What Do I Read Next?
- Duong's Memories of a Pure Spring, translated by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson (2000), takes place in post-war Vietnam. It follows the disenchantment of a composer named Hung and his wife Suong, a singer, with the political system they once supported. Hung, who was once passionate about revolutionary ideals, now sees his former comrades exploiting their bureaucratic positions for personal gain. Accused falsely of attempting to escape Vietnam by boat, Hung undergoes "reeducation" in prison, after which he struggles to make a living due to the authorities' restrictions.
- In Vietnam, Now (2003), veteran journalist David Lamb revisits Vietnam for the first time since his wartime reporting in the 1960s and 1970s. His book offers a readable, personal account rather than a scholarly analysis of Vietnam in the early 2000s. Lamb describes the places he visits, the people he meets, and provides historical context about the country.
- Love after War: Contemporary Fiction from Vietnam (2003), edited by Wayne Karlin and Ho Anh Thai, is a diverse anthology of fifty short stories by modern Vietnamese writers. Notably, the sixteen stories under "Love in a Time of Renovation," spanning from the 1980s to the early 2000s, critique both the communist system's shortcomings and the consumer culture fostered by late-1980s free market reforms, which seem to have eroded traditional Vietnamese values.
- The Sorrow of War (1994) by Bao Ninh is a novel about the Vietnam War from the perspective of a Vietnamese communist soldier. Reviewers find it intense and emotionally compelling, though sometimes complex. The protagonist, Kien, reflects on his experiences just after the war, blending his wartime memories with childhood recollections, dreams, and scenes from his life after the war.
- Understanding Vietnam (1995) by Neil L. Jamieson, offers a detailed portrait of twentieth-century Vietnam. Jamieson, who lived and worked in Vietnam for many years, discusses the country's modern history and Western involvement, from the French arrival in 1858 through the Vietnam War and its aftermath. He uses poetry, fiction, essays, newspaper editorials, and personal interviews to allow the Vietnamese to narrate their own stories.
- The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family (2000) by Duong Van Mai Elliott, is a family saga that provides a personal view of twentieth-century Vietnamese history. Elliott, a Vietnamese woman who studied in the United States and married an American in 1964, moved to Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam. Initially supportive of U.S. intervention, she advocated for American withdrawal by 1969. Elliott describes her culture's traditional values and the political divisions within her family: her eldest sister was a staunch communist, while one of her brothers was imprisoned by the Viet Cong.
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