cover image BENEATH BUDDHA'S EYES

BENEATH BUDDHA'S EYES

Tony Anthony, . . Welcome Rain, $25 (240pp) ISBN 978-1-56649-252-2

Anthony offers a journalistic spin on the horrors of the Vietnam War in his evocative but somewhat familiar debut novel about a pair of romantically involved reporters trying to expose a corrupt U.S. officer. Reporter Peter Hill narrates the story in a series of flashbacks framed as sessions with his therapist. His account begins when the army reporter meets a gorgeous civilian colleague named Kate White, who works for UPI. The two journalists find themselves trying to break a story about the double-dealings of Colonel Broward, a base commander and former lover of White's who is using the local Vietnamese forces to assist him in a series of clandestine, illegal activities. Kate's persistent investigation ignites Broward's violent temper, and when Hill steps in to defend her he gets sent off on a suicide mission down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Anthony convincingly captures the eroticism of the affair, but his writing is uneven. Crisp, tight scenes are interspersed with more stilted ones, such as those between Peter and his therapist. War clichés surface on a regular basis, particularly in the corruption subplot. Anthony's decision to reunite Kate and Peter after the war adds an unexpected element to the plot, but it also makes for some hesitant, awkward scenes as the author ties up the narrative loose ends. Anthony, a former war correspondent and Stars & Stripes contributor, shows promise, but on balance this debut is a clunky one. (Nov.)