The Smell Of Napalm
Denise Chong’s The Girl In The Picture is a superb account of the life of Kim Phuc, the young girl photographed in the wake of a napalm attack which has become probably the most famous image of the Vietnam war. Chong’s book uses the war as a backdrop to explain the lives of Phuc and her family before, during and after the war, and the bizarre repercussions of Phuc’s napalm wounds which led to her becoming a celebrity around the world. As a depiction not only of a Vietnam that is not wholly framed by the war, and an insight into the then Communist bloc countries of Russia, Cuba and Vietnam where Phuc spent time, Chong’s book works extremely well. By following one individual, Phuc’s story rehumanises not only the Vietnam war but also the physical and psychological toll of its aftermath. This seems particularly apposite in the current political climate. Phuc is now an ambassador for the UN to help war children everywhere through the Kim Foundation - there’s more about the photo and its impact on the site.
Other Splinters posts of interest:
- Cambodia uber alles
- Jungle Fever Peter Cowie’s imaginatively-titled "…
- New Arrivals
- Murderous games
- Book Reviews From The Crypt
