Love Found and Lost

“In the current Vietnam, decades after the war, little memory remains of what was once the Republic of South Vietnam, its history, its cultural life, its society during the war. Of particular interest is the lost world of South Vietnam’s entertainment industry duringthe war: Kim Vui was a larger-than-life figure within that industry.” --Andrew Lam, former commentator, NPR’s All Things Considered, and author of Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora

"Kim Vui’s love story is so captivating and beautifully told that you may not notice until you turn the last page and catch your breath that she has also given us one of the best concise histories now available of Vietnam under French and American wartime influence.<p><p>"As we experience with her the agonies of cross-cultural romance, we discover the challenges faced by a multitalented woman in an often brutally male-oriented society and meet the Quintessential Quiet American who helped pioneer US psychological warfare tactics against the Viet Cong."<p><p>--<b>Frank Snepp</b>, author of <i>Decent Interval and Irreparable Harm</i>

"Kim Vui’s memoir is an honest reflection on an extraordinary life. A South Vietnamese screen legend from the 1960s and 70s, Vui is a cinema siren, acclaimed singer, and successful business woman who can now add author to her long resume as she brings a vanished world to life in this incredible life story that could be the basis of one of her movies. <i>Love Found and Lost</i> is an important book for anyone seeking to understand the personal toll of the long war in Vietnam and its aftermath effects on a family. Kim Vui has an eye for telling detail. She also has the humility, grace, and elegance to inspire empathy for family, friends, lovers, losers, and rivals, all of whom were caught in the middle of the conflict. This is a powerful and richly layered history."<p><p>--<b>Monique Brinson Demery</b>, author of <i>Finding the Dragon Lady: The Mystery of Vietnam’s Madame Nhu</i>