REVIEW: My Story (Part I)

Home  |  Book  |  Reviews

Reviews

Please use the Enter Comment facility below to give us a review on the My Story (Part I) chapter.

We appreciate all the reviews. Interesting reviews, for or against the ideas expressed in this section, will be accepted for public display on this page.

Summary

This AI summary is generated by Microsoft Edge Copilot:

**Chapter Summary**

The narrator recounts a personal and emotional evolution in their perception of "the Russians," shaped by life during and after the Vietnam War. 

**Childhood in South Vietnam**
- Grew up during the Vietnam War, which South Vietnamese called the “anti-communist war.”
- Viewed “Russians” as the faceless enemy behind communist North Vietnam, lumping all Soviet nationalities under that term.
- Early hatred rooted in fear, propaganda, and cultural associations—especially with the color red, a symbol of communism.

**Cultural Impressions**
- Saw *Doctor Zhivago* in 1966 at a rare air-conditioned theater in Saigon—an experience infused with childhood wonder and fear of communist imagery.
- Later read Pasternak’s novel in French, discovering nuance in Russian identity: poets vs. their persecutors, which complicated earlier biases.

**American Influence & Shifting Narratives**
- U.S. troops in Vietnam introduced Western media portraying Americans as heroes and Russians as villains—reinforcing the narrator’s anti-Russian sentiments.
- After the fall of Saigon in 1975, communist North Vietnam reversed those portrayals: Russians became the “good guys,” and Americans the “imperialists.”

**Soviet Propaganda & Admiration**
- Watched the Soviet series *How the Steel Was Tempered*, showcasing ideological devotion through socialist realism.
- Although still resentful, the narrator began to admire the Russians’ apparent commitment—even if tinged by suspicion of propaganda.

**Invisible Presence**
- Russians were ever-present in media but absent from everyday life—unlike the earlier American military presence.
- They were seen as quiet, closed-off influencers operating behind the scenes.

**Turning Point**
- In 1979, the family immigrated to the U.S., marking the beginning of a more personal transformation in worldview.
- The chapter ends on a cliffhanger with "Then 2014 came" — hinting at a major event or shift yet to be explored.

References

See My Story (Part I).