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Memories of a Pure Spring
One of the bestselling Vietnamese novels of all time. A searing love story set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. Memories Of A Pure Spring was a huge bestseller when it was published in Vietnam in 1976 (it was subsequently, and still is, banned there). It is Huong's most commercial and engaging novel which deals with the aftermath of the war and how the ordinary Vietnamese people caught up in the conflict can readapt to their everyday lives and loves.
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First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
Dương Thu Hương
29 books187 followersDương Thu Hương (b. 1947) is a Vietnamese author and political dissident. Formerly a member of Vietnam's communist party, she was expelled from the party in 1989, and has been denied the right to travel abroad, and was temporarily imprisoned for her writings and outspoken criticism of corruption in the Vietnamese government.
Born in 1947 in Thai Binh a province in northern Vietnam, Dương came of age just as the Vietnam War was turning violent. At the age of twenty, when she was a student at Vietnamese Ministry of Culture’s Arts College, Dương Thu Hương volunteered to serve in a women’s youth brigade on the front lines of “The War Against the Americans". Dương spent the next seven years of the war in the jungles and tunnels of Binh Tri Thien, the most heavily bombarded region of the war. Her mission was to “sing louder than the bombs” and to give theatrical performances for the North Vietnamese troops, but also to tend to the wounded, bury the dead, and accompany the soldiers along. She was one of three survivors out of the forty volunteers in that group. She was also at the front during China’s attacks on Vietnam in 1979 during the short-lived Sino-Vietnamese War. However, in the period after Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, Dương became increasingly outspoken and critical about the repressive atmosphere created by the Communist government. Upon seeing the conditions in the South – compared with the North – she began speaking out against the communist government.
Dương moved to Paris in 2006. In January 2009, her latest novel, Đỉnh Cao Chói Lọi, was published; it was also translated into French as Au zénith.
Born in 1947 in Thai Binh a province in northern Vietnam, Dương came of age just as the Vietnam War was turning violent. At the age of twenty, when she was a student at Vietnamese Ministry of Culture’s Arts College, Dương Thu Hương volunteered to serve in a women’s youth brigade on the front lines of “The War Against the Americans". Dương spent the next seven years of the war in the jungles and tunnels of Binh Tri Thien, the most heavily bombarded region of the war. Her mission was to “sing louder than the bombs” and to give theatrical performances for the North Vietnamese troops, but also to tend to the wounded, bury the dead, and accompany the soldiers along. She was one of three survivors out of the forty volunteers in that group. She was also at the front during China’s attacks on Vietnam in 1979 during the short-lived Sino-Vietnamese War. However, in the period after Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, Dương became increasingly outspoken and critical about the repressive atmosphere created by the Communist government. Upon seeing the conditions in the South – compared with the North – she began speaking out against the communist government.
Dương moved to Paris in 2006. In January 2009, her latest novel, Đỉnh Cao Chói Lọi, was published; it was also translated into French as Au zénith.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 11, 2008
I have read other works by Duong Thu Huong, and those works inspired me to pick up this novel. Knowing that her work is banned in her home country was also incentive to check out more of her stuff.
This novel is chock full of social commentary and the brutality of man against man, but I can't help but think that this was a less than adequate translation of her work. Othertranslations I had read of other pieces presented her style as direct and unabashed, revealing the worst and best of her characters in an unfiltered, honest way. There is much of that philosophy in this book, but the sentences themselves became rather convoluted and sometimes just downright poor in grammar. I would prefer NOT sounding like an English teacher when discussing literature, but when the writing can't seem to sort itself out to let the matter within speak, then reading becomes more of a chore than a pleasure.
I strongly recommend many of Duong Thu Huong's work, but I would suggest avoiding this one. Perhaps one day a more competent translation will come out.
This novel is chock full of social commentary and the brutality of man against man, but I can't help but think that this was a less than adequate translation of her work. Othertranslations I had read of other pieces presented her style as direct and unabashed, revealing the worst and best of her characters in an unfiltered, honest way. There is much of that philosophy in this book, but the sentences themselves became rather convoluted and sometimes just downright poor in grammar. I would prefer NOT sounding like an English teacher when discussing literature, but when the writing can't seem to sort itself out to let the matter within speak, then reading becomes more of a chore than a pleasure.
