A Bend In The River (The Revolution Sagas)

Set during the Vietnam War and its aftermath, this gripping historical from Hellmann ( Havana Lost ) focuses on the divergent paths of two Vietnamese sisters. One day in1968, 17-year-old Tâm and her 14-year-old sister, Mai, watch from their jungle hiding place as their family is killed by U.S. soldiers and their village is razed.xa0The sole survivors of the massacre, the sisters steal a boat and make their way to Saigon, where they live in a refugee camp that Tâm describes as "one step from hell."xa0At this point, the sisters part ways: Mai becomes a hostess at the Stardust Lounge and begins dating an American officer, while Tâm is recruited by the Viet Cong.xa0After Mai becomes pregnant, she loses her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend and is left feeling "cast adrift in a world at war."Meanwhile, Tâm channels her anger over the massacre into fighting, and Hellmann renders the combat scenes in vivid detail.xa0The end of the war and the women's subsequent arrival in the United States doesn't make their lives any less perilous. Hellmann smoothly integrates into her harrowing narrative such aspects of the conflict as guerilla warfare, spying,Agent Orange, reeducation camps, and boat people. This passionate story of survival has staying power. Publishers Weekly "In a brilliant departure from her earlier work, award-winning thriller writer Libby Fischer Hellmann has crafted a stunning piece of historical fiction. A Bend in the River is the story of two Vietnamese sisters torn apart by the war that ravaged their nation. Writing from the perspective of these women whose homeland was so brutally devastated, Hellmann has turned her astute, poetic eye from the hellish battlefields to the details of the daily lives of ordinary people struggling through the morass of a long and bitter conflict. The result is a story that will force us all to look back on the Vietnam War with a different, and I believe kinder, understanding. This is an important novel that deserves a broad audience. Kudos to Hellmann for her courage in striking out in this bold, new direction." --William Kent Krueger, This Tender Land Libby Fischer Hellmann is at her best in this novel about Tam and Mai, teenage sisters from the Mekong Delta, who bravely flee their destroyed village to support themselves in wartime Saigon. This gripping international saga illuminates the complexities of politics and loyalty and love, and is a powerful testament to the strength of women." -- Sujata Massey, The Perveen Mistry, Rei Shimura Mysteries and The Sleeping Dictionary "In this richly drawn tour de force, A Bend in the River , Libby Hellmannxa0 paints an Asian family saga over two continents. Two sisters take different paths, struggle to confront the past, themselves, and each other. Highly recommended." Cara Black, Three Hours in Paris "Libby Fischer Hellmann brings Vietnam to vivid life in a story about a period rarely talked about in historical fiction. While the journeys for Mai and Tam are filled with struggle and hardship, each evokes hope and resilience. A BEND IN THE RIVER will stay with readers long after they have turned the last page." Book Reporter, Amy Alessio A Bend in The River is an ambitious book and one that fills a lacuna. It is well written and moves at a cracking pace: well worth the read." Chris Maden, Chairman, Hong Kong Writers Circle " With an intriguing story and characters to care about, I'm adding A BEND IN THE RIVER to my Best of 2020 list." Lone Star Literary Life BookTrib chose BEND as "One of 16 Favorites from 2020 That You Probably Never Heard of." AWARDS: Winner, Book of the Year (Indie Fiction) Chicago Writers Association Winner, Foreword Magazine 2020 Silver Medal, Book of the Year, Military-War. Category Finalist, I2020 ndies Next Generation Book Awards, Historical Fictionxa0 Category Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago a long time ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Sixteen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims they'll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony and four times for Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year. She has also been nominated for the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne, and has won the IPPY and the Readers Choice Award multiple times. Her novels include the historical novel, A BEND IN THE RIVER. She has also written the five-volume Ellie Foreman series, which she describes as a cross between "Desperate Housewives and 24;" the hard-boiled 5-volume Georgia Davis PI series, and four other stand-alone historical thrillers set during Revolutionary Iran, Cuba, the Sixties, and WW2. Her short stories have been published in a dozen anthologies, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ed Gorman's 25 Criminally Good Short Stories collection. Her books have been translated into Spanish, German, Italian, and Chinese. All her books are available in print, ebook, and audiobook. Libby also hosts Second Sunday Books, a monthly podcast where she interviews bestselling and emerging authors. In 2006 she was the National President of Sisters in Crime, a 4000 member organization committed to the advancement of female crime fiction authors.