A good scent from a strange mountain open arms

A good scent from a strange mountain 1993 edition open. For example the first short story open arms which begins during the vietnam war pays the readers attention to the unmoral actions of the australian soldiers who made the main character thap to screen pornographic films. Robert olen butler wrote a good scent from a strange mountain as one of a series of fifteen linked stories, each narrated by a different vietnamese character. The question and answer section for a good scent from a strange mountain is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Does deprivation make pleasure that much more potent. A good scent from a strange mountain stories short story. Written in a soaring prose, butlers haunting and powerful stories blend vietnamese folklore and contemporary american realities. Now grove press is proud to reissue this contemporary classic by one of americas most important living writers, in a new edition of a good scent from a strange mountain that includes two subsequently published stories salem and missing that brilliantly complete the collections narrative journey, returning to the jungles of vietnam. All of the fictional narrators are immigrants to the us from vietnam who are living in new orleans. A good scent from a strange mountain summary gradesaver. Jun 07, 1992 a good scent from a strange mountain goes a long way toward making the vietnamese real, and its method is bold. The narrator, a translator for the australian forces, recounts the story. It is known that this book a good scent from a strange mountain was a great success with the readers and even won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1993.

Dec 29, 2016 robert olen butler became a member of counterintelligence special agent for the army in vietnam for 1969 to 1971, somehow shaping his standpoints about vietnamese living in a specific period of era. A good scent from a strange mountain characters gradesaver. Robert olen butler born january 20, 1945 is an american fiction writer. That is why it is very important to pay special attention to some facts from the authors biography in order to make a good analysis of the literary work and to compare and contrast the. A good scent from a strange mountain steamboat springs. From the shortstory collection a good scent from a strange mountain, crickets is the story of a vietnamese family displaced to lake charles, louisiana, and the rift that develops between a. A good scent from a strange mountain butler, robert olen. A good scent from a strange mountain by robert olen butler, 1993, penguin books edition, in english 1st ed. Each of the 15 short stories is written in the first person, from the standpoint of a different individual. A good scent from a strange mountain, by robert olen butler dan schneider i had heard the name robert olen butler before, mentioned as a southern writer, which generally connotes a certain way of approaching writing especially short stories.

A good scent from a strange mountain is a 1992 collection of short stories by robert olen butler. A good scent from a strange mountain for the future. It received the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1993. Can you love someone without being able to fully communicate with himher. It involves a grandfather, slowly dying, and seeing the vision of ho chi minh, with whom he worked and lived. Green the trip back fairy tale crickets letters from my father love midautumn in the clearing a ghost story snow relic preparation the american couple a good scent from a strange mountain. But, it was as a novelist that i heard is name, this time and the people mentioning his name were not enamored of his novelry. Good scent from a strange mountain fairy tale prezi. Where is the line between prostitution and a loveless union. We were the best of friends and we saw snow for the. His shortstory collection a good scent from a strange mountain was awarded the pulitzer prize for. Facing problems of representation in robert olen butlers. Open arms also analyzes a discussion between a buddhist narrator and a communist leader, among other parallels. Discussion of themes and motifs in robert olen butlers a good scent from a strange mountain.

Butlers novels include the alleys of eden, countrymen of bones, and sun dogs. Imperialism and power in love and open arms by robert. It received the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1993 each story in the collection is narrated by a different vietnamese immigrant living in the us state of louisiana. Electronic books manners and customs social life and. A good scent from a strange mountain stories short story collection butler robert olen download bok. Each story in the collection is narrated by a different vietnamese immigrant living in the us state of louisiana. A good scent from a strange mountain quotes by robert olen butler. The book a good scent from a strange mountain written by robert olen butler, a famous modern american fiction writer, consists of several short stories which are narrated by the vietnamese who live in the united states of america. Open arms is the first story a rather pedestrian tale of vietnam intrigue carried over to the new country. In my poem, how they changed, i explore each of the 15 short stories contained within robert olen butlers, a good scent from a strange mountain. He depicts vietnamese nationals and emigres reacting against the limits of.

