The Five O'Clock Follies
What's a Woman Doing Here, Anyway?
by Theasa Tuohy
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Pub Date Oct 15 2012 | Archive Date Jan 13 2013
Calliope Press | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Description
In her brilliant debut novel, longtime daily journalist Theasa Tuohy captures the essence of what drives those who go into war armed only with a camera, notebook, and pen.
At a time when women rarely dreamed beyond careers as nurses, teachers or secretaries and certainly not as news reporters, a tall, enigmatic redhead arrives in Saigon. She is an object of great interest to the male correspondents, but few take her seriously as a reporter. Angela Martinelli survives a chopper crash, spends several days in the rat-infested bunkers of Khe Sanh, is captured briefly by the Viet Cong while trying to make her own way to the battle of Hue after being refused a hop on a military chopper, and finally is badly wounded when a jeepload of other correspondents are killed in Cholon. Her life, loves and struggle to prove herself chronicle the deterioration of the war, the strategic battles around the Tet offensive, and the conflict raging back home over the conduct of the war. Not since Graham Greene has anyone captured so well the tedium and terror of reporting on war.
Theasa Tuohy has worked for five daily papers and the Associated Press.
At a time when women rarely dreamed beyond careers as nurses, teachers or secretaries and certainly not as news reporters, a tall, enigmatic redhead arrives in Saigon. She is an object of great interest to the male correspondents, but few take her seriously as a reporter. Angela Martinelli survives a chopper crash, spends several days in the rat-infested bunkers of Khe Sanh, is captured briefly by the Viet Cong while trying to make her own way to the battle of Hue after being refused a hop on a military chopper, and finally is badly wounded when a jeepload of other correspondents are killed in Cholon. Her life, loves and struggle to prove herself chronicle the deterioration of the war, the strategic battles around the Tet offensive, and the conflict raging back home over the conduct of the war. Not since Graham Greene has anyone captured so well the tedium and terror of reporting on war.
Theasa Tuohy has worked for five daily papers and the Associated Press.
Advance Praise
"A freelance writer struggles to find her place among hard-nosed newsmen covering the Vietnam War in this depiction of wartime journalists.
In her debut, former Associated Press editor Tuohy describes the Vietnam War through a journalist's lens. Freelance writer Angela Martinelli arrives in Saigon in 1968, wearing her "greenness" in the form of high-heeled shoes and a gorgeous mane of red hair. As one of the few women correspondents in a war zone, Angela is greeted with misogyny, skepticism or disdain by her male colleagues, except for Nick, who works for a Chicago newspaper and gives her the benefit of the doubt. She soon proves her merit and bravery in the middle of a covert operation in Cambodia, surviving capture by the Viet Cong, living in a bunker during a siege and chasing truths that the military denies and her fellow reporters doubt. Angela also finds romance in the midst of this chaos; eventually she must choose: her career or love. Angela's determination is commendable as she forges ahead in spite of incredible dangers and an unconscionable lack of professional support. She's a model for young women seeking equality in male-dominated professions. Some portions of the book are slow, but they accurately reflect the downtime journalists endure between scoops-hanging out at bars, drinking Scotch, swapping gossip and waiting for the next gig. The story picks up steam when Tuohy describes pivotal moments of the war: the Tet offensive, the siege of Khe Sanh, soldiers on the line and the horrific injuries they sustained, even the psychological torment of walking endlessly through the jungle. The action is riveting and the writing is clear, detailed and highly readable.
An engrossing portrait of a woman among men in wartime."
--KIRKUS
"Theasa Tuohy's charming first novel The Five O'Clock Follies follows a charismatic and beautiful American journalist through her travels and travails in war-torn Vietnam of the late sixties. Ms. Tuohy explores with deep honesty a woman's struggle to be free of the constraints of American society, and the incredible chauvinism of the time. It will amaze the reader to see how far we've come since then, but also how far back we've gone. This novel will remind you that freedom, in any form, is worth fighting for, and worth holding onto, no matter what the cost."
-Kaylie Jones, author of A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
"This story, of a young woman's odds-against struggle to survive as a war correspondent in Saigon, takes readers behind the grim 1960's headlines and into the minds and hearts of the military people who fought the war and the reporters who wrote about it. Tuohy, herself a former journalist, has written what may be the best novel yet to emerge from the Vietnam War."
