the circumstances that brought her and her mother to the back-alley shanty in Hanoi where they live with other street vendors, all making their paltry livings selling rice, vermicelli, noodles, tea, and sweets. She has suffered the shame of her fatherlessness but cannot penetrate her mother’s silence about it until they return to her mother’s native village. There Hang discovers just how much politics has shaped her life.

The history of Hang’s family reflects the history of Communist ideology in Southeast Asia from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. Orphaned while still a teenager, Hang’s mother maintained the family home as a street vendor while her younger brother, Chinh, was schooled by the new Communist government to assume a party leadership position. While he was away, his sister married a well-regarded schoolteacher from a respectable family. When Chinh returned, he condemned his sister’s husband and hardworking sister-in-law, Tam, as “exploiters of the people.” The schoolteacher escaped to the northern hinterlands, the sister’s beautiful house was confiscated to be occupied by corrupt cadre leaders, and Hang’s mother; forbidden to participate further in capitalist ventures, became not only impoverished but also the object of the villagers’ hatred and resentment because of Chinh’s actions. When the government restored the villagers’ land and houses and Chinh was reassigned, Hang’s mother was forced to leave her village. She escaped to the anonymity of Hanoi. Though her husband was able to make a new life in the north as a teacher with a new wife and children, for ten years his first wife lived alone-until her husband reunited with her only long enough to father a child. She was left to rear their daughter by herself.

When Chinh searches out his sister after many years and sees her poverty and her daily struggle, he offers neither sympathy nor a living, only Communist dogma. He tells her, “In our society, there are only two respectable types of people: the proletariat…and the peasantry. …The rest is nothing. The merchants, the petty tradespeople, they’re only exploiters. You cannot remain with these parasites.” He will not accept a “lousy street vendor for a sister,” though he wants the money from their parents’ middle-class estate (business his sister must attend to) and will later grow fat from the food his sister dearly purchases through her capitalist labor.

In the village Hang meets Aunt Tam, her father’s sister, the embodiment of Vietnamese working-class values and tradition, a symbol of what has been sacrificed to social, political, and economic ideology. Her house, the best furnished and most beautiful in the village, is a tribute to Tam’s ancestors and a result of her hard work and business acumen. When not planting or harvesting rice, Aunt Tam produces and sells noodles. Upon meeting her brother’s daughter, she knows for whom this labor has been spent. In the Confucian tradition of honoring male family members, Tam honors her brother by giving clothes, money, and food to Hang, his daughter. That same tradition compels Hang’s mother to sacrifice everything-food, money, a new roof, her health, and her daughter’s education-for her ungrateful brother, his wife, and sons.

The pages of this novel are filled with food. Every occasion calls for special dishes. The better the delicacy, the greater the honor. The translators provide a glossary of terms primarily defining the dishes Duong describes in her novel. Nina McPherson notes in her introduction, “The Vietnamese reverence for food… is a recurrent theme in Duong Thu Huong’s writing. In predominantly rural cultures like Vietnam, food is often a powerful form of human expression, a currency that, like money, is used to quantify one’s love, respect, or even hatred for another human being.” The food Aunt Tam prepares for Hang, that Hang’s mother lovingly gathers to take to her brother while she does without, reminds them all of a culture constantly threatened and in part already destroyed by the politicians in power. Only the food remains.

In the Soviet Union, Hang recognizes the emptiness of her country’s politics in the further corruption of her uncle. In him, both communism and Confucian tradition collapse. Under the auspices of party political training, Chinh spends his time as little more than a houseboy for his younger countrymen, earning precious money to purchase black-market goods to sell back home at a tidy profit. Family traditions and relationships are undermined when he claims to be ill, requiring Hang-recently recovered from illness herself-to travel hundreds of miles by train only to discover that he is not ill but simply wants to use her to ship his goods so that no suspicion will be attached to him. Disgusted, Hang takes the long return trip and learns that her mother has been seriously injured, losing her leg and her livelihood in a street accident.

Returning home to Vietnam, Hang clings to what she values most, her mother’s love. Yet Aunt Tam’s kindness, money, food, clothing-her class—drive a wedge between mother and daughter. Aunt Tam’s legacy, the house in the country village, causes strife between those who love each other and destroys the only value that the government had not yet usurped. Duong Thu Huong shows her readers a young woman’s life nearly ruined by unrelenting external circumstances- politics, class, ideology, and tradition. Only by rejecting them all does Hang find peace. Only in claiming a self independent of those destructive forces that are Vietnam can she be free. Paradise of the Blind is clearly a novel dealing with politics, but even more it deals with humanness. While it allows Western readers one of their first glimpses into the internal political struggles of Vietnam, it also allows them to see once again the inner conflicts of human beings as they attempt to find themselves and their place in the world. It is a novel of despair and suffering but also ultimately of hope.

