A Hundred Years of Happiness

December 15, 2008
Seitz (The Spirit of Sweetgrass
) focuses on two families irrevocably changed by the Vietnam War in her latest Lowcountry saga. All Lisa Le knows of her father is that he was an American soldier who died in Vietnam, before Lisa's Vietnamese mother and uncle moved to America, and that her mother continues to mourn him in their Georgetown, S.C., home. John Porter, of Charleston, is a veteran haunted by his past. His daughter, happily married Katherine, hopes to help by taking him to a veterans' event, but instead sets in motion a chain of events that will bring the two families crashing together. Seitz deftly shifts perspective among Lisa, Katherine, John and a koi fish in Vietnam who was once an American soldier named Ernest, giving her familiar themes—posttraumatic stress disorder, adjusting to civilian life, survivor's guilt, smalltown Southern living, aging, the quest to belong—sensitive and original treatment. For anyone touched by war, this tale of life after wartime should resonate strongly.

February 15, 2009
John Porters horrific memories of his service in the Vietnam Warhavebeen dormant for nearly 40 years. But a brief encounter with an old enemy reopensold wounds. Now that hesdisplaying alarming signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, his daughter, Katie, vows to bring her father peace. But a weekend trip to a veterans ceremony intended to bring closure instead unknowingly sparks a chain of events that lead John and Katie to a Vietnamese woman named Doan Vien, who befriended John during the war. Doan Vien and her daughter, Lisa Le, disclose long-held secrets that threaten to unravel both families. This intricate story unfolds slowly from Katie and Lisas points of view, but itis also interspersed with Johns disturbing memories. Cleverly, Seitz offers only the tiniest of cluesuntil finally serving up the final resolution. A heartbreaking tale that sheds light onlove, friendship, and faithpowerful enough toendurethe atrocities of war.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)