A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain is Robert Olen Butler’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of lyrical and poignant stories about the aftermath of the Vietnam War and its enduring impact on the Vietnamese. Written in a soaring prose, Butler’s haunting and powerful stories blend Vietnamese folklore and contemporary American realities, creating a vibrant panorama that is epic in its scope.
This new edition includes two previously uncollected stories—”missing” and “salem”—that brilliantly complete the collection’s narrative journey, returning to the jungles of Vietnam to explore the experiences of a former Vietcong soldier and an American MIA.
Source: https://groveatlantic.com/book/a-good-scent-from-a-strange-mountain/
Keywords/Themes
War and its aftermath, cultural displacement, immigrant identity, generational trauma, tradition vs. modernity, storytelling and memory, gender roles, spirituality and folklore, family dynamics, reconciliation, magical realism.
Book Review & Recommended Use in Classroom
Impressive collection of stories that speak to a variety of themes that can be discussed in an upper level English language classroom. The stories address the challenges of Vietnamese immigrants who have settled in the United States, particularly in Louisiana. The characters’ memories of the Vietnam war, their culture, tradition and language are in stark contrast with the American popular culture and way of life. One of my favorite stories is “Mr. Green,” which tells of a Catholic Vietnamese woman who reflects on her grandfather’s Confucian traditions and ancestor worship. Themes addressed are gender, identity, tradition, religion. The symbolism Butler uses and the way he weaves the past and the present into one single story is exceptionally well done and very engaging. “Crickets” is another favorite of mine since it juxtaposes a Vietnamese father, who wants to retain his Vietnamese traditions, with his son, who is only interested in American culture. “A Ghost Story” is a great example of magical realism and takes place in Vietnam. “Letters from my Father” deals with the relationship of a Vietnamese American teenager and her father, whom she has only met through letters and photographs.
(Miriam O., June 2025)
Sensitive Content
Some stories such as „Open Arms“ may be too graphic for young adults (pornography, shame). “Fairy Tale” deals with prostitution.
About the Author
Robert Olen Butler (born January 20, 1945, in Granite City, Illinois) is an American fiction writer best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Raised in a working-class steel-mill town, he pursued degrees in Oral Interpretation and playwriting. His service as a counterintelligence agent and translator during the Vietnam War greatly influenced his writing.