Sources for Further Study

The Christian Science Monitor. April 28, 1993, p.13.

Far Eastern Economic Review. CLVI, June 24, 1993, p.37.

Library Journal. CXVIII, February 15, 1993, p.190.

Los Angeles Times Book Review. March 7, 1993, p.1.

The Nation. CCLVI, April 12, 1993, p.491.

The New York Times Book Review. XCVIII, May 30, 1993, p.14.

The New Yorker. LXIX, June 7, 1993, p.113.

Publishers Weekly. CCXL, January 18, 1993, p.451.

The Wall Street Journal. March 22, 1993, p. A12.

Women’s Review of Books. X, July, 1993, p.24.

Vietnam from the 1950s to the 1980s

From the late 1800s until the 1950s, Vietnam was under French control. In 1945, a coalition of communists and Vietnamese nationalists, led by Ho Chi Minh (originally Nguyen That Thanh, 1890–1969), declared Vietnam's independence. The French resisted this move, and in 1946, a prolonged guerrilla war commenced. This conflict concluded in 1954 with the French, heavily funded by the

United States, being defeated at Dien Bien Phu. This marked the end of French colonial rule in Indochina. The Geneva cease-fire agreement in July 1954 divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. North Vietnam became a communist state, supported by the Soviet Union, while South Vietnam was governed by a non-communist regime backed by the United States. This division was intended to be temporary, with an election planned for 1956 to reunify the country. However, the election never occurred, solidifying the 17th parallel as a permanent political boundary between two separate nations.

Starting in 1953, even before the French were finally defeated, and continuing until 1956, the North Vietnamese government initiated a land reform campaign. The impact of this campaign on a small village is depicted in Paradise of the Blind. Privately owned land was redistributed to over 1.5 million peasants. As noted by Nina McPherson in her introduction to the Penguin edition of Paradise of the Blind, tens of thousands of villagers were arrested, and nearly 100,000 "landlord" farmers were sent to forced labor camps by courts often run by illiterate peasants (as seen in Que's village, where Bich and Nan, two troublemakers, oversee the proceedings).

Realizing that the land reform movement had been a mistake and had caused significant social unrest, the North Vietnamese launched a campaign to reverse it, known as "Rectification of Errors." People were released from labor camps and allowed to reclaim their land. (This is the campaign described in the novel where Aunt Tam is restored her house and land.)

After their victory over the French, the North Vietnamese initiated a guerrilla campaign to reunify North and South Vietnam. The United States provided financial support to South Vietnam and, beginning in 1961, also offered military support. In 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin resolution allowed President Lyndon Johnson's administration (1908–73) to significantly increase American forces in South Vietnam, following an alleged attack on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin by North Vietnamese forces. By 1969, the United States had deployed over half a million troops to Vietnam but was unable to defeat the communist guerrillas known as the Viet Cong. A cease-fire agreement was signed in 1973, leading to the withdrawal of American forces. However, in 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The country was officially unified in 1976 as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government announced a five-year plan to revive the war-damaged economy, but it achieved only limited success. In 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia, triggering a Western economic blockade. The following year, Vietnam experienced border conflicts with China. During this era, Vietnam relied heavily on foreign aid, with imports valued at three times the country's exports. In 1982, the International Monetary Fund indicated that Vietnam required significant economic restructuring to meet its debt obligations.

In the mid-1980s, communist societies worldwide began to experience change, inspired by President Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of perestroika (openness) and economic reform in the Soviet Union. Vietnam, closely allied with the Soviet Union and grappling with economic difficulties worsened by reduced Soviet aid, also began to shift its approach. In 1986, the Vietnamese government introduced a "renovation" policy that included free market reforms and cultural liberalization.

