I\u2019m a big fan of Ward Just\u2014a great American novelist who is not as well-known as he should be. He writes above all about the political world and the people in it– Chicago in the \u201950s has been a rich subject for him and Washington. He has also written about Americans overseas, expat. life in Berlin in one book and in Paris in another. American Romantic <\/i> takes place mostly in Viet Nam in the early 1960s\u2014a place Just knows from his years covering the war there as a reporter for the Washington Post. His protagonist, Harry Sanders, not yet 30, idealistic and from wealthy liberal Connecticut, is a Foreign Service Officer in the embassy in Saigon just at the moment American troops are being drawn into war. Assigned to a dangerous mission, Harry has a harrowing experience in the jungle that changes his life forever. In the latter half of the book Harry is older, retired after a long diplomatic career and living in the South of France. The two women Harry loves\u2014both appealing and more complex than even he knew–also play an important part in the story. In American Romantic<\/i>\u2014as in his other books\u2014Just does an amazing job evoking the various places and time in which his story unfolds. His characters are substantive and so is his understanding of the political world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m a big fan of Ward Just\u2014a great American novelist who is not as well-known as he should be. He writes above all about the political world and the people in it– Chicago in the \u201950s has been a rich subject for him and Washington. He has also written about Americans overseas, expat. life in … <\/p>\n