When Heaven and Earth Changed Places
Encyclopedia
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places is a 1989 memoir
by Le Ly Hayslip about her childhood during the Vietnam War
, her escape to the United States
, and her return to visit Vietnam 16 years later. The Oliver Stone
film Heaven & Earth was based on the memoir. The book was written with Jay Wurts, an L.A.-based writer and editor.
, named Ky La. Her village was along the fault line between the north and south of Vietnam, with shifting allegiances in the village leading to constant tension. She and her friends worked as lookout for the northern Vietcong. The South Vietnamese learned of her work, arrested and tortured her. After Hayslip was released from prison, however, the Vietcong no longer trusted her and sentenced her to death. At the age of fourteen, two soldiers threatened to kill her in the forest. Once they arrived, both men decided to rape her instead.
She fled to Da Nang
where she worked as a maid, a black-market vendor, a waitress, a hospital worker and even a prostitute. While working for a wealthy Vietnamese family with her mother in Saigon, Hayslip had a few sexual encounters with the landlord, Anh, and discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to a baby son at the age of fifteen. Several years later, she married an American contractor named Ed Munro and gave birth to another son. Hayslip left for San Diego, California
in 1970, shortly after her 20th birthday.
Hayslip's entire family was torn apart by the war: one brother fled to Hanoi
, and did not see his family again for 20 years. Another brother was killed by a land mine. The Vietcong pressured her father to force Hayslip to become a saboteur. Rather than give into the pressure, he committed suicide.
The memoir alternates between her childhood in Vietnam, and her return in 1986, to visit the friends and family she had not seen for so long. In Vietnam she was reunited with the father of her first child, her sisters, brother, and her mother. Her family were afraid to be seen with her because the tensions from the war was still present. Her memoir concludes with a plea for an end to the enmity between the Vietnamese and Americans.
wrote that, "to Americans, almost always, the peasants of Vietnam were part of the scenery of the war, no more."
The book was also praised for its message about the horrors of war. A review by Pulitzer Prize
-winning writer David K. Shipler
for The New York Times
wrote "If Hollywood has the courage to turn this book into a movie, then we Americans might finally have a chance to come to terms with the tragedy in Vietnam." The Washington Post reviewer wrote: "It should not be missed by anyone -- especially anyone who still thinks there is anything noble or glorious about war."
in May 1990. In 1993, Plume published a tie-in edition (ISBN 0452271681) to accompany the release of the film Heaven & Earth. In 2003, Plume published a new edition of the book (ISBN 0452271681) with a new afterword from Hayslip.
had previously made two films about the Vietnam War
, 1986's Platoon
, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
and Born on the Fourth of July
. Stone won the Academy Award for Directing
for both films.
Both films were told from the perspective of Americans. Platoon was based on Oliver Stone's own experience in Vietnam and Born on the Fourth of July was based on the experiences of veteran Ron Kovic
. After Platoon, Hayslip would stand outside movie theaters in San Diego, where she lived at the time, and hand out fliers. "I am not against the movie," Hayslip said, "But I want them to know that 3 million of my people died in that war too."
Stone had been a United States Army
soldier in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. Hayslip was living and working in Da Nang
, Vietnam at the same time Stone was stationed there and they have speculated that they possibly crossed paths.
Stone read her memoir when it was published in 1989 and felt that his look at the Vietnam War was incomplete without telling the story from the perspective of the Vietnamese. He optioned the book and the film was released in 1993. The film version was also based in part on Hayslip's second book, Child of War, Woman of Peace, about her adaptation to life in the United States. The film was not as well-received as Platoon or Born on the Fourth of July.
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
by Le Ly Hayslip about her childhood during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, her escape to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and her return to visit Vietnam 16 years later. The Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
film Heaven & Earth was based on the memoir. The book was written with Jay Wurts, an L.A.-based writer and editor.
