Particularize Containing Books The Headmaster's Wager
| Title | : | The Headmaster's Wager |
| Author | : | Vincent Lam |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 400 pages |
| Published | : | April 24th 2012 by Doubleday Canada (first published January 1st 2012) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. War. Cultural. Canada. Asia |
Vincent Lam
Hardcover | Pages: 400 pages Rating: 3.87 | 4506 Users | 641 Reviews
Representaion In Favor Of Books The Headmaster's Wager
A superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affecting debut novel about one man's loyalty to his country, his family and his heritagePercival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English academy in 1960s Saigon, and he is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his school. Fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, he is quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country, though he also harbors a weakness for gambling haunts and the women who frequent them. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, but when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away.
In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage whom he is able to confide in. But Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.
Graced with intriguingly flawed but wonderfully human characters moving through a richly drawn historical landscape, The Headmaster's Wager is an unforgettable story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.
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| ISBN: | 0385661452 (ISBN13: 9780385661454) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Vietnam |
| Literary Awards: | Canadian Authors Association Award Nominee for Fiction (2013), Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2013) |
Rating Containing Books The Headmaster's Wager
Ratings: 3.87 From 4506 Users | 641 ReviewsColumn Containing Books The Headmaster's Wager
The guy can write, no denying that. The book follows the classic historical fiction arc of family events being dimly influenced by the society simmering with uncertainty in the background. Eventually, everything comes to a head and conflict forces characters to deal with what they have been trying to ignore when they can no longer separate their lives from the surrounding politics. The twists, surprises and eventual connecting of various narrative lines and well-constructed and the literaryVincent Lam's THE HEADMASTER'S WAGER is a suspenseful character study set mainly in Vietnam during the civil war, told from a perspective that is unfamiliar to most Americans, that of a Chinese expat, Perceval Chen, who has lived in Vietnam for decades. Perceval still considers himself Chinese and has no real interest in assimilating to the culture of his adopted home. In reality, he is a man with no countryhe just doesnt know it yet. The suspense comes in the slow building of the disaster that
This was a 4.5 star book for me.In this magnificently ambition tale a politically naïve Percival Chen, the headmaster of a successful English academy in 1960s Saigon believes in the superiority of his Chinese heritage and the value bribes are the keys to his success. After all this has worked with past conquerors, the Japanese, the French and the Americansno matter how temporary their stay but being oblivious to the newest player for control will challenge Percival beyond his nightmares. I was
BEWARE OF SPOILERS. I DON'T HIDE OR PROMOTE MY REVIEWS.This book is powerful. Twice I had to put down the book, because the author had created such tension that I couldn't immediately go forward, out of anxiety for the characters. And those two points came fairly early in the story, which takes place mostly in southern Vietnam, in the era surrounding the 1975 fall of Saigon.Later I learned to discipline myself to keep reading, as those two early pivotal points are mild compared to the some of
This was a new perspective for me on the Vietnam War. Most of what is on offer for us here in the U.S. is told from the perspective of Americans involved in that war. THE HEADMASTER'S WAGER gives us a picture of life for the common people in and around Saigon during the war. There was a lot of money to be made as a result of the war, but the stakes were high, and certain classes of people were destined to lose regardless of who won the war. I now have a much better understanding of why some
For readers interested in recent Chinese and Vietnamese history and culture, this novel is an intensive course. The tale begins with a young boy born to Chinese parents in Shantou, China during a period of change (the 1930s). The story takes on epic proportions when he relocates first to Hong Kong and then to Cholon (near Saigon) in Vietnam during the tumultuous period when a series of foreign powers (the Japanese, the French, the Americans) fought wars over Vietnams governance and managed to
The world would be a faithful friend to anyone who could payThe Headmasters Wager possesses everything I look for in a book: intriguingly flawed characters, ambiguity, tightly-woven and suspenseful plot, page-turning revelations and a fresh perspective of an old plot theme the Vietnam War.Chen Pie Sou renamed Percival Chen -- is the eponymous headmaster, in charge of the Percival Chen English Academy, which was formerly the rice warehouse of his father. He is a Chinese ex-patriot, a
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