Holding the small book, but heavy with love for the talented Thach Lam, whose name has long been associated with extremely beautiful and emotional literary works: Early season wind, Sunshine in the garden, Hair thread, New day ..., especially the memoir Hanoi thirty-six streets . The book was printed in 1943, one year after Thach Lam's death (June 1942).
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It has been 80 years since the small and lovely pages about Hanoi called Hanoi Thirty-six Streets really brought a thrill to many generations of readers. In the preface to the book, writer Khai Hung cherished the heartfelt words for Thach Lam (who has now passed away): " Thach Lam is the one who loves Hanoi more deeply and silently."
…Thach Lam paid most attention to the daily life of Hanoi, to the small pleasures of the city people…Thach Lam was truly an artist, a poet of taste. Artists want to enjoy. Poets find inspiration in the subtle as well as in the great. To understand Thach Lam, one must know like Thach Lam that: “Eating snacks is an art; eating at the right time and choosing the right vendor is what makes a gourmet…”.
Thach Lam did not forget any street food, each of which Thach Lam described its special flavor and form, a flavor and form that had been passed down from generation to generation. If Thach Lam had liked to write poetry, he would have written Tang poems or quatrains to praise the hot fried cake for one and two cents, or the flirtatious rice ball vendor with two empty baskets that looked as delicious as her food...
Thach Lam bid farewell to Hanoi, in the midst of a project that he had shown he had enough talent to pursue to its end: the project of writing a historical record of Hanoi. If he had tried to stay with us, his flexible pen describing the present Hanoi would have made us... "
Writer Thach Lam's name is Nguyen Tuong Lan, born on July 7, 1910 in Hanoi in a family of civil servants, the sixth child in a family of 7 siblings. Thach Lam is the younger brother of 2 famous brothers: Writer Nhat Linh (Nguyen Tuong Tam) and Hoang Dao (Nguyen Tuong Long). He joined the Tu Luc Van Doan founded by Nhat Linh. Thach Lam wrote short stories, memoirs, essays, current affairs, literary criticism and worked as an editor for weekly newspapers such as Phong Hoa and Thoi Nay. Most of Thach Lam's works were published in newspapers before being printed into books. The book Ha Noi 36 Streets was published after his death. He got married at the age of 25 and had 3 children. A difficult childhood with a hard life made him soon contract tuberculosis, an incurable disease at that time. He died at his home in Yen Phu village on the shore of West Lake on June 27, 1942, at the age of 32, when his creative ideas were still overflowing.
Passing away at a young age, but facing the test of time, Thach Lam's works have proven their enduring vitality. Without needing details or dramatic conflict situations to attract readers, with a storytelling style like a heart-to-heart, the small life scenes and fates in Thach Lam's writing appear both familiar and sparkling. Perhaps because of his simple, clear writing style rich in humanity, he has conquered readers of many ages and generations.
Thach Lam wrote about Hanoi with its thirty-six streets: “ The French have Paris, the British have London, the Chinese have Shanghai… in their books and newspapers they talk about their city with great affection and love… We also have Hanoi, a city with many beauties because Hanoi is truly beautiful… Hanoi has a charm for people from other places, in the remote villages or in the deep forests and mountains, in the afternoon there are still many people looking towards the horizon to try to see the dim light of Hanoi… ”.
Hanoi thirty-six streets - a small, gentle, and profound book like Hanoi's thousand-year-old culture, something that only Thach Lam can bring through this magical book.
DUONG TRANG HUONG
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