Wandering Souls: Journeys With the Dead and the Living in Viet Nam
The expiation and atonement are cathartic, and the story illustrates one method to put to rest the demons that followed many soldiers home. It is clear that Karlin has a passion for the subject to match his skill as a writer.--The Roanoke TimesA mesmerizing, beautifully rendered work of nonfiction...a one-of-a-kind Vietnam War story...It is a book not soon forgotten.--The Veteran-Magazine of the Vietnam Veterans of America"A surprisingly moving account of a Vietnam War veteran who returned to face the family of the man he killed.... Despite the reconciliation, the book is a poignant reminder of the war's sad consequences for both sides." -- Kirkus Reviews"Wandering Souls is an important, moving, utterly compelling, and wonderfully open-hearted book, one that will become a touchstone in America's literature about the aftershocks of our terrible misadventure in Vietnam. This is a book that will endure. Decades from now, it will help people see and feel the ongoing consequences of war's murderous folly." -- Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carry"Wandering Souls strips away the heroic mythology used to mask the depravity and anguish of war...It reminds us that once we descend into the stygian world of killing there is never any escape. The book is a plea for redemption and forgiveness. It is a plea for empathy. And it is a plea to look at war not as it is sold to us by the entertainment industry and the war-makers, but as it is experienced by those who fight and die." --Chris Hedges, author of War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning"Wandering Souls proves again Wayne Karlin's talent in discovering the beauty of the human soul in the ruins of war and loss." -- Le Minh Khue, author of The Stars, The Earth, The River"In Wandering Souls, Wayne Karlin speaks our common language of sorrow and pain and reconciliation. His book is sure to find its readers in the two countries he loves."  --Ho Anh Thai, author of Behind the Red Mist