Part historical novel, part romance, this exotic story spans Vietnamese history and generations in its portrayal of la doctoresse Jade Minh, an exquisitely beautiful but soulless woman with a secret past; the mysterious Chou, the South Vietnamese Embassy's slippery legal eagle and sometime counterspy, who lusts after Jade Minh with a creative perversion; and lovely Suzette, illegitimate child of a star-crossed union who is adopted into fearful America at the lead-up to the Vietnam War and returns to Vietnam searching for her mother.

Lilting on the ear, Red Dream's narrative is spiked with simple poetry like the lyrics of a modern song. It is also a unique visual experience. Images set behind the text or running up the wide margins give the pages a special appeal. In their evocation of mystery and culture, romance and war, they give an added dimension to the story.

Those who fell in love with Memoirs of a Geisha and eagerly await Amy Tan's new novels will thrill to this story filled with tangled relationships, communists and coups, politicians and spies. For aficionados of travel literature, Brooks writes with the sensitive accuracy of a seasoned traveler describing a beloved and intriguing destination. And now that time has healed the emotional wounds of war, Vietnam is arousing America's interest as never before.

USED BOOK

340 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002