"...Remember, friends. . .Remember. . .the boys who died,who lived,who cried,The boys who fought in Nam."Message from Nam starts with a poem entitled "The Boys Who Fought in Nam" and from those very first few pages and the powerful message contained in those lines, I was emotionally invested in this book. In reading this book, I gained knowledge about a painful piece of our nation's history that is barely mentioned in American History courses, and the emotions multiplied with every page that I read. The book touches on many historically significant events of the 1960s-1970s, in addition to the Vietnam war... In fact, it starts with the main character, Paxton Andrews, sitting in a classroom in her high school in Savannah, Georgia on the day John F Kennedy was assassinated. The entire country was grieving at that time due to the loss of the President, and it brought back vivid memories of a time I was sitting in a classroom watching a plane hit the World Trade Center. The same sense of loss, fear, disbelief, and sorrow felt on that day was described as being felt on the day JFK's life was ended in Dallas, on 11/22/63. Message from Nam also touches base on the the continued conflicts regarding the Civil Rights movement and integration. In fact, when Paxton goes to Berkley University in California to pursue a degree in journalism, she is treated poorly by a black classmate who assumes she is racist because of her southern roots. It was a time of protest and demonstration and the nation remained in turmoil as the situation in Vietnam grew more dire and the anti-war movement heated up across the nation... Danielle Steel captured this all so well in just the first third of the book and it was so powerfully done. Paxton Andrews suffers so many unimaginable losses throughout the course of Message from Nam and I felt each one intensely. She ends up becoming a journalist, and after the war first robs her of a loved one, she goes to Vietnam for answers. There she is haunted by the atrocities of war and a beautiful country stained by death. She sees beggars and small children without limbs, other small children in the streets dealing heroin, and the constant threat of land mines, bombings, or worse. Through a column entitled "Message from Nam", she begins to write articles featuring the hard truth about what was going on in Nam. She is changed irrevocably by her experiences in war torn Vietnam and instead of finding answers, she is forever faced with more questions. Another powerful part of the story is how the soldiers fared during and following the war. It's heartbreaking to think of what so many young American men faced for their country and when they finally got to come home, they no longer felt they belonged. As one soldier tells Paxton in the book, "We leave Vietnam feeling like we're heroes, but when we get home we're treated like criminals". For the record, Danielle Steel is a popular romance author, but do not ever let anyone fool you into thinking Message from Nam is "just a romance". In fact, the romance felt very secondary to the historical components of the story. There are multiple love stories featured in this book and each one felt real, touched my heart, and broke it too. I cried A LOT while reading this book... but it was so worth it. It's one I won't soon forget.
OMG, I've been on a roll this year, blowing through WWII stories and now this one about Nam. I love me some Danielle Steel. She's the only one who can get away with telling versus showing, but she does it well, and I like it. This book was truly a journey. Like I felt I grew up with the heroine. The struggle was real in so many parts, and I enjoyed 'learning' about the Vietnam era. I likely couldn't speed through a nonfiction book about Vietnam, but Ms. Steel took me down the path through the eyes of a strong female, and I really, really enjoyed it. I'm normally not a history buff, but I've read most of Danielle's historical books and have not been disapointed. Definitely recommend.
What do You think about Message From Nam (1991)?
Reading this book yet again (as an adult) and I must say that I have enjoyed it even more this time. I am positive that this is my favourite book by Danielle Steel. The book still churns the same emotions if not even more intense than before. This is a story of different types of love – sexual, platonic and maternal. Paxton Andrews falls in love with 3 different men, all of whom are the love of her life in differing ways. Peter, the love of her youth and 1st man she ever experiences the emotion of love. Bill, the mature man who allows her grief for Peter to be dampened. Tony, the best friend, love of her adult life and the one that she will ultimately spend the rest of her life with. Ralph is the brother that she never had and who takes her under his wing when she arrives in Viet Nam; and whose death becomes the death of Paxton’s being. Joey is the little boy who allows Paxton to carry on hoping that Tony is alive and with whom she develops a mother-son relationship, which prevents her becoming bitter and twisted. Joey and Ralph allow her to express and develop a love/relationship that she never had with her own mother and brother. What also adds to the poignancy of the story is the intertwining of history and historical events from the 1960s – 1970s.
—Fungai
I hate to be one of those people, but I didn't like this book. I read it doggedly from beginning to end just to say that I did. I think Danielle Steele has an excellent grasp of history, and that's where she truly shines. But I never felt a connection to the characters in this story. The protagonist is pretty, privileged, and fights against the injustice of non-progressive ideas. But there's nothing about her that I liked. To be fair, I don't care much for romance (unless it's the Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen type of romance), so this wasn't my cup of tea. And I read it at a younger age, when I was a little more opinionated about things and had very little understanding of romantic love or the world in general. So to each his/her own.
—Coyla Coblentz
