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never told her family and what only Vivien could for another beer, to fetch him his cigarettes, or to 5
understand. One day Phuong too would leave request a particular dish for dinner.
this place, for Saigon was boring and the country “And this, an original tunnel.” Mr. Ly
itself not big enough for the desires in her heart. stopped and pointed at a square hole the size
“This, ladies and gentlemen, a punji trap.” of a sheet of writing paper, covered with a Viet Thanh Nguyen
Mr. Ly spoke in English, beckoning for the group wooden board and a scattering of leaves at the
to halt. The two dozen tourists, all Westerners, foot of a eucalyptus tree. “Here, guerrillas live
stepped close to the bamboo trapdoor. He spun for years and attack Americans anytime.” The
it on its hinge until it was vertical, revealing a tourists were almost all Americans, but this
pit as deep as a grave and as long as a coffin, a history did not seem to offend them. Instead
dozen sharp wooden stakes embedded in the they seemed fascinated, raising their cameras
earth. “Step on trapdoor, you fall in.” as he lifted the board to show the narrow, dark
After a couple of tourists took photographs, entrance. Off in the distance, from the shooting
Mr. Ly waved the group forward. He wore a short- range, a machine gun fired a burst of rounds,
sleeved white shirt, gray slacks, and polished each bullet costing a dollar, according to their
brown leather shoes, whereas at home he typically father. Phuong was bemused by the fact that
lounged in shorts and perhaps an undershirt. these tourists would want to spend their money
What was strangest to Phuong was seeing her and their day here instead of at the beach or a
father joke and chat with the tourists. Whenever fancy restaurant, or in a hammock at a rustic
he spoke to Phuong at home, it was mostly to call riverside café. The reason for such behavior, her

Michael Brooks/Alamy Stock Photo

Tourism in Vietnam is often focused on what Americans call the Vietnam War, or the Second Indochina
War, as the Vietnamese call it. Here, a tourist to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum in Saigon inspects the
cockpit of a U.S. Bell Huey helicopter.
How does “Fatherland” address war tourism? Why does Mr. Ly seem to come alive when he is
leading tours?
25
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