Vietnamese Literature in the 1970s and 1980s

According to Maurice M. Durand and Nguyen Tran Huan in An Introduction to Vietnamese Literature, Vietnamese novels of the 1970s fell into three main categories. First, the romantic novel, often rooted in myth and history. Second, in communist North Vietnam, socialist realism focused on "the achievements of the Party and the anti-Imperialist struggle." Third, the scholarly novel aimed at preserving Vietnam's cultural heritage. Durand and Huan highlight Khai Hung and Nhat Linh as the most notable Vietnamese novelists of the twentieth century, although they note that no Vietnamese author of global significance emerged during this period.

In the 1980s, Vietnamese literature began to evolve, influenced by the "renovation" period starting in 1986, during which the government became more accepting of free expression among writers and artists. The Communist Party even encouraged writers to act as social critics. This led to a surge in fiction, drama, and films that satirized inept government bureaucracies and exposed official corruption. This new wave of literature differed significantly from socialist realism, which depicted working-class heroes as ideal embodiments of revolutionary ideology. The new literature portrayed Vietnamese society more realistically, as opposed to the idealized version promoted by communist propaganda. Writers who gained recognition during this period included Huong and Nguyen Huy Thiep.

However, this newfound freedom of expression had its boundaries. As Greg Lockhart mentions in his introduction to The General Retires and Other Stories by Ngugen Huy Thiep, in 1988, the editor of a well-known literary magazine was dismissed, likely because he published a story by Thiep that challenged the moral integrity of an 18th-century Vietnamese hero who repelled an invading Chinese army.

Lockhart also points out that in 1990, concerned about the rapid changes occurring in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the Vietnamese government started to once again restrict writers' freedom of expression. The works of the new renovation writers became increasingly difficult to find in Vietnamese bookstores, and their names faded from the public eye.

Imagery

Despite Hang’s perspective that life is tough and bleak, marred by human greed and foolishness, she still manages to hold onto hope. This outlook on life is illustrated by a significant image in chapter 7: the purple Japanese duckweed growing in ponds. As a young girl, Hang is deeply moved by the beauty of the purple flower. Years later, whenever she journeys through the Vietnamese countryside, she continues to admire these flowers, contrasting their beauty with the ugliness of the murky water and the squalid surroundings: "At the center of these stifling landscapes, on a green carpet of weed, those purple flowers always glistened, radiant in the middle of the filth." Thus, the duckweed symbolizes hope and beauty emerging from life's hardships. A similar image appears in chapter 2, where Hang describes life as "this flower plucked from a swamp."

Setting and Atmosphere

The narrator evokes a reflective and often melancholic atmosphere through her poetic descriptions of the landscapes she recalls from Vietnam and Russia. She highlights the emotional impact these landscapes have on her. For instance, in chapter 5, she describes witnessing her first snowfall in Russia. The beauty of it "pierced my soul like sorrow." This memory leads her to reminisce about a time when her mother took her to a beach as a child; the dawn's beauty was so overwhelming that it was almost painful for Hang, likely because it starkly contrasted with her impoverished and insecure life.

The descriptions of the slum in Hanoi where Hang grew up are particularly vivid. She brings to life the sights, smells, and sounds of her childhood in detailed sensory descriptions: the brick hut with a leaky roof where she lived, the street vendors setting up their stalls in the early morning, their distinctive cries as they sell their goods, the voice of the crippled man who sings the same mournful song every day, and the sounds and smells of many families cooking. Food is described frequently in the novel; it holds significant importance to Hang because she often went hungry as a child, and even in the best of times, her diet lacked variety. Occasionally, her mother would fall ill due to inadequate nutrition. As a result, Hang always takes note of and records in great detail occasions when food is plentiful and varied, such as the feasts hosted by Aunt Tam. These occasions, reflecting the resilience and goodness of life, serve as a counterbalance to the general adversity experienced by the Vietnamese people.