Plot summary
The story began during Hayslip's childhood in a small village in central VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, named Ky La. Her village was along the fault line between the north and south of Vietnam, with shifting allegiances in the village leading to constant tension. She and her friends worked as lookout for the northern Vietcong. The South Vietnamese learned of her work, arrested and tortured her. After Hayslip was released from prison, however, the Vietcong no longer trusted her and sentenced her to death. At the age of fourteen, two soldiers threatened to kill her in the forest. Once they arrived, both men decided to rape her instead.
She fled to Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
where she worked as a maid, a black-market vendor, a waitress, a hospital worker and even a prostitute. While working for a wealthy Vietnamese family with her mother in Saigon, Hayslip had a few sexual encounters with the landlord, Anh, and discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to a baby son at the age of fifteen. Several years later, she married an American contractor named Ed Munro and gave birth to another son. Hayslip left for San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in 1970, shortly after her 20th birthday.
Hayslip's entire family was torn apart by the war: one brother fled to Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, and did not see his family again for 20 years. Another brother was killed by a land mine. The Vietcong pressured her father to force Hayslip to become a saboteur. Rather than give into the pressure, he committed suicide.
The memoir alternates between her childhood in Vietnam, and her return in 1986, to visit the friends and family she had not seen for so long. In Vietnam she was reunited with the father of her first child, her sisters, brother, and her mother. Her family were afraid to be seen with her because the tensions from the war was still present. Her memoir concludes with a plea for an end to the enmity between the Vietnamese and Americans.
Critical reception
Hayslip's memoir was hailed as a previously neglected look at the war from the perspective of the Vietnamese peasants whose lives were upended. A review in The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote that, "to Americans, almost always, the peasants of Vietnam were part of the scenery of the war, no more."
The book was also praised for its message about the horrors of war. A review by Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning writer David K. Shipler
David K. Shipler
David K. Shipler is an American author who won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1987 for Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land...
for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote "If Hollywood has the courage to turn this book into a movie, then we Americans might finally have a chance to come to terms with the tragedy in Vietnam." The Washington Post reviewer wrote: "It should not be missed by anyone -- especially anyone who still thinks there is anything noble or glorious about war."
Publication history
The memoir was first published on April 29, 1989 by Doubleday. The book was later published by PlumePlume (publishing)
Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group, with a backlist of approximately 700 titles....
in May 1990. In 1993, Plume published a tie-in edition (ISBN 0452271681) to accompany the release of the film Heaven & Earth. In 2003, Plume published a new edition of the book (ISBN 0452271681) with a new afterword from Hayslip.
Film adaptation
Oliver StoneOliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
had previously made two films about the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, 1986's Platoon
Platoon (film)
Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth....
, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July (film)
Born on the Fourth of July is a 1989 American film adaptation of the best selling autobiography of the same name by Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic. Tom Cruise plays Kovic, in a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Oliver Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Kovic, and also...
. Stone won the Academy Award for Directing
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
for both films.
Both films were told from the perspective of Americans. Platoon was based on Oliver Stone's own experience in Vietnam and Born on the Fourth of July was based on the experiences of veteran Ron Kovic
Ron Kovic
Ronald Lawrence Kovic is an anti-war activist, veteran and writer who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War. He is best known as the author of the memoir Born on the Fourth of July, which was made into an Academy Award–winning movie directed by Oliver Stone, with Tom Cruise playing Kovic...
. After Platoon, Hayslip would stand outside movie theaters in San Diego, where she lived at the time, and hand out fliers. "I am not against the movie," Hayslip said, "But I want them to know that 3 million of my people died in that war too."
Stone had been a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldier in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. Hayslip was living and working in Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, Vietnam at the same time Stone was stationed there and they have speculated that they possibly crossed paths.
Stone read her memoir when it was published in 1989 and felt that his look at the Vietnam War was incomplete without telling the story from the perspective of the Vietnamese. He optioned the book and the film was released in 1993. The film version was also based in part on Hayslip's second book, Child of War, Woman of Peace, about her adaptation to life in the United States. The film was not as well-received as Platoon or Born on the Fourth of July.