines and finds the timeless and deeply human stories that are the essence of enduring fiction. This is strong, important work from a gifted writer."
-Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

Citations

• Kirkus Reviews, 08/01/2009, Page 0
• Publisher's Weekly Annex, 09/14/2009, Page 0