Cirrus@Austlit

'In the magnificent opening story, "Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice," a young writer is urged by his friends to mine his father's experiences in Vietnam - and what seems at first a satire on turning one's life into literary commerce becomes a transcendent exploration of homeland, and the ties between father and son. "Cartagena" provides a visceral glimpse of life in Colombia as it enters the mind of a fourteen-year-old hit man facing the ultimate test. In "Meeting Elise" an ageing New York painter mourns his body's decline as he prepares to meet his daughter on the eve of her Carnegie Hall debut. And with graceful symmetry, the final, title story returns to Vietnam, to a fishing trawler crowded with refugees where a young woman's bond with a mother and her small son forces both women to a shattering decision.' (From the author's website.)

The Perfume River offers the reader perspectives on Vietnam from both inside and outside the country. The diverse array of writers include renowned authors of the Vietnamese literary canon, 2nd generation ex-pats (based in Australia & America), and non-Vietnamese authors who have special ties with the country and its culture.

The only book of its kind on the market, The Perfume River is a collection of short stories and poetry. It explores a multitude of rich themes including origin, the rural/urban divide in Vietnam, family, generation gaps, lost love, the effects of war, migration, foreigner's impressions of Vietnam, the East/West divide, ex pats, Western attitudes to Vietnam and Asia, Vietnamese attitudes to the West and everyday life in Vietnam. There are 32 contributors, including Nam Le, Andrew Lam, Bao Ninh, Pham Thi Hoai and Pam Brown. [Publisher's media release]