Realidad y ficción en la novela de Vietnam: usos de la historia en la obra de James Webb

Abstract

The American experience in Vietnam has produced a wide range of literary responses, each involving a particular approach both to the literary phenomenon and the war itself. James Webb’s revisionist interpretation of the conflict drastically departs from the tone of critical condemnation to the North American intervention generally adopted by historiography. This paper analysis the relationship between fact and fiction in the three novels by Webb: Fields of Fire, A Sense of Honor and A Country Such as This. It also aims to view the main characteristics of the author’s reconstruction of this episode in the United States’ history as encompassed by the literary text.