My first ever Patricia Henley book, chosen at random off the shelf, and I am now convinced it won't be my last. Well, yes, I did read the blurb so the random selection became a choice at that point, but I was just browsing the shelves and had never heard of this author. I rate it as excellent, but I can see it's not to everyone's tastes. Clearly it is directly relevant to my life: its time setting, the GLBTI theme, the mother-daughter relationship, the father-daughter relationship, the adoption issue, marriage relationship issues, religiosity, secrets, forgiveness - these are all things that are significant in my life. OK, it's not a real page turner...there is a significant underlying 'mystery' story, but really I think that's just some device to make the story flow and the book would be entirely complete without that storyline, in my opinion. A book such as this, which deals with the real complexity of human relationships, is always welcome in my book bag! ( )

It took me a long time to get into this book. I wouldn't have finished it, had it not been a selection of my reading group. By the last third of the novel, I was glad I had stayed with it. Henley is an advocate for the power of the written word. It was a thought-provoking read. ( )

A worthy read, a sort of "Miss Saigon" in reverse. However, too many story lines detracts from the plot. ( )

This could have been such a better book. Henley has a nice way with words, at times reminding me of Anne Tyler. And her characters and dialogue are well-written, definitive and intriguing. But the plot here is such a hodgepodge of unlikely happenings, any of which could have provided the energy and direction for the book. But taken all together, the reader is left all whomperjawed, wondering "My God, what's next?". To list them: 1) Ruth Anne Bond, 51, or so, had parents die of drowning when she was a child. 2) She was taken in by an abusive aunt. 3) She runs away from home at 19 to volunteer with a Catholic nunnery in Saigon at the height of the Vietnam War. 4) Her main focus, though, is to be nearer her boyfriend, who is a soldier, although as it turns out he is some kind of secret operative. 5) Johnny, the boyfriend, is captured and tortured as a P.O.W. 6) During his absence, she falls in love with a blind Vietnamese she is reading to, and becomes pregnant by him. 7) She is compelled to leave her baby with Vo and his mother as she escapes the fall of Saigon. 8) In the present, long married to Johnnie, we find that her their daughter is in a committed lesbian relationship, to the chagrin of the staunchly Catholic Ruth Anne. 9) Vo's son, Tin, now 30, is now a teacher in a nearby town, living there with Vo, and contacts her by e-mail. Ruth Anne has kept him a long secret from her family. 10) Gay-bashers attack Laurel and her lover, Oceana. 11) One of Ruth Anne's closest girlfriends, who also went to Viet Nam, has also died in a drowning. 12) Ruth Anne's long-estranged abusive aunt is dying of osteoporosis, which Ruth Anne may also have. 13) Ruth Anne tells Johnny the truth about her past. 14) Johnny lays a stake-out for the gay-bashers. There's more, but you get the drift. Anyway, Henley tries to tie all this together at the end, but most of it just won't tie. Still, the quality of writing and characters almost makes up for the collective absurdity of the plot, and I may seek out another book by this author. ( )