The Time In Between
A novel in which a father’s disappearance sends his daughter and son to Vietnam in search of memory and forgiveness.
Work Information
A novel in which a father’s disappearance sends his daughter and son to Vietnam in search of memory and forgiveness.
War memory shadows the present family, and the journey slowly exposes the secrets that bind them.
Book Information
- Publisher
- McClelland & Stewart
- Published
- 2005-08-16
- Pages
- 173 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.04 x 2.44 x 22 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780771011788
- ISBN-10
- 0771011784
- Price
- 5136 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Contemporary
In search of love, absolution, or forgiveness, Charles Boatman leaves the Fraser Valley of British Columbia and returns mysteriously to Vietnam, the country where he fought twenty-nine years earlier as a young, reluctant soldier. But his new encounters seem irreconcilable with his memories. When he disappears, his daughter Ada, and her brother, Jon, travel to Vietnam, to the streets of Danang and beyond, to search for him. Their quest takes them into the heart of a country that is at once incomprehensible, impassive, and beautiful. Chasing her father’s shadow for weeks, following slim leads, Ada feels increasingly hopeless. Yet while Jon slips into the urban nightlife to avoid what he most fears, Ada finds herself growing closer to her missing father — and strong enough to forgive him and bear the heartbreaking truth of his long-kept secret. Bergen’s marvellously drawn characters include Lieutenant Dat, the police officer who tries to seduce Ada by withholding information; the boy Yen, an orphan, who follows Ada and claims to be her guide; Jack Gouds, an American expatriate and self-styled missionary; his strong-willed and unhappy wife, Elaine, whose desperate encounters with Charles in the days before his disappearance will always haunt her; and Hoang Vu, the artist and philosopher who will teach Ada about the complexity of love and betrayal. We also come to learn about the reclusive author Dang Tho, whose famous wartime novel pulls at Charles in ways he can’t explain. Moving between father and daughter, the present and the past, The Time in Between is a luminous, unforgettable novel about one family, two cultures, and a profound emotional journey in search of elusive answers.
David Bergen is the author of four highly acclaimed novels: A Year of Lesser , a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award; See the Child ; The Case of Lena S. , winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction; and, most recently, The Time in Between , winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Sitting Opposite My Brother, which was a finalist for the Manitoba Book of the Year Award. David Bergen lives in Winnipeg.
Reviews
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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Charles Boatman leaves his mountain home in Canada and travels to Vietnam, where he fought thirty years earlier with the US Army during the Vietnam War. Charles has suffered from periodic nightmares since he shot dead a young, unarmed Vietnamese boy when he was on tour in a small village in Quang Ngai Province, and is hoping to lay some demons to rest by his return visit. His grown-up children, Ada, Jon and Del, who know only a little about their father's war history, are busy with their own lives, unaware of the anguish he is suffering and it is not until they learn that Charles has disappeared that they begin to worry just what his disappearance might mean. Ada and her younger brother, Jon, travel to Danang, where their father was last seen, but whilst Ada does her best to discover what has happened to her father, questioning the local people and harassing the local police force, Jon seems to be avoiding the issue and spends his time enjoying the nightlife and the dubious pleasures on offer in the Vietnamese city. Worried about her brother's sexual proclivities and losing hope of finding her father alive, Ada becomes involved with a Vietnamese artist who, when she tries to uncover more about her father's mission by questioning the locals about the war years, tells her that the Vietnamese have no time for the past and are too busy trying to survive. As Ada spends longer in the Far East than planned, she not only discovers things about her father's distant and more recent past life, but she also begins to learn more about herself. I spotted this novel by Canadian author David Bergen (who has lived and worked in Southeast Asia) whilst browsing on Amazon and, interested in the synopsis, I decided to give it a try - and I am glad that I did. Although I do have to be honest and say that I was not particularly drawn to the characters, I was interested in their predicaments and was pulled into their stories from the very first pages of the book. Rich in the atmosphere of Vietnamese landscape and culture, this deftly composed novel, written in spare, but resonant prose, is a story of human connection and disconnection and is a poignant, yet unsentimental tale of searching and of loss, and of the far reaching consequences of war. 4 Stars.
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Stunningly evocative novel, written with beauty and sensitivity.
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One of the best books I've ever read. Truly.
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Interesting look at modern Vietnam, with interesting characters. However, the book doesn't seem to have a point... I've discussed this with others who've read it and they couldn't find a point either. However, the writing itself is worth reading.
Related Literary Awards
- Giller Prize Edition 12 (2005) ・Winner