FOURTH UNCLE IN THE MOUNTAIN - REVIEWS


Quang and his wife at a sea side temple before he escapes from Vietnam

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FOURTH UNCLE in the MOUNTAIN

Set in Vietnam during the French and American wars, Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is the true story of an orphan, Quang Van Nguyen, adopted by a sixty-four-year-old Buddhist monk, Thau, who carries great responsibility for his people as a barefoot doctor. Thau manages against all odds to raise his son to follow in his footsteps and in doing so saves him, as well as a part of Vietnam’s esoteric knowledge, from the Vietnamese holocaust.

Thau is wanted by the French regime and occasionally must flee into the jungle where he is perfectly at home living among the animals. Thau is not the average monk; he practices an ancient form of Chinese medicine and uses magic to protect animals and people. As wise and resourceful as Thau is, he meets his match in his mischievous son. Quang is more interested in learning Cambodian sorcery and martial arts than in developing his skills and wisdom according to his father’s plan.

Thau eventually brings his rebellious son to study in the mystical Seven Mountains at the Cambodian border (by the Ho Chi Minh Trail). Surrounded by crocodile-infested flood lands, each mountain is an impenetrable fortress of primordial jungle, home to elephants, panthers, tigers, and the largest pythons on earth. It was in these villages that much of South East Asia’s esoteric knowledge had been hidden for the past hundred years in response to a prophecy of an impending apocalypse in Vietnam. Quang enters a world of miracles, spirits, ghosts, and magic.

Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is the true odyssey of a single-father folk hero and his foundling son in a land ravaged by the atrocities of war. It is a classic story, complete with humor, tragedy, and insight, from a country where ghosts and magic are real.

“It is important for every student in graduate of acupuncture schools everywhere to understand the true meaning and traditional genesis of this medicine s they might have learned it as an apprentice... This is a necessary journey each of us can take thanks to Dr. Van Nguyen and Margie Pivar in Fourth Uncle in the Mountain ” Leon Hammer, MD, President of Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine “It is an amazing, wonderful, and absolutely unique contribution to our knowledge of modern Vietnamese culture.” Keith Taylor, Cornell University, Professor of Vietnamese Cultural Studies Fourth Uncle in the Mountain is a great story about two simply good men. It is told simply, but simplicity should never be mistaken for a lack of emotional complexity, intellectual refinement, or overwhelming humanity. It is all that. The Asian Reporter “Your book opens doors to a part of the world we need to heal with. You have brought home a story of healing and wonder, have created a bridge between cultures, allowed a humble and wise voice to speak through you. How can we thank you for sharing all of this with Heartstone and the world beyond.” Kathy Leo, Heartstone Books “This true story of Van Nguyen’s life as a traditional healer in a war-torn country. It is a fine record of traditional Vietnamese life and culture and a glimpse into a world where magic, sorcery, and other realities exist.” Library Journal