Book Review: The Healer's War (a nurse in VietNam)(OT)

The Healer's War, by Elizabeth Scarborough (Doubleday/Bantam, 1988, 320 pp HB, $26.99) Winner of the Nebula Award for science fiction or fantasy in 1989. 

Irreverent Woman at War

No holds barred, this novel is unusual and captivating, as well as often irreverent - quite often, as a matter of fact. In three parts, the first, "The Hospital," being the longest, followed by "The Jungle" and finally the shortest "Coming Home," The Healer's War is about an Army nurse in Vietnam, written by an Army nurse who served in Vietnam.

For the Veterans - Different War, Same Stuff

A fast read this book is, that details memories, the same yet different of just about anyone who has been deployed to a combat zone, but how times have changed, how the Army has changed - more formal today though some aspects are still the same, especially in the boonies where protocol takes a back seat to staying alive.

Part One, "The Hospital"

Fortunately, author Elizabeth Scarborough gets the Army right, at least an Army hospital in a deployment zone. Living in a small small hooch, sweating, working night shifts, getting to "know" the GIs, taking care of wounded Americans as well as Vietnamese, one of whom seems to be a holy man who gives Kitty his necklace as he is about to die. 

The necklace is magical and shows colors around people to warn Kitty of their intentions but the necklace also gives Kitty healing powers. After all, this is a fantasy novel.

You might want to read this lively part of the book with pen and paper to remember the names the characters. In addition, the diary of a combat nurse's shifts, colleagues, and patients may bore the reader, though those with some hospital experience will eagerly devour the stories and recollections.

Part Two, "The Jungle"

Surviving a helicopter crash, Kitty and her young patient must navigate the jungle and along the way they meet a snake, villagers, and the VietCong.

This part must be read carefully so as not to mix up days.

Part Three, "Coming Home"

Home, finally, Kitty, though disilusioned, experiences what many returnees experience after returning from combat - a culture that doesn't understand. How Kitty finally finds peace and a new meaning to her life closes out the novel.

Drawback: Although the author includes a two-page glossary of Vietnamese terms, she writes, "My apologies to any Vietnamese speakers for inaccuracies. I wish I had had your assistance when compiling this." That is no excuse, especially when this reviewer was a Vietnamese speaker, and finding one in 1988 would have been easy.

Review by Skye Anderson