Titled after one of the stories, a good scent from a strange mountain, the collection won the pulitzer prize for fiction. They have been living in the new orleans area for more than a decade, arriving in america after the fall of south vietnam. A good scent from a strange mountain goes a long way toward making the vietnamese real, and its method is bold. The narrator is a vietnamese husband who has a beautiful, flirtatious wife. Drawing on his experiences as a translator and spy during the vietnam war, in 1992 american author robert olen butler published a collection of short stories about refugees from that war. This was something of a surprise to me, the first time i saw him beside my bed, in the dim light from the open shade. Most of these stories are oriented in the present while flashbacks give readers more knowledge of a characters life. When i learn english for real, i buy books for children and i read, once upon a time. A good scent from a strange mountain i think it is necessary to analyze some of them in order to see that all the characters have a religious basis in their actions. Robert olen butler butlers pulitzer prizewinning collection of stories about the aftermath of the vietnam war and its impact on the vietnamese is reissued. He is a north vietnamese and a fervent communist at first glance. A good scent from a strange mountain literature essay samples. Aug 18, 2010 open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.

A good scent from a strange mountain a good scent from a strange mountain is the final story. The stories between diaz and butler have strong contrast in culturallyinfluenced experiences. The politics of the vietnamese refugees continue after they have arrived in america, as their new home country looks to deal with the newly. To ask other readers questions about a good scent from a strange mountain. A collection of his stories, a good scent from a strange mountain, won the 1993 pulitzer prize for fiction. Butler creates a narrative by combining vietnamese folklore, contemporary western world realities, faith, spirituality, friendship, and love that is warm and. A good scent from a strange mountain questions and answers. The a good scent from a strange mountain community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. His shortstory collection a good scent from a strange mountain was awarded the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1993. This novel has fifteen short stories of different vietnamese immigrants to the united states. A good scent from a strange mountain assignment research writer. Robert butlers a good scent from a strange mountain and.

Sep 11, 2011 almost every story in this collection really tugs at the heartstringsparticularly open arms, the trip back, fairy tale, and a good scent from a strange mountain. Butler was born in granite city, illinois, to robert olen butler sr. The book a good scent from a strange mountain written by robert olen butler. Open arms and letters from my father sarah wyman abstract robert olen butler carries out a postmodern critique of representation in the short stories open arms and letters from my father from his collection a good scent from a strange mountain 1992.

Robert olen butler a collection of stories about vietnamese immigrants living in louisiana as they face love, loss, despair, and the challenges and conflicts of a new life. After the fall of saigon at the end of the vietnam war in 1975, more than three million refugees fled the country, with about half settling in the united states. A good scent from a strange mountain summary supersummary. But i cannot imagine these things because i lived them, and to remember them with the vividness i know they should have is impossible. For example in the titular story a good scent from a strange mountain, thang, loi and daos daughters lives are shaped by their ongoing experiences of difference, dislocation. Open arms is one of the most intense stories in the collection. A good scent from a strange mountain by robert olen butler. A good scent from a strange mountain is robert olen butlers pulitzer prizewinning collection of lyrical and poignant stories about the aftermath of the vietnam war and its enduring impact on the vietnamese. A good scent from a strange mountain quotes showing of 3 i can speak these words and perhaps you can see these things clearly because you are using your imagination. Those standpoints have been embodied in, out of many others, open arms, where the narrator is employed as an interpreter. Afterwards, he began teaching in louisiana where a large population of vietnamese can be found, thus inspiring him to write a good scent from a strange mountain. A good scent from a strange mountain is a collection of short stories each from a different persons point of view. Some of robert olen butler served in vietnam as military intelligence and as a translator during the war the in the sixties and part of the seventies. A good scent from a strange mountain discussion questions robert olen butler this study guide consists of approximately 44 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of a good scent from a strange mountain.

Open arms is related by a vietnamese man who worked as an interpreter. This collection of short stories is built in such a way that all the characters are interrelated and serve to develop the main theme of the book. A good scent from a strange mountain stories by robert olen butler a good scent from a strange mountain. A good scent from a strange mountain is one of the most extraordinary collections of short stories that i have ever read.

In a 2000 interview with, butler claimed, of the fifteen narrators in a good scent, not one of them has a real life counterpart. For example the first short story open arms which begins during the vietnam. A good scent from a strange mountain discussion questions. A good scent from a strange mountain 11j jl jl o chi minh came to me again last night, his hands covered with confectioners sugar. Set during the vietnam war, it is narrated by a translator who tells the story of thap. A vietnamese translator working with the australian army tells the story of tha. A good scent from a strange mountain grove atlantic. He has received a guggenheim fellowship in fiction and a national endowment for the arts grant.