-Albert Ashforth, author of The Rendition
"Angela Martinelli, a raven-haired journalist, arrives in war-torn Saigon in a pair of killer heels and leaves in jungle boots after earning her stripes in work and love. Tuohy writes with the precision of Hemingway and the romantic fire and heart of Margaret Mitchell. This debut novel will transport readers to another time and place and leave them forever changed."
-Nina Solomon, author of Single Wife
"Theasa Tuohy's gripping novel immerses us in the chaotic world of war reporters. In the late sixties in steamy Saigon, correspondents find that their everyday experiences of street explosions, hospitals, and helicopter crashes conflict with the stories spun by the politicians and military brass at the official press conferences, soon dubbed the ‘five o'clock follies' by the skeptical journalists. Stateside problems of racism, sexism, and political divisions about the war haven't been left behind. We follow three reporters-- successful, well-connected Ford, savvy loner Nick, and talented rookie Angela-- as they try to make sense of the war and of their personal yearnings for home, for adventure, for truth, and yes, for bylines. Tuohy's deep knowledge of reporters, editors, sources, and the pitfalls of reporting from foreign lands enriches every page of The Five O'Clock Follies."
-- P. M. Carlson, author of Murder in the Dog Days
In her debut, former Associated Press editor Tuohy describes the Vietnam War through a journalist's lens. Freelance writer Angela Martinelli arrives in Saigon in 1968, wearing her "greenness" in the form of high-heeled shoes and a gorgeous mane of red hair. As one of the few women correspondents in a war zone, Angela is greeted with misogyny, skepticism or disdain by her male colleagues, except for Nick, who works for a Chicago newspaper and gives her the benefit of the doubt. She soon proves her merit and bravery in the middle of a covert operation in Cambodia, surviving capture by the Viet Cong, living in a bunker during a siege and chasing truths that the military denies and her fellow reporters doubt. Angela also finds romance in the midst of this chaos; eventually she must choose: her career or love. Angela's determination is commendable as she forges ahead in spite of incredible dangers and an unconscionable lack of professional support. She's a model for young women seeking equality in male-dominated professions. Some portions of the book are slow, but they accurately reflect the downtime journalists endure between scoops-hanging out at bars, drinking Scotch, swapping gossip and waiting for the next gig. The story picks up steam when Tuohy describes pivotal moments of the war: the Tet offensive, the siege of Khe Sanh, soldiers on the line and the horrific injuries they sustained, even the psychological torment of walking endlessly through the jungle. The action is riveting and the writing is clear, detailed and highly readable.
An engrossing portrait of a woman among men in wartime."
--KIRKUS
"Theasa Tuohy's charming first novel The Five O'Clock Follies follows a charismatic and beautiful American journalist through her travels and travails in war-torn Vietnam of the late sixties. Ms. Tuohy explores with deep honesty a woman's struggle to be free of the constraints of American society, and the incredible chauvinism of the time. It will amaze the reader to see how far we've come since then, but also how far back we've gone. This novel will remind you that freedom, in any form, is worth fighting for, and worth holding onto, no matter what the cost."
-Kaylie Jones, author of A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
"This story, of a young woman's odds-against struggle to survive as a war correspondent in Saigon, takes readers behind the grim 1960's headlines and into the minds and hearts of the military people who fought the war and the reporters who wrote about it. Tuohy, herself a former journalist, has written what may be the best novel yet to emerge from the Vietnam War."
-Albert Ashforth, author of The Rendition
"Angela Martinelli, a raven-haired journalist, arrives in war-torn Saigon in a pair of killer heels and leaves in jungle boots after earning her stripes in work and love. Tuohy writes with the precision of Hemingway and the romantic fire and heart of Margaret Mitchell. This debut novel will transport readers to another time and place and leave them forever changed."
-Nina Solomon, author of Single Wife
"Theasa Tuohy's gripping novel immerses us in the chaotic world of war reporters. In the late sixties in steamy Saigon, correspondents find that their everyday experiences of street explosions, hospitals, and helicopter crashes conflict with the stories spun by the politicians and military brass at the official press conferences, soon dubbed the ‘five o'clock follies' by the skeptical journalists. Stateside problems of racism, sexism, and political divisions about the war haven't been left behind. We follow three reporters-- successful, well-connected Ford, savvy loner Nick, and talented rookie Angela-- as they try to make sense of the war and of their personal yearnings for home, for adventure, for truth, and yes, for bylines. Tuohy's deep knowledge of reporters, editors, sources, and the pitfalls of reporting from foreign lands enriches every page of The Five O'Clock Follies."
-- P. M. Carlson, author of Murder in the Dog Days
