The Lotus Eaters: A Novel

Tatjana Soli

Mar 2010 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

A New York Times Best Seller! A New York Times Notable Book!

A unique and sweeping debut novel of an American female combat photographer in the Vietnam War, as she captures the wrenching chaos and finds herself torn between the love of two men.

On a stifling day in 1975, the North Vietnamese army is poised to roll into Saigon. As the fall of the city begins, two lovers make their way through the streets to escape to a new life. Helen Adams, an American photojournalist, must take leave of a war she is addicted to and a devastated country she has come to love. Linh, the Vietnamese man who loves her, must grapple with his own conflicted loyalties of heart and homeland. As they race to leave, they play out a drama of devotion and betrayal that spins them back through twelve war-torn years, beginning in the splendor of Angkor Wat, with their mentor, larger-than-life war correspondent Sam Darrow, once Helen's infuriating love and fiercest competitor, and Linh's secret keeper, boss and truest friend.
Tatjana Soli paints a searing portrait of an American woman's struggle and triumph in Vietnam, a stirring canvas contrasting the wrenching horror of war and the treacherous narcotic of obsession with the redemptive power of love. Readers will be transfixed by this stunning novel of passion, duty and ambition among the ruins of war.

Ratings and reviews

Enjoyed the descriptions of Vietnam, and of the people. While I admire journalists, I have often wondered why they would do such dangerous jobs. This novel gave me a bit of insight into that.

I cannot really say what it was that I loved so much about this book, but I just felt like I was there - I was swept up in it and I did not want to put it down.

Beautiful prose about a country at war and an unconventional heroine.

About the author

Tatjana Soli's short stories have been widely published, nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and twice cited in the 100 Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories. The Lotus Eaters, her debut novel, was a New York Times bestseller and Editors Choice and a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Award. Born in Salzburg, Austria, Soli attended Stanford University and the Warren Wilson M.F.A. program. She lives in Orange County, California.