Vietnam: A Traveler's Literary Companion

Traveler's Literary Companion

by John Balaban (Editor), Nguyen Qui Duc (Editor), Nguyễn Quí Đức (Editor)

Since relations between the U.S. and Vietnam have normalized, many more people are traveling to this exotic country, previously closed to a generation of Western visitors. Vietnam provides one of the first chances for Americans to know the Vietnamese outside the context of war. Vietnamese have been telling stories for thousands of years, in poetry and in song, in Chinese script and then in Vietnamese nôm, and more recently, in novels and short stories. These 17 stories, from contemporary Vietnamese writers living in Vietnam and abroad, take the literary traveler to extraordinary places: from the jungle-clad mountain ranges of the North to the mysterious silence of the old capital along the Perfume River. Proximity of the spirit world, love of family, exhaustion from war, one's Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist obligations, social protest, and the hunger for a better life — these are some of the concerns to be encountered in these thrilling landscapes. Contributors include Nguyen Huy Thiep, Linh Bao, Nguyen Ba Trac, Thich Duc Thien, Ho Anh Thai, Le Minh Khue, Doan Quoc Sy, Vu Bao, Duong Thu Huong, Andrew Q. Lam, Nguyen Qui Duc, Qui The, Bao Ninh, and Pham Thi Hoai.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Travel, Asia

256 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1995

About the author

John Balaban (b. 1943) is the author of twelve books of poetry and prose. He has won several awards, including the Lamont Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, a National Poetry Series Selection, and, forLocusts at the Edge of Summer: New and Selected Poems, the 1998 William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. He was named the 2001–2004 National Artist for the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. In 2003, he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. He has also been nominated twice for the National Book Award. In addition to writing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, Balaban translates Vietnamese poetry; he is also a past president of the American Literary Translators Association. Balaban is a poet-in-residence and English professor in the creative writing program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology consists of seventeen short stories written by "the best Vietnamese writers, at home and abroad," selected and edited by one Vietnamese, Nguyen Qui Duc, and one American, John Balaban. Prior to my picking up this collection, I had only vaguely heard of Mr. Nguyen, while Mr. Balaban was mainly known to me as the translator of Spring Essence , the first book-length collection of 18th-19th century Vietnamese bard Ho Xuan Huong's poetry to appear in English (Mr. Balaban was also one of the chief figures responsible for a memorably unsavory brouhaha in the "Letters to the Editor" section of Poetry magazine in May-September 2008).

Mssrs. Nguyen and Balaban have done a respectable job of bringing together a diverse cross-section of contemporary Vietnamese short fiction, ranging from sparse 4-page-long symbolism-laden fables to longer, more complex, and more modern works in many modes spanning the gamut from realism to absurdist surrealism and beyond (the longest story in the collection, Ms. Le Minh Khue's "A Small Tragedy," a gruesome Guy de Maupassant-esque/Thomas Hardy-esque story of violent class conflict and ironic karmic retribution, clocks in at 38 pages). Having grown up Vietnamese-American in an era in which it seemed the only available English-language writings about Vietnam were heavily dominated by the U.S. military perspective, I found the following lines in the editors' "Preface" highly refreshing: "[In compiling this anthology,] we have avoided war stories. The Vietnamese condition is too large and complex to see it solely through the dark lens of the recent war, although inevitably the war echoes in some of the tales told here..."

The authors of the tales in Vietnam: A Traveler's Literary Companion include writers whose names are familiar to many literate westerners, such as Mr. Bao Ninh (The Sorrow of War) and Ms. Duong Thu Huong (Paradise of the Blind), as well as writers whom most occidental readers will have never encountered before. At first, I was a bit bemused to find that four of the seventeen short stories in the collection are written by the same author -- a Mr. Nguyen Huy Thiep -- but I was ultimately astonished and delighted to find that Mr. Nguyen Huy Thiep's four stories differ tremendously from one another in substance, mood, and style, making him one of the most versatile short story writers I have ever come across and well worthy of such a large amount of space in the anthology. (Mssrs. Balaban and Nguyen Qui Duc refer to Mr. Nguyen Huy Thiep as "Vietnam's preeminent literary craftsman.")

Being descended from a family with Hue roots, I was disappointed to discover that, whereas the cultures of cities of Hanoi and Saigon are amply explored in this book, the culture of Hue is barely represented (sure, there are a couple of stories about the city's ancient imperial culture, but none about its present-day inhabitants, their temperaments and personalities). Overall, though, I was pleased by the diversity of the stories chosen. To my mind, the two best stories here are Ms. Pham Thi Hoai's "The Saigon Tailor Shop" and Mr. Nguyen Qui Duc's "The Color of Sorrow," both of which impressed me with their penetrating insights into the collective Vietnamese character as well as the effortless-seeming lifelike complexity of the imaginary worlds they breathe into existence. However, none of the stories are outright bad (though more than a few are a bit heavily doused in what "The Color of Sorrow"'s narrator refers to as Vietnam's "primordial sentimentalism"), and reading them all together has a powerful cumulative effect that will leave any open-minded reader feeling challenged, entertained, edified, and ultimately satisfied.