I strongly recommend many of Duong Thu Huong's work, but I would suggest avoiding this one. Perhaps one day a more competent translation will come out.
December 5, 2021
I'd never heard of Duong Thu Hong before picking up this novel and her life is almost as fascinating as this novel which I think it is partly based upon. It is primarily about the relationship between Hung and Suong, both once feted as part of an artistic troupe and later encountering great suffering during the Vietnam War. Suong maintains her position and fame but Hung's life spirals downwards straining their relationship and life together. There are descriptions of the 'reeducation' camps and life under the communist regime that constrain their lives and restrict upward movement for Hung as he refuses to play the political game. A moving and compelling novel.
books-i-don-t-quite-seem-to-get
June 13, 2018I read a third of this (100 pages), and couldn’t go on... boredom. Partially, it is not well translated, I think. The language is so flat and artificial. But I’m not sure that is the whole of it. The content was dull..., trite, almost. I’m confused by it, anyway. Can’t even rate it.
May 31, 2025
Ten years ago, I latched onto a figure named Dương Thu Hương, the author of Novel Without a Name and the only Vietnamese woman writer on my shelves. These days, she's one of two Vietnamese women writers on my shelves, and while a certain measure of blame can be apportioned to both the myopic state of the market of Anglo lit and the brutal one of the market of labor, I can't help but be disappointed in my dismal numbers. Still, quality over quantity will always hold true, and it's always nice to have an author beyond the pale stocked at used book stores. This book is the weakest of hers that I've read so far, although the linear trend that the average rating holds with my personal rating makes me wonder how much of my mainstream bias is interfering. However, that's what my reviews are for, and all I can say is that, while moments of this work certainly shown, it got a tad unbelievable in certain regards of deus ex machina plot points and inhumanly selfless side characters, as well as went on for too long in bringing to conclusion every last character fate. I'm also just a tad weary of Occidental (capitalism) superheroes listening hither and yon as "too precious for this world (or just washing dishes)", so while I understand the author's intended purpose, it's not my preferred breed of sentiment. All in all, though, I'll probably still pick up the next author's work I haven't read if it shows up in an easily acquirable format, so that should say something, if nothing else.
September 12, 2020
Une très belle plume empreinte de poésie, pour des sujets durs qui ne laissent pas de marbre. J'aurais aimé voir les personnages communiquer plus les uns avec les autres, mais chacun s'enferme avec ses démons et seul.e se perd petit à petit.
October 28, 2025
Un récit déchirant, sur la déchéance d'un artiste dans un pays qui a survécu à la guerre mais peine à se reconstruire. Les personnages sont attachants, complexes, tragiques. Ce livre nous montre un amour fort et réaliste mais imparfait. Il nous montre la tragédie de la vie d'un artiste maudit, ou bien raté selon les points de vue. Il nous montre un peuple qui a souffert, qui continue à souffrir mais qui s'accroche à la vie de toute ses forces. Il nous montre des femmes que la société décrit comme fragiles mais qui nourrissent des hommes, des enfants et des familles entières, même lorsqu'elles sont épuisées et injustement traitées. Je devrai le relire une deuxième fois pour comprendre un peu plus toutes les nuances de ce roman, mais il est certain que l'auteure nous livre là une oeuvre magistrale.
April 8, 2009
Extremely sad story of a man and his family during and after the viet nam war. In the U.S., we really didn't know what happened once the troops pulled out - there is a lot to learn from this store.
December 26, 2012
Wow. The story itself finishes on page 337, but only after I read pages 339-340 did I feel it was complete. It was probably the most powerful part of the book for me. In saying that, if you're thinking of reading it, don't skip ahead - the story needs to be told first. Great book.
