Review: A Summer of War by Lynn Mason

A breathless tale of violence and love, A Summer of War by Lynn Mason is a gripping plunge into the jungles of Vietnam, told through an evocative and refreshing lens.

When a misogynistic military bureaucrat tells reporter Chris McKenna that the Mekong Delta is no place for a woman, she smells a story, so she bounds her way into the fiery battlefield of South Vietnam. In “a war gone awry,” being a female member of the press at a forward operating base is a hard row to hoe, but she has the essential support of Paul, her photo-snapping sidekick who has seen his fair share of war. Almost immediately, she’s caught in a firefight and saved by a striking soldier named John Rawlins – fearless, noble, and immediately drawn to the reckless reporter who doesn’t take no for an answer.

Hunting for a meaningful scoop in the heart of America’s ongoing blunder, Chris navigates the balance of her duty as a committed reporter and the emotional complexity of survival on the front lines. As the war heats up, Chris and Paul become a smirkingly accepted part of the platoon, and while Chris’ penchant for disobeying orders causes plenty of trouble, her grit and courage under fire earns the grudging respect of the men, including Rawlins. The slow burn of connection between John and Chris is done tastefully, without detracting from the other plotlines – the military aspects of the story are far more prominent than the romantic ones. Chris is not a damsel in distress, and mortar craters are an apocalyptically dangerous place to fall in love, but the flashes of intimacy and attraction are well-placed hints of more to come.

The action throughout the novel is immediate and the energetic pace rarely slows – from high-stakes negotiations and standoffs of will to explosive battle sequences and the frenetic gunfire of nightly patrols, Mason knows how to rapidly pull readers into every scene. Expanding the scope and perspective of the Vietnam War in a way that textbooks and documentaries so often fail to do, the novel does more than entertain – it offers a rare and humanizing portrait of a brutal conflict, the echoes of which still resound in the world today. Focusing on both the individuals and systemic forces that perennially drive conflict – toxic masculinity, xenophobia, sexism, othering – the timely prose reminds readers that many of these same issues are permeating geopolitics today.

There are occasional typos and small slips in the grammatical details (e.g. peak” vs “peek”), but generally, the writing is carefully crafted and concise, resulting in historical fiction of the highest caliber. Every line seems to have a purpose and intention – often multiple – from rich scenic descriptions and character-building details to subtle reactions and artfully chosen dialogue. The authenticity of the character interactions, the visceral nature of the storytelling, and the raw depiction of grunt life in the US military combine to make this a thrilling drama with a sheen of romance, and a compelling quest for the courage to tell the truth.