This is melancholy tale of a family divided by a father’s fixation on war: his own service as part of Patton’s force that crossed the Rhine in 1945 and the desire for his sons to follow in his footsteps. Ok, it’s more than that but this is the theme drives the narrative and we never move far from it. It’s looks closely at the mindset of the key characters, their relationships and the impacts of the passing of time and of ageing. The two sons choose different paths when it comes to Vietnam. Rober...

7.0/10Let's call this Vietnam-Guilt-Lite. The story flows easily; the characters are somewhat-engaging, if one-dimensional; I don't even much object to the jingoism disguised as post-Vietnam-guilt. In fact, it's a great script for a made-for-TV movie that one could enjoy in a few hours when there's not much else to do. A few tugs of the heart here; a few tears shed there, and voilà: perfect TV viewing. There is no shame in that.I do object to it being labelled the "conscience of America" , as on...

so i got this from netgalley, as a pdf, and it was some work to read it cuz in order to fit my kobo's screen the pdf needed a super tiny font, and making the font readable required moving the pdf all around the screen. but i did it. cuz the book was great. and then, and then.... after reading netgalleys for about 3 months, oblivious to all but the largess of publishers, i encountered the brutal fact that THERE IS A TIME LIMIT. and my kobo ran out of juice. and we lost power for 6 hours. so you s...

Perfume River was a mixed bag for me. It had some beautiful writing, and a really interesting set up. But it failed to keep me present and engaged throughout -- perhaps because it tried to do too much over the course of a fairly short novel. Perfume River tells the story of an elderly dying father and his two aging sons, and the complex dynamic between them. Their relationships are largely informed by their records as veterans -- or lack thereof. The patriarch William is a stern and proud vetera...

"Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once." -William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.OK, full disclosure.Despite eagerly anticipating this book, I didn't actually like it at first. The first three sentences alone were enough to make me wonder why this book was receiving such rave reviews.See, I'm a chap who likes to feast on a banquet of sumptuous prose. The brevity of Butler's clipped syntax just wasn't my thing at all.Oh, but pleasingly, all honour wa

I have read so many novels about mother, daughter relationships, a common enough theme in fiction, that it was a welcome change of pace to read one about the relationships of father and sons. The Vietnam War is threaded throughout, Robert the son who went and committed an act he could never admit nor come to terms with and Jimmy, the younger son, who chose to flee to Canada rather than fight in a war in which he did not believe. The story is narrated by Robert, now in his early seventies, his ba...

Butler writes beautifully! His words are very poetic/lyrical. Regrettably, I wanted more from this book and the past/present and character switch didn't work for me. I would certainly read another of Butler's books, though.

This is the story of a family torn apart by a fathers expectations of his sons, and other stories that lie within, of the effects of war on families. This novel will touch on World War ll and the Vietnam war, desertion, and present day problems of family ties, love, and aging. Very good.

I recently watched the brilliant ten part documentary about the Vietnam war and was keen to learn how it has been dramatized in fiction. There's actually very little of the war itself in this novel; it's more about the repercussions. It could have been a fascinating insight into machismo - the role it plays in a growing male's identity. And though it did make me think of this side of a male's sense of self it fell short in offering revelations perhaps because the author was too tied to his own p...

It was a bad time for me to choose this depressing book about post war depression and how it affects individuals and their family. But what beautiful writing. I need to read more from this author.

Wow, what a beautiful story! I hadn't previously read anything by Robert Olen Butler, so I was taken by surprise from the very first pages when I realized that this was going to be a beautifully written novel about different destinies and the way you can grow old with a person and still struggle with a lot of questions about life and relationships. "Perfume River" deals with Robert who is a 70-year-old Vietnam vet. When we meet him on the very first pages, he's dining with his wife Dalya when th...

This novel explores the angst hidden in the souls of the Vietnam War generation viewed from the perspective of having lived a lifetime with its consequences. The psychic toll of time and secrets on marriages and father-son relationships are portrayed. The plot is built upon a cast of characters, mostly within one family, that serves as a literary surrogate that's symbolic of the divisions and tensions experienced within many families and society as a whole during the Vietnam War era.The followin...

Update: $1.99 Kindle special today. This book still resonates with me. It’s a heartbreaking story — written with elegance. It’s one of those books where we are invited to look deep into the characters heads....their thoughts and experience their emotions. This is one of my favorite books exploring the aftermath of The Vietnam Warand how the war ‘still’ continues to haunt many American men who were there - This novel is intimate- a raw introspective novel. An emotional story - that stays with me!...

This book is not about Vietnam as much as it is about how war can affect individuals and families, fathers and sons. Butler explores a number of questions that remain after any war, but particularly after Vietnam, one being what does it mean to those men who actually fought it. Was it worth the losses and sacrifices? What constitutes bravery? cowardice? How much of what we do in life is driven by our desire to live up to the expectations of our parents? At what point is it a braver act to stand

In most serious novels where mature adults reflect upon their relationships with a parent - now elderly and at death's door - we readers generally find out that it is a convoluted story we will have presented to us. We will find that things are not always as they appear to be. And in most cases, a story about family relationships revolves around women. Not so here, and that elevated my interest. This is not your average tale.Perfume River features three adults - men - who are each living a very

This is a beautifully written and thought provoking novel that probes the repercussions of war on family, marriage, sons, and brothers. Robert is 70 years old, served in Vietnam, and whose marriage to Darla was born in the divisive anti war marches. Their marriage is now permeated with silence and routines. Jimmy, Robert's brother, was banished by his father for his resolve in being a conscientious objector. He forged a life in Canada with Linda for 46 years with no contact with his family. Thei...

****4.5 Stars**** For me, this excellent novel was a slow climb in the beginning…likely because I tend to avoid war stories. My commitment to this book deepened as the story gradually unspools, and the effects of the Vietnam-War become apparent and very personal. I’m a contemporary of those that went to Vietnam; and, I still remember the fervor of the Vietnam-War protests…even within my own family. The story details the deep complexities of a fractured family through the eyes of two estranged b...

4+ stars .A powerful and painful story that had a somber and introspective tone right from the beginning. Philosophical questions are raised, rooted in perceptions of right and wrong , courage vs cowardice and decisions made in the past haunting them now . But at its heart this is a story of fathers and sons, husbands and wives with marriages at a standstill, dysfunctional families who keep the truth from each other. Robert with his memories of the war in Vietnam even after 47 years, has flashba...

Edit: Available now in the US! Powerfully elegant, Robert Olen Butler’s writing flowing with simplicity and grace, “Perfume River: A Novel” grabbed my heart and my mind from the start. Sons trying to please their fathers, going off to war or running away from it despite their father’s shame in that, how that changes everything about their view of the world from then on. PTSD, for those who went to any war, Vietnam, WWII, the only difference is the location and the memories that haunt them. Butle...

I actually chose to read this book because of the amazingly beautiful cover and in this instance you CAN judge a book by its cover! Perfume River Nights is one of the best books I have read so far in 2017. It is primarily the story of a father and his two sons and their relationship with one another. However, on a deeper level this book is about generations of men who have been sent to war, generally under false pretenses, and the effects the horror of war has on these men's lives, their persona...