May 17, 2022
Beautifully descriptive writing throughout concerning 3 main characters during the time of the Vietnamese Boat People. The book revolves around Suong, a charismatic young singer, Hung, her talented artistic husband who falls from grace and Suong's brother, Vinh, who goes to live with Suong 6 years after she left her village.
Suong is very young - 15 from memory - and leaves her small village to marry Hung, who is in charge of a touring company, visiting soldiers on the front-line to keep up their spirits. Hung had arrived in her village when he heard Suong sing; he recognises a star's voice straight away. Despite the fact that Suong sees Hung with other women, they become man and wife. She becomes a singing sensation in Hung's travelling show, where he writes the music and directs the troupe.
After the war, they settle in a town and have two kids. An aunt across the road helps raise the kids to allow Suong and Hung continue their roles as professional artistes. As a result of a complicated series of events, Hung goes off the rails and ends up being caught trying to flee Vietnam - on his own - as one of the Boat People. He is captured by his comrades and condemned to penal servitude in a prison in the mountains, denounced as a traitor of the people he once served.
Suong, and Hung's replacement in the troupe (a friend of Hung's), are determined to get him released; they make the arduous journey to the internment camp where Suong ends up performing a huge concert for the camp. The commander of the camp falls under her spell. They don't succeed in getting Hung released immediately - but after 6 months he is released (years were expected). He descends spectacularly from grace when he arrives home, falling in with a bunch of hangers-on and drunks who take over his home, drinking him dry and eating all around them without any attempt to pay.
Vinh is called by Suong to live with her so that he can study and become someone. He sees Hung and his entourage and how Suong is treated. He hates the sight of Hung. However, Suong is still treated as a star by the new communist regime, despite the fact her husband is publicly ostracised by that same regime. She's bringing in all the money while Hung and his mates drain it away.
Eventually, Hung steals her life savings (which she had hidden) and disappears, whittling it all away. Meanwhile, the commander of the internment camp where her husband had been kept, pursues her to her own town and they become embroiled in a doomed relationship.
Suong, being the decent person she is, uses her friends to track Hung down for the second time and bring him home. His homecoming morphs into a long and difficult drying out session as a result of Hung's dabbling in heavy drug use.
I won't spoil the end - but near the end, Hung's successor manages to get Hung's work (condemned by the authorities for years) performed in a major concert; the communist glitterati are in attendance. Suong sings it to perfection to rapturous applause; Hung is invited to attend so that he can see his work performed whilst sitting in the front row. It has a huge impact on him.
The story shows the harshness of the Vietnamese communist regime, the horrors of war, the impact that war has on people and their relationships, the post-traumatic impact of war and the deep wounds that never heal. The prose is beautiful at times.
I can't pretend to understand all the machinations of the communist hierarchy, described at length at times, but understood it sufficiently to see how it was used to ostracise - and punish - those who wouldn't conform.
Great book about the human condition.
Merged review:
Having read the book, I'm still not sure about the meaning of the title. I think a better title could have been found. However, it has beautifully descriptive writing throughout concerning 3 main characters during the time of the Vietnamese Boat People.
The book revolves around Suong, a charismatic young singer, Hung, her talented artistic husband who falls from grace and Suong's brother, Vinh, who goes to live with Suong 6 years after she left her village.
Suong is very young - 15 from memory - and leaves her small village to marry Hung, who is in charge of a touring company, visiting soldiers on the front-line to keep up their spirits. Hung had arrived in her village when he heard Suong sing; he recognises a star's voice straight away. Despite the fact that Suong sees Hung with other women, they become man and wife. She becomes a singing sensation in Hung's travelling show, where he writes the music and directs the troupe.
After the war, they settle in a town and have two kids. An aunt across the road helps raise the kids to allow Suong and Hung continue their roles as professional artistes. As a result of a complicated series of events, Hung goes off the rails and ends up being caught trying to flee Vietnam - on his own - as one of the Boat People. He is captured by his comrades and condemned to penal servitude in a prison in the mountains, denounced as a traitor of the people he once served.
