The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam (Harper Trophy Book)

It is written for children, but adults will be fascinated with the wildlife of rural Vietnam, the culture of the farming people, and the characters that are the boy's family members. Most of all you will fall in love with the water buffalo, Tank, who becomes the boy's best friend, as well as an honored member of the village. The hard part will be the sorrow over the intrusion of war, and as the title implies, the boy grew up and had to flee his beloved homeland. I read this to my eight children several times over the course of their growing up, and now that they have children of their own, some of them have requested this book and its companion book, Buffalo Days, to read to their children.

Hmmm...not really what I would consider a children's story. We read it as part of a geography homeschool curriculum that is marketed for grades 1-6. These stories were disturbing to say the least. Each chapter was its own little mini story. The stories told about violent deaths, drug use, arson, poisoning, and "the wedding night" was a subject of several stories.... there was just too much detail for it to just be glossed over because these topics were basically the heart of the story. I found the book to be interesting but really not appropriate for kids. The opiate usage and addiction scenes were quite detailed. It was a major part of the story. I had to summarize many graphically violent scenes, and drug use descriptions. The part that made it even scarier is that these are true stories and they probably would scare kids.

This book is about a boy and the life he had in Vietnam before the war hit his village. Every chapter has a story about people and the relationship they have with animals around them. The stories talk about water buffaloes, snakes, monkeys, otters, wild hogs, dogs, and birds. Some of them are pretty sad and include some violence, so I suggest this book for kids who are older than eight. Other stories in this were really funny and my sons really loved learning the stories.content warning: There is a scene where a man is smoking opium and even talk about animals being given it to soothe them and control them.

My 13 year old daughter picked this off a summer reading list and ended up really getting into it. The stories were very quirky.

My son and I totally enjoyed this book. Thank you Quang Nhuong Huynh for writing down your unforgettable experiences. This is one of the few books we have decided to keep from our homeschool curriculum.

This is a realistic look at life in Vietnam before the war, and some of the stories are very touching, but it also includes some gruesome and terrifying tales of animal cruelty and the dismemberment of a small child.

Very good bookHowever, there are 2 violent pages (dealing with monkey killing infant, and people killing monkey). These violent details may be appropriate at the time the book was published (1982), but not now.

I've read and re read this my entire life. The stories are fun and engrossing. The illustrations are beautiful

This is one of two books (The Land I Lost and Water Buffalo Days) by Huynh Quang Nhuong, both of which consist of memories of a man who grew up in Vietnam, but was seriously injured during the war and was taken to America, where he still lives.Each book is only around 120 pages and contain a number of short pieces, from three to six pages long. They are written in simple terms, making the books suitable for young readers and for anyone interested in life in a Vietnam village prior to the war.I'm sure these memories are seen through rose-tinted glasses, but the fact remains that the author presents us with a simple, but very precious way of life, lived by some fine people.I found it interesting that the people in it took great dangers in their stride as a matter of course, something which is hard to imagine, here in my safe life in England.I loved these books and warmed to the people. These books should be available in schools.