• 1950s: The Viet Minh, a communist group, engage in a struggle to end French colonial rule in Vietnam. The French, confident in their status as a major colonial power, believe they cannot be defeated by the poorly equipped Vietnamese guerrillas. Over the years, the French control the urban areas while the Viet Minh gain strength in the rural regions, where they enjoy widespread popular support. In 1954, the French suffer a significant defeat at the small town of Dien Bien Phu.
  1980s: By the early 1980s, the independent and unified republic of Vietnam remains underdeveloped. The conflict involving Vietnamese forces in Cambodia negatively impacts the economy. In the late 1980s, the Vietnamese government begins transitioning towards a free-market economy.
  Today: Vietnam continues to be governed as a one-party communist state. However, starting in the early 2000s, the government has encouraged economic liberalization and structural reforms aimed at modernizing the economy and boosting industries capable of competing globally. The economy has shown consistent growth, with a 7 percent increase from 2000 to 2004, although 28.9 percent of the population still live below the official poverty line.
• 1950s: The global political landscape is dominated by the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States adopts a policy of "containment" to prevent the spread of communism worldwide. This policy leads to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, supporting South Vietnam against the Soviet-backed North Vietnam.
  1980s: In the late 1980s, following economic and political reforms by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the Cold War begins to wind down. Eastern European nations start to shed over forty years of communist rule. In 1989, the Berlin Wall, which has divided Berlin into Western and Eastern (communist) sectors, falls, leading to the reunification of East and West Germany within a year.
  Today: The Cold War is a historical memory. The Soviet Union has disbanded, and Russia is no longer a communist state. Many former communist nations in Eastern Europe have joined NATO, the Western defense alliance. The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland joined NATO in 1999, followed in 2005 by Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia (formerly part of Yugoslavia), and three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. NATO's focus has shifted from defending against communism to combating international terrorism.
• 1950s: The United States begins its involvement in Vietnam by financially supporting the French in their fight against Ho Chi Minh's communist guerrilla army. After the French defeat and the division of Vietnam, the U.S. aims to establish a stable, non-communist South Vietnam.
  1980s: The United States continues its longstanding trade embargo against Vietnam. Additionally, it pressures Vietnam for information and cooperation regarding American servicemen listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War. Vietnam initiates economic reforms towards a market economy and withdraws its forces from Cambodia, actions that help end its international isolation.
  Today: In 2005, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai meets with President George W. Bush at the White House, marking the first visit by a head of Vietnam's communist government to the United States. The U.S. is Vietnam's largest trading partner, and Vietnam applies to join the World Trade Organization. In July 2005, Vietnam celebrates ten years of diplomatic relations with the United States at events in Washington, D.C. Full diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam were restored in 1995.

Sources

Duong Thu Huong, Paradise of the Blind, translated by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson, Penguin, 1994.

Durand, Maurice M., and Nguyen Tran Huan, An Introduction to Vietnamese Literature, Columbia University Press, 1985, p. 179.

Lockhart, Greg, "Introduction," in Nguyen Huy Thiep, The General Retires and Other Stories, Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 1-12.

McPherson, Nina, "Translator's Note," in Duong Thu Huong, Paradise of the Blind, translated by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson, Penguin, 1994, p. 7.

Mirsky, Jonathan, "No Trumpets, No Drums," in New York Review of Books, September 21, 1995, p. 60.

Partello, Peggie, Review of Paradise of the Blind, in Library Journal, February 15, 1993, p. 190.

Review of Paradise of the Blind, in the New Yorker, June 7, 1993, p. 113.

Review of Paradise of the Blind, in Publishers Weekly, Vol. 240, No. 3, January 18, 1993, p. 451.

Xueping Zhong, Review of Paradise of the Blind, in Belles Lettres: A Review of Books by Women, Spring 1994, Vol. 9, No. 3, p. 64.

Further Reading

Duffy, Dan, "Tara Incognita?" in The Nation, Vol. 256, No. 14, April 12, 1993, pp. 491-94.

This review of Paradise of the Blind features Duffy describing Duong as "a social panoramist who writes with a tight focus on individual consciousness and personal relations." He also examines Duong's work within the broader context of contemporary Vietnamese writers and the restrictive political environment they navigate.

Eads, Brian, "She Dares to Live Free," in Reader's Digest, October 1998, pp. 159-64.

Eads recounts his journey to Hanoi to interview Duong. They met in a hotel room, despite Eads lacking government permission to speak with her, which is required for foreign journalists. The article details her life story and commends her bravery in challenging Vietnam's oppressive government.

Hy V. Luong, Revolution in the Village: Tradition and Transformation in North Vietnam, 1925–1988, University of Hawaii Press, 1992.

This is an in-depth, empathetic account of the land reform movement's impact on North Vietnamese villages during the period covered by the novel.

Stephenson, Heather, "Out of the Kitchen and Traveling On: New Fiction by Asian Women," in New England Review, Vol. 16, No. 1, Winter 1994, pp. 169-75.

In this review, Stephenson commends Duong's realistic depiction of life in Vietnam. The novel communicates a "deep, disturbing sense of pain and injustice" and serves as a "devastating indictment of conditions in contemporary Vietnam."