Vietnam Diary
by Mark Wilson (Lothian/Hachette)
HB RRP $24.99
ISBN 9780734412744
Reviewed by Hilary Smillie
HB RRP $24.99
ISBN 9780734412744
Reviewed by Hilary Smillie
Mark Wilson is a noted Victorian author/illustrator of picture books for older children. I have also reviewed Wilson's My Mother's Eyes: The Story of a Boy Soldier (2009) and Angel of Kokoda (2010). The Last Tree (2006) won a Whitley Award in 2007.
Vietnam Diary
poses the question many ask when
Australian soldiers are sent to fight a war in a foreign country: Why should
they go? The answer lies in individual beliefs, such as in the case of the
story's two brothers, Leigh and Jason.
Both the boys' grandfather and
father fought overseas, the former in the First World War, and the latter in
Kokoda, PNG. When the Vietnam war came about, Leigh is dead certain he and his
mates should not go, because it is not "our war". Jason, on the other hand,
isn't so sure. What if everyone ran away from fighting overseas in the common
cause for freedom? Would Australia be a different place if
we hadn't fought at Gallipoli or Kokoda or Tobruk?
Many of Wilson's illustrations are
nostalgic, depicting a boyhood of shared cricketing dreams. There is high
excitement when Leigh and Jason attend their first MCG test match. Jason regards
his match ticket as lucky and when he is conscripted, makes sure he tucks it
into his wallet before he leaves for the Puckapunyal training
camp.
Jason decides, after his training period
is over, to join his mates and go to Vietnam even though, as a conscript, he
could have refused. Leigh who had hoped to dissuade him from the start, has to
accept that their opinions on war will remain divided.
Through Jason's diary, the reader learns
that Jason does not hold anything against Leigh for his pacifist stance even
though he has yet to receive a letter from him. When a letter finally arrives he
keeps it aside until after his patrol duty that night, trying to overcome the
Vietcong.
The battle of Long Tan in August 1966 is
now a part of history. Jason never got to read his brother's letter, but if
Leigh read his younger brother's diary, he might have also been surprised. The
Afterword is heartwarming, if sad.
Vietnam
Diary is a sensitive picture book whose
words and images give moving insights into the conflicting emotions and
challenges faced by young soldiers at war.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Buzz Words Books would love to hear what you think.