Lotusland

Lotusland is the debut novel by David Joiner and one of the only works of fiction by a US author to bridge the literary gap between the Vietnam War and contemporary Vietnam.

Nathan Monroe is a 28-year-old American living in Saigon who falls in love with a talented and ambitious Vietnamese painter. When he faces crises of love and his own ambitions, his safety net appears in the form of Anthony, an old domineering friend in Hanoi who runs a successful real estate firm. Only much later does Nathan discover that Anthony has plans for him which clash with his desire to integrate into Vietnamese life. Little do they know what lies in store for them after Anthony recklessly takes both of their futures into his own hands.

With lyrical prose and an eye on the social dynamics of a culture undergoing great change, Lotusland dramatizes the power imbalances between Westerners living abroad, and between Westerners and Vietnamese - in love and friendship, in the consequences of war, and in the pursuit of dreams.