Paco's Story

December 1, 1986
When incoming fire lights up the sky over the good old boys at Fire Base Harriet in Vietnam, the tough soldiers just look at each other and settle in, certain that the nearly 100 of them will die. And all but one are visited by the descending brightness that tears their bodies apart. The ghost of one of these soldiers narrates the story of survivor Paco Sullivan, who lies covered with flies and dirt for two days before being rescued. Badly scarred and limping, he returns to the States and becomes an introspective dishwasher in a small Texas town. This is a well-written, ruminative work in an easy-going, down-home dialect that makes the awful memories of the warthankfullya little bit distant. Heinemann

Starred review from May 1, 2005
Heinemann's 1986 National Book Award - winning novel tells the story of Paco Sullivan, the lone survivor of a devastating Vietcong attack. His body wrecked and mind shattered, he struggles to put himself back together in the States.

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