Suong, and Hung's replacement in the troupe (a friend of Hung's), are determined to get him released; they make the arduous journey to the internment camp where Suong ends up performing a huge concert for the camp. The commander of the camp falls under her spell. They don't succeed in getting Hung released immediately - but after 6 months he is released (years were expected). He descends spectacularly from grace when he arrives home, falling in with a bunch of hangers-on and drunks who take over their home, drinking them dry and eating all around them without any attempt to pay.
Vinh is called by Suong to live with her so that he can study and become someone. He sees Hung and his entourage and how Suong is treated. He hates the sight of Hung. However, Suong is still treated as a star by the new communist regime, despite the fact her husband is publicly ostracised by that same regime. She's bringing in all the money while Hung and his mates drain it away.
Eventually, Hung steals her life savings (which she had hidden) and disappears, whittling it all away. Meanwhile, the commander of the internment camp where her husband had been kept, pursues her and they become embroiled in a doomed relationship.
Suong, being the decent person she is, uses her friends to track Hung down for the second time and bring him home. His homecoming morphs into a long and difficult drying out session as a result of Hung's dabbling in heavy drug use.
I won't spoil the end - but near the end, Hung's successor manages to get Hung's work (condemned by the authorities for years) performed in a major concert; the communist glitterati are in attendance. Suong sings it to perfection to rapturous applause; Hung is invited to attend so that he can see his work performed whilst sitting in the front row. It has a huge impact on him.
The story shows the harshness of the Vietnamese communist regime, the horrors of war, the impact that war has on people and their relationships, the post-traumatic impact of war and the deep wounds that never heal. The prose is beautiful at times.
I can't pretend to understand all the machinations of the communist hierarchy, described at length at times, but understood it sufficiently to see how it was used to ostracise - and punish - those who wouldn't conform.
Great book about the human condition
Suong is very young - 15 from memory - and leaves her small village to marry Hung, who is in charge of a touring company, visiting soldiers on the front-line to keep up their spirits. Hung had arrived in her village when he heard Suong sing; he recognises a star's voice straight away. Despite the fact that Suong sees Hung with other women, they become man and wife. She becomes a singing sensation in Hung's travelling show, where he writes the music and directs the troupe.
After the war, they settle in a town and have two kids. An aunt across the road helps raise the kids to allow Suong and Hung continue their roles as professional artistes. As a result of a complicated series of events, Hung goes off the rails and ends up being caught trying to flee Vietnam - on his own - as one of the Boat People. He is captured by his comrades and condemned to penal servitude in a prison in the mountains, denounced as a traitor of the people he once served.
Suong, and Hung's replacement in the troupe (a friend of Hung's), are determined to get him released; they make the arduous journey to the internment camp where Suong ends up performing a huge concert for the camp. The commander of the camp falls under her spell. They don't succeed in getting Hung released immediately - but after 6 months he is released (years were expected). He descends spectacularly from grace when he arrives home, falling in with a bunch of hangers-on and drunks who take over his home, drinking him dry and eating all around them without any attempt to pay.
Vinh is called by Suong to live with her so that he can study and become someone. He sees Hung and his entourage and how Suong is treated. He hates the sight of Hung. However, Suong is still treated as a star by the new communist regime, despite the fact her husband is publicly ostracised by that same regime. She's bringing in all the money while Hung and his mates drain it away.
Eventually, Hung steals her life savings (which she had hidden) and disappears, whittling it all away. Meanwhile, the commander of the internment camp where her husband had been kept, pursues her to her own town and they become embroiled in a doomed relationship.
Suong, being the decent person she is, uses her friends to track Hung down for the second time and bring him home. His homecoming morphs into a long and difficult drying out session as a result of Hung's dabbling in heavy drug use.
I won't spoil the end - but near the end, Hung's successor manages to get Hung's work (condemned by the authorities for years) performed in a major concert; the communist glitterati are in attendance. Suong sings it to perfection to rapturous applause; Hung is invited to attend so that he can see his work performed whilst sitting in the front row. It has a huge impact on him.
