This is the final week of the Paco’s Story read-a-long, check out the discussion questions.
If you missed the first round, second round, and third round of questions, check them out. You also can check out my responses to section 1, section 2, and section 3.
In the final chapters, the narrator takes us back to Vietnam and sheds light on some of the horrors of the war and Paco’s part in the conflict. We learn that Paco has a specialty in booby traps and bombs, and that each member of the unit has their own tasks. The unit is tight knit and the camaraderie is made evident, but there is a darker side to this group.
Paco and his men find a young, female Viet Cong member after she kills several of their fellow soldiers. Unfortunately, her punishment is the worst thing a woman can imagine, and Paco takes part. This scene is detailed and gruesome, but it serves to demonstrate how far the war can twist the human mind and its ability to discern right from wrong when revenge becomes the top priority. It is not just revenge against the female Viet Cong for killing their men, but for all the enemies who have won battles and killed Americans and dragged them into this war.
In previous chapters, we’ve seen Cathy watch Paco from afar and flirt with him. . . tease him. She teases him when he comes back to the Hotel Geronimo as she waits in her doorway in little more than a man’s dress shirt, and Paco’s expectation is that if he can get to her door before she closes it, they will become as intimate as they have imagined. Her flirtations know no bounds. One evening she leaves town, and Paco sneaks inside her room and reads her diary. Sadly, what she says about him cuts him to the core, making him realize that his fantasies of fitting in and returning to the living are just that fantasies.
Another interesting aspect of Paco’s Story is the similarities that can be drawn between Vietnam and Boone, Texas, from the hot and sticky climate to the desolate feeling of being alone in the “jungle.” Whether its enemy territory or a town full of people that do not want you there, both places make Paco feel ill-at-ease and out of place. Setting plays an important role in the story and helps establish the pressures Paco continues to feel even though the war is over.
Finally, the ending of the book may be ambiguous, but it is fitting given our visit with Jesse and his penchant for traveling across the United States to experience life and forget about war. Paco seems to be embarking on a similar path.
Paco’s Story is a novel that anyone interested the Vietnam War should . . . no must read.
Even if you aren’t participating in the Vietnam War Reading Challenge, we hope that you will join us for the Paco’s Story read-a-long.
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