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of Vietnamese short-stories from famous native authors. The rhythm of many of the stories is different than Western writing, so one story I just couldn't parse. Most, though, were interesting and allowed another glimpse into a fascinating country.

[Jane Baer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the stories in this book, a few were really excellent - all are sad. The book states its goal as a travel companion, but I think you would have to have a great deal of cultural context already to glean regional cultural differences from these stories. Approaching it as a collection of short stories, I appreciate that this book has a many female voices. I think my favorite story in the collection is “Dresses, Dresses.” It looks at the experiences of a young girl in the city of Hue in central Vietnam while the Imperial Nguyen family still held court. I appreciate that none of the stories focus on the war experience, although some of them do take place in the context of war. It’s a quick read and worth it if you are interested in Vietnamese experience, culture, and writing.

[Roger Rohweder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Our tour folks suggested we read this book to “understand the soul of the Vietnamese.” It does make me anxious to visit (we leave in just over a week), to see whether it has painted a picture that really succeeded. Since many of the stories are quite sad, I hope to find that the 24 years since its publication have been kind to the people of Vietnam. I wondered about the translations - several read like a poor attempt.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

17 stories. And I'm looking for insight into the Vietnamese people. 7 of these really spoke to me! I disliked one a great deal (which probably says more about me than about the story). And half were goodish. Other reviewers have done it more justice. I liked it, didn't love it, but it was a steady, revealing set of short reads.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Είμαι πολύ χαρούμενη που βρήκα αυτό το βιβλίο την στιγμή που το χρειαζόμουν πιο πολύ. Όχι μόνο γιατί ήμουν ήδη στο Βιετνάμ και με συντρόφευσε στο ταξίδι μου, αλλά και επειδή μέσα από τις ενδιαφέρουσες ιστορίες του ταξίδεψα όταν ήμουν στο νοσοκομείο και μου άφησε μια όμορφη ανάμνηση της χώρας. Θα ήθελα να διαβάσω και τα υπόλοιπα βιβλία της σειράς.

[William Milks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories by contemporary Vietnamese writers.

Some are okay. Some are straight up strange and experimental.

[Ron Anderson]

Vietnamese proverb: Lua thu vàng , gian nan thử đức. Fire test gold, suffering test virtue

[Kelly Lynn Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for my Vietnam Travel Seminar. I didn't love all of the stories in this collection, and don't feel that many of them tell me much about the place -- which is something I would expect out of a "traveler's literary companion." I actually did try to read this while traveling through Vietnam, but found I didn't have enough time. What's more, the book is missing some of the places I traveled to and has some odd, generalized categories like "rivers" and "jungles." The jungle category kind of makes sense, as this is a defining feature of the country, but I would have preferred to see region-specific stories instead of very vague ones in this kind of collection.

Despite my issue with the anthology itself, a majority of the stories are excellent and engaging, and I would highly recommend them as great examples of Vietnamese writers, just don't expect to "travel" while reading them.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories here are full of atmosphere, containing some gems of characters and language. Each one brings in a different perspective and a slightly different take on location, so there's a great variety within the book, even with the focus on Vietnam and Vietnamese authors. The most powerful pieces are actually the ones that have less of a concentration on physical place, though, as these tend to be the stories that evolve with more attention to complex characters within the larger social or political scheme of things.

All together, though, this is a step away from the average collection, and certainly something of a trip in itself. I'd recommend it to interested readers, and I'll certainly be looking up more books in the 'Traveler's Literary Companion' series.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collections of short stories by Vietnamese authors was recommended by the organizers of the trip I'll be taking to the area later this year. The stories give the readers a glimpse of Vietnam through the eyes of a multitude of different characters, in different places, and during different eras. The writing is more literary in feel, which was not unexpected. The stories all describe a culture that is rich in history and focused on family. I'm really looking forward to my trip!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book of short stories, some very touching and felt closer to the country than through most of the other books I have read. Definitely recommend it for folks living or traveling in Vietnam.

[Diane Large · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say that I liked all the stories, but it did give me some insight to the culture of the Vietnamese. I will be visiting Vietnam in a few months and look forward to meeting the people and seeing their country.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories all about or by Vietnamese. Topics and writing styles vary. Very interesting look into aspects of Vietnamese culture.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story collection by Vietnamese authors: folk tales, poetry, ancient tales and modern narratives.