The story shows the harshness of the Vietnamese communist regime, the horrors of war, the impact that war has on people and their relationships, the post-traumatic impact of war and the deep wounds that never heal. The prose is beautiful at times.
I can't pretend to understand all the machinations of the communist hierarchy, described at length at times, but understood it sufficiently to see how it was used to ostracise - and punish - those who wouldn't conform.
Great book about the human condition.
Merged review:
Having read the book, I'm still not sure about the meaning of the title. I think a better title could have been found. However, it has beautifully descriptive writing throughout concerning 3 main characters during the time of the Vietnamese Boat People.
The book revolves around Suong, a charismatic young singer, Hung, her talented artistic husband who falls from grace and Suong's brother, Vinh, who goes to live with Suong 6 years after she left her village.
Suong is very young - 15 from memory - and leaves her small village to marry Hung, who is in charge of a touring company, visiting soldiers on the front-line to keep up their spirits. Hung had arrived in her village when he heard Suong sing; he recognises a star's voice straight away. Despite the fact that Suong sees Hung with other women, they become man and wife. She becomes a singing sensation in Hung's travelling show, where he writes the music and directs the troupe.
After the war, they settle in a town and have two kids. An aunt across the road helps raise the kids to allow Suong and Hung continue their roles as professional artistes. As a result of a complicated series of events, Hung goes off the rails and ends up being caught trying to flee Vietnam - on his own - as one of the Boat People. He is captured by his comrades and condemned to penal servitude in a prison in the mountains, denounced as a traitor of the people he once served.
Suong, and Hung's replacement in the troupe (a friend of Hung's), are determined to get him released; they make the arduous journey to the internment camp where Suong ends up performing a huge concert for the camp. The commander of the camp falls under her spell. They don't succeed in getting Hung released immediately - but after 6 months he is released (years were expected). He descends spectacularly from grace when he arrives home, falling in with a bunch of hangers-on and drunks who take over their home, drinking them dry and eating all around them without any attempt to pay.
Vinh is called by Suong to live with her so that he can study and become someone. He sees Hung and his entourage and how Suong is treated. He hates the sight of Hung. However, Suong is still treated as a star by the new communist regime, despite the fact her husband is publicly ostracised by that same regime. She's bringing in all the money while Hung and his mates drain it away.
Eventually, Hung steals her life savings (which she had hidden) and disappears, whittling it all away. Meanwhile, the commander of the internment camp where her husband had been kept, pursues her and they become embroiled in a doomed relationship.
Suong, being the decent person she is, uses her friends to track Hung down for the second time and bring him home. His homecoming morphs into a long and difficult drying out session as a result of Hung's dabbling in heavy drug use.
I won't spoil the end - but near the end, Hung's successor manages to get Hung's work (condemned by the authorities for years) performed in a major concert; the communist glitterati are in attendance. Suong sings it to perfection to rapturous applause; Hung is invited to attend so that he can see his work performed whilst sitting in the front row. It has a huge impact on him.
The story shows the harshness of the Vietnamese communist regime, the horrors of war, the impact that war has on people and their relationships, the post-traumatic impact of war and the deep wounds that never heal. The prose is beautiful at times.
I can't pretend to understand all the machinations of the communist hierarchy, described at length at times, but understood it sufficiently to see how it was used to ostracise - and punish - those who wouldn't conform.
Great book about the human condition
January 2, 2025
Tengo que admitir que mi intención inicial de leer este libro surgió de mi amor por la comida vietnamita, pero ha sido una lectura sumamente sorprendente. No conozco nada de Vietnam, así que en ocasiones me perdía un poco respecto al contexto, pero he sentido una conexión con todos los personajes y, aunque la historia es lenta, me ha llevado sin casi darme cuenta. Cuando un libro está escrito por una mujer, se nota, porque no solo te narra una historia, sino que muestra una complejidad psicológica incomparable. La sensibilidad femenina es inimitable. Ciertamente, eso es lo que me ha encandilado del libro, su sensibilidad, su compasión.
