By Todd DePastino
I’ve known for three years that VBC Magazine‘s Managing Editor Daria Sommers was a talented storyteller, gifted writer, and deeply insightful about the human experience of war. But I had no idea she was about to surprise the world with a literary novel that would catch fire with readers around the globe.
That’s what’s happening right now with Daria’s debut novel, Sawadika American Girl, released on May 5 by Vine Leaves Press. Judging from the early reviews, much of the world beyond the Veterans Breakfast Club and the audiences of her prior films and essays are learning of Daria’s special intelligence, emotional honesty, historical depth, and deep compassion for people living in war’s long shadow.
Set in Bangkok during the Vietnam War, Sawadika American Girl follows 17-year-old Piper Lewis, daughter of a USAID official, as American military expansion transforms the city and reshapes her understanding of family, privilege, music, love, and war. When Piper meets Jack, a young American GI on R&R from Vietnam, the novel becomes both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on memory, loss, and moral awakening.
The novel draws in part on Daria’s own experience growing up in Thailand, and reviewers have especially praised the vivid sense of place she brings to Bangkok in 1968—a world of embassy compounds, lively street life, lonely GIs, and an atmosphere thick with budding monsoons. As she maintains her piano lessons and grudgingly eats less-than-delectable mid-century American cuisine (think tuna casserole), the violence of neighboring Vietnam is never far off stage.
I’ve sampled a number of reviews–on blogs, in magazines, and on Goodreads–and the praise is universal.
Literary Titan called the novel:
“A tender, immersive coming-of-age novel” and “a portrait of a young artist learning how to feel without looking away.”
Another reviewer loves the way Sommers balances intimacy with the broader historical tragedy of the war:
“In an era scarred by the Vietnam War, Daria Sommers somehow makes room for tenderness.”
Author John Fried calls it:
“A stunning historical coming-of-age novel” and “a complete page turner” that stayed with him “long after” its “heartbreaking final chapter.”
Playwright Catherine Filloux describes the novel as:
“Evocative, immersive and beautifully written… a fresh, soulful take on our tragic involvement in Southeast Asia.”
And novelist Marcia Bradley writes:
“Piper and Jack’s love affair will linger with readers for years.”
But perhaps the most moving response came from an instagram book reviewer whose father served in Vietnam near Cu Chi and met her mother through wartime letters.
Here is part of her review on Instagram:
Perhaps I am so moved by the story due to my own family’s proximity to Vietnam, and the way my parents met (through letters while my father was deployed). Perhaps it is simply due to the human connections, and the grief we feel at their severing, so beautifully and intricately woven together in the book.
Sorrow is indeed often something that is expressed through music more fully than words – but Daria Sommers is the instrument for the expression in this novel. Absolutely stunning work. I was, and continue to be, deeply moved by her words. Highly recommended for those who appreciate the complicated nature of American politics during this era, and especially those who love music.
After reading an advance copy, she wrote to Daria:
“The scene at the Wall just annihilated me . . . Thank you for writing this story. These boys need not to be forgotten.”
That reaction clearly meant a great deal to Daria, who shared it with me this week. It also says something important about the book itself.
Those who join our Veterans Breakfast Club events, in-person and virtual, and read our magazine, will understand and appreciate Daria’s novel. Many of our members lived through the Vietnam era directly. Others grew up in military families shaped by it. Some served in Thailand or passed through Bangkok on R&R. Daria’s story will certainly hit home with those who shared a proximity to the war.
What makes Sawadika American Girl especially compelling is that it approaches Vietnam from an angle we don’t often see: not the battlefield itself, but the quieter world of diplomacy and expats, the people who lived next to war, and the boys and girls trying to make sense of what the adults around them were doing.
The book is also, from all accounts, beautifully written. I’d expect nothing less.
Daria has worked so hard and expertly behind the scenes at VBC Magazine quietly shaping stories, punching up prose, and helping veterans tell difficult truths. It’s gratifying now to see her own voice receiving the recognition it deserves.
Congratulations to Daria on your remarkable literary debut!
And to VBC readers: if you care about Vietnam-era history, Southeast Asia, music, memory, first love, or the complicated human dimensions of war, this sounds like a book worth your time.
You can learn more about the novel and order copies here:
Additional reviews:
