Although Delvecchio's 13th Valley was more plot centered, his Carry Me Home deals more with the war within the Vietnam veterans, as they return to a nation that has forgotten them. For many, this fact of life was more difficult than the service performed in the now Communist state. I was looking for Delveccio, the wordsmith, in this work, but was disappointed in one regard. He did use familiar jargon of the time period, and it did make me recall the times. I guess, overall, the book's impact on me was its overriding sadness: sadness at people losing brothers, fathers, mothers, and sisters in a war that nobody understood; sadness at the terrible way veterans were treated by fellow Americans when they returned home from war; sadness at the dysfunctional relationships and families who suffered breakups and divorce from their loved ones, due to the long range psychological and emotional effects of this war. Delveccio remains as one of my favorite writers, for he speaks for me too.
"Arresting, Searing and Shattering.....The most eloquent novel ever to examine the American Viet Nam Veteran, nd return hme to a nation that had failed him....."