February 7, 2022
Sad, heavy, tragic, poignant, descriptive, perceptive. I have read almost all of Duong Thu Huong's books- none of the are light-hearted or humorous. She tells it how she sees it-brave with a pen as well as a gun.
This book brings many of the realities of Vietnamese life to the fore. Food, scent, landscapes, daily life. The author has great perception and descriptive abilities- and oh, the eternal sadness she describes.
This book brings many of the realities of Vietnamese life to the fore. Food, scent, landscapes, daily life. The author has great perception and descriptive abilities- and oh, the eternal sadness she describes.
September 17, 2017
This novel was translated from Vietnamese, so while I did not read the original text, I was struck by the lovely prose of the book. The setting was very interesting, though I found the central romance at the center of the story on the dull side. The characters never fully came alive, but the lovely writing kept me turning pages quickly.
December 10, 2017
this book is soooo dramatic like a lot of the stuff in between made me feel like I was watching a viet dubbed Chinese drama, but the beginning and closing scenes were wonderful. every time duong thu huong was able to discuss the ability to make art under a communist regime made this a worthwhile read but so many annoying and dramatic events happen that you're just like "come on" halfway through! if only she'd focused on the former. this book has such potential to be amazing but ugh...also suong! girl! love yourself! damn!
Read
February 23, 2025J’ai eu du mal à entrer dans ce roman, l’ai laissé traîner. J’ai même songé à le laisser de coté, mais je me suis accrochée et finalement je me suis laissée emporter, jusqu’à cette fin que j’ai trouvée très puissante et inévitable.
Je regrette cependant le peu de voix accordé à Suong, ses pensées, ses sentiments, par comparaison à d’autres personnages.
Je regrette cependant le peu de voix accordé à Suong, ses pensées, ses sentiments, par comparaison à d’autres personnages.
June 4, 2017
I really like this paragraph:
'Fate... Men may sometimes escape it, though just barely, but for women... that's for heaven to decide...'
Gloomy, penetrating and heavy, especially of the choice of ending.
'Fate... Men may sometimes escape it, though just barely, but for women... that's for heaven to decide...'
Gloomy, penetrating and heavy, especially of the choice of ending.
November 30, 2018
I got about a quarter of the way I to this book and I just had to put it down. I'm sure it's a beautiful story in it's original form but it lost a lot of it's essence in this translation unfortunately!
May 21, 2021
The fragmentation of the novel worked really well. The ending was terrible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2024
Tragic. A bit of a challenge to read until you understand what happened when. The chronology is jumbled.
July 16, 2025
the beginning can be a bit hard to follow but once u hit the 20th page or so, you wont be able to put it down.
September 11, 2022
I enjoy most of the works of Duong Thu Huong and this is no exception. This novel shows all the potentialities and all the flaws of her writing. I think that the general theme of the novel (and of her works in general) it's the relationship between the life's of the individuals (with their personal relationships, their families, their emotions) and the political landscape of Vietnam at that time. She's very good at describing the "emotional sphere" of her characters and the motivations that drive their behaviour. Her style is very lyric, very poetic, but sometimes she overuses similes and metaphors for her descriptions, and this can result at times (at least in translation) in a bit of fatigue in reading some passages. Finally, I don't know why but I found her male characters better than her female characters, maybe because I found Suong a bit naïve.
May 20, 2013
Titolo infame, da romanzetto rosa, per un libro che è stata una piacevole scoperta.
Non ho idea del titolo originale vietnamita , ho visto che è stato tradotto dall’ inglese “Memories of a Pure Spring”, che è sempre meglio del titolo italiano .
L’ autrice ha partecipato alla guerra in Vietnam (nord Vietnam) , e, come la protagonista del libro, ha lavorato in una troupe teatrale che durante il conflitto recitava al fronte per i soldati. Nel dopoguerra, per le sue posizioni critiche si è trovata in rotta con il partito comunista, è stata incarcerata ed attualmente vive in Francia
Il libro parla del crollo degli ideali e delle sorti altalenanti della vita: il protagonista è un musicista di successo durante la guerra e pigmalione della protagonista, che diventa una cantante stella della rivoluzione e sua moglie , ma cade in disgrazia alla fine della guerra scontrandosi con l’ apparato del partito. Viene arrestato come traditore e si lascia andare, indifferente al sostegno della moglie ed ad un inizio di mutamento del clima politico.
