Beyond the Rice Paddies

This collection of vignettes portrays the heartache of the most innocent victims of war: children. Set in mid-1960s Vietnam, Beyond the Rice Paddies by Linda West, whose birth name is Tran Thi Bach Yen Oanh, begins with a short scene of a happier time in the author's childhood. Memories of a pretty yellow dress set the tone of a simple existence in her village of Bien Hoa, yet foreshadow an ominous presence. As the war explodes on the landscapes of Vietnam's peaceful hamlets, the author is forever changed, becoming eternally grateful to the American soldiers. This little girl's story provides a moving historical pageant of what life is like for children growing up in a country torn by war.