Author’s tour of duty to write novels
Fifth book about Vietnam war receives special launch at national conference
Levin author Carole Brungar picked a good time to launch her latest novel on the Vietnam conflict. Fresh from the printer, copies of The Return turned up just in time for the Returned Services Association’s National Women’s conference held at Levin RSA this week, attended by more than 100 people from across New Zealand.
Brungar, who was also the librarian at Horowhenua College, had received worldwide acclaim for earlier books in the series on the Vietnam War, including heartfelt letters from former soldiers worldwide who had experienced the horrors of the conflict first-hand.
It was timely she was able to speak to the books at the conference, as many in the audience had read previous novels in the series.
The Return was the fifth and last, following on from The Nam Legacy, The Nam Shadow, Going Home and Loving Summer.
“It was great to be able to release the book in that environment,” she said.
Her books resonated especially with those who had known the Vietnam conflict, and those that knew of the horrors of any war, by providing an insight into the conflict through the stories’ fictional characters.
“Satisfying, but at times traumatic” was how she described the past few years of interviewing, researching and writing the series, which included trips to Vietnam itself.
Since the first book in 2017, she had been on her own tour of duty, which at times had been emotional.
“If I was going to write something that was realistic, to do it justice to the veterans themselves, it had to be accurate. I didn’t want anyone saying it was a load of rubbish,” she said.
“It was total immersion. It’s a long time to be in that headspace.”
Brungar was resigned to the fact the Vietnam genre was never going to be popular. It’s just how it was.
There was an invisible stigma with Vietnam that exists to this day.
“Sometimes people might say, ‘oh, you’re an author. What do you write about?.’ When I say Vietnam, the conversation tends to end,” she said.
Having a bestseller wasn’t her sole motivation. Bringing to light what Vietnam veterans went through, and still go through, was it’s own reward.
“It just helps to let people know what they went through and possibly still go through today. That’s what I was trying to achieve by putting the books out there,” she said.
The latest book centres around the experiences of the orphans of the Vietnam War, many of whom were removed from the country.
Character Jackie Coles fulfils a promise to her stepfather to return to her homeland of Vietnam to find her birth family. It’s not great timing for her budding romance with Jeff Hunter, whose family was also impacted by the Vietnam War.
Brungar had won numerous literary awards for her work.
The Return was available in local bookstores from today. Meanwhile, it was the 80th anniversary of the RSA Women’s national group, with attendees travelling from across New Zealand. They met the night before the conference for a social evening at Levin RSA. There were some distinguished guests at the AGM the following day, including national president Diane Wilson and national
RSA president BJ Clark, while Minister of Veterans Affairs Meka Whaitiri spoke at the meeting via Zoom.
Horowhenua Deputy Mayor Jo Mason and Levin RSA president Wayne Kaye welcomed the visitors, and speakers also included Veterans Affairs’ representatives Gerard Wood and Angela Southam, along with Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group president Gavin Smith and West Coast president Tom Cormack.
The AGM closed with a rendition of We’ll Meet Again and the cutting of an anniversary cake. It was the second consecutive year Levin RSA had hosted the AGM.