Il libro descrive molto bene la vita al fronte, il ritmo della vita di una città della provincia vietnamita e, allo stesso tempo, racconta una combattuta storia di amore.
Una bella scoperta : da leggere
Non ho idea del titolo originale vietnamita , ho visto che è stato tradotto dall’ inglese “Memories of a Pure Spring”, che è sempre meglio del titolo italiano .
L’ autrice ha partecipato alla guerra in Vietnam (nord Vietnam) , e, come la protagonista del libro, ha lavorato in una troupe teatrale che durante il conflitto recitava al fronte per i soldati. Nel dopoguerra, per le sue posizioni critiche si è trovata in rotta con il partito comunista, è stata incarcerata ed attualmente vive in Francia
Il libro parla del crollo degli ideali e delle sorti altalenanti della vita: il protagonista è un musicista di successo durante la guerra e pigmalione della protagonista, che diventa una cantante stella della rivoluzione e sua moglie , ma cade in disgrazia alla fine della guerra scontrandosi con l’ apparato del partito. Viene arrestato come traditore e si lascia andare, indifferente al sostegno della moglie ed ad un inizio di mutamento del clima politico.
Il libro descrive molto bene la vita al fronte, il ritmo della vita di una città della provincia vietnamita e, allo stesso tempo, racconta una combattuta storia di amore.
Una bella scoperta : da leggere
January 13, 2024
I picked up this book on a whim- I found the cover and title very appealing. The back of the book reeled me in further describing a couple that spirals out of love after the Vietnam War. I’ve never read something so tragic and yet so well described. I’ve come to calling this an anti romance and that’s exactly what unfolds throughout the story. The only thing that tripped me up was the book tends to jump back and forth from the present to the recent past to the distant past. There’s no indication of when it switches other context clues but it’s otherwise very beautifully described. It’s captivating until the very end.
November 12, 2008
This was a challenging at times dark book that I think remarkably and perceptively depicts the physical and psychological toll that war and the subsequent "dark years" took on the Vietnamese peoples. the narrative goes back and forth between the 3rd person and various "1st person" interior monologues...allowing the reader to see the events and experience the emotional toll. It is not an easy book to read not that it isn't eloquent and beautifully written (and translated) but that it too well places the reader inside the conflicting and often depressing emotions of the main characters.
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July 22, 2008As the book states, this is indead a tragic love/political story. It was interesting to read about the transformation of the female lead and the down slide of her husband. I was not aware of the postwar situation of the boat people and what happened if they were caught. I have met several Vietnam people who have either themselves or the parents escaped from Vietnam. I have new respect for what they must have endured.
April 18, 2012
Well written and compelling, my only complaint is that the time frame and viewpoint jumped around without warning. But if you are unable to follow the thread of the story, this probably isn't the book for you anyway. The tale in it's entirety keeps in line with Vietnamese tragedies. Good and bad, with an ending that will leave you thinking.
November 1, 2016
Memories of a Pure Spring is a novel that, like Vietnam itself, twists and churns, backtracks and races forward, while always turning the screws on its characters with both authority and anguish.
Read my full review here: http://bit.ly/2eRRQsu
Read my full review here: http://bit.ly/2eRRQsu
October 12, 2012
phenomonal book. It brought me back to live and teach here in Ho chi Minh City. I have been here since 15 August and expect to stay for many years. I greatly desire to communicate with the author, Duong thu Huong
September 14, 2017
Reading this book I've suddenly got in my mouth that filthy taste of that red plague called Communism, the role of that unique communist party with its morons leaders. I didn't like it at all. Waste of time.
December 9, 2010
3.5 étoiles...
November 27, 2014
Confusing. Picked it up several times and could not get into it ... Ever.
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