This first chapter describes Michael’s time in Vietnam and the atrocities American soldiers committed against Vietnamese citizens during the war. The rest of the novel takes place after Michael returns to the U.S. and has to adjust to “normal” life again. Nichols compares the violence of the Vietnam War with the violence that happens every day in American cities. Michael is unable to process the fact that violent crimes are accepted in both places as a normal part of daily life.

This is not an easy novel to read, and it is certainly not for the faint of heart. The dust jacket calls it pornographic and disturbing, and it is, but it’s also a very powerful commentary on society that is just as relevant today as it was when the book was published in 1987. ( )