I have a habit of counting pages and chapters first. With nearly 600 pages and a large number of reprints, I can imagine how attractive this work will be to readers. I was originally a soldier, an infantryman and then an artilleryman, and had no knowledge of petroleum, but I was extremely impressed when reading the chapters and through each page. This General Hau is truly a true writer. A writer in a soldier's uniform, with the writing style of a "writer - soldier". A phrase that people who have served in the army love to use to refer to those who live with them, understand them, love them, and exploit them thoroughly from the tragic to the heroic.

Novel "The River of Fire" by Major General, writer Ho Sy Hau.

The cover of his book says novel. I looked it up in the dictionary again and I wanted to write it down as “historical novel” and not simply a novel because the dictionary says that a novel is something the writer makes up based on a certain plot and the goal is to promote goodness. When I read it, I felt like it was all real people like General Dinh Duc Thien, General Nguyen Chon, General Dong Sy Nguyen, and real things like the daily work of the petrol soldiers. I don’t dare to go into academics, but that’s what I want to say!

Lieutenant General Dong Sy Nguyen, former member of the Politburo , former Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Government), former Commander of the Truong Son Army said: "If the Ho Chi Minh Trail is called a legend, then the petroleum pipeline is a legend within that legend." Ho Sy Hau, with his life and fighting experiences, has proven that saying in literature, describing the hardships and fierce sacrifices of the Truong Son Petroleum Pipeline Army.

Lieutenant General Phung Khac Dang speaks at the launching ceremony of the novel "The River of Fire", July 2025. Photo: Nguyen Trang

I appreciate the author’s writings because his purpose is not only to recreate the history of the Truong Son Petroleum Pipeline Troops, but also to help future generations better understand the silent work that the previous generation did. I appreciate the author even more because he did not write for fame, but because right from the first page, he wrote: “Respectfully dedicated to comrades…”. Those are the words of gratitude written by survivors of bombs and bullets to honor the heroes and martyrs who did not spare their youth and blood for the cause of liberating the South and unifying the country.

The first chapter of the book, the author named it “Gasoline and Blood”. Gasoline and blood, if considered in terms of physical and chemical properties, would be completely different. But in his writing, he combined them as one because gasoline is as necessary as blood for soldiers, especially soldiers on the battlefield, especially units related to machinery. He used the two words gasoline and blood and spoke of their close relationship on the battlefield. Personally, I want to write “gasoline like blood”. But anyway, just the two phrases gasoline and blood are a wonderful literary image that is both literal and figurative, very realistic on the battlefield.

The chapter titles of the book such as “The Beginning of Difficulty”, “Western Route”, “Pha Bang Key Point”, “Lam Son 719”…, Major General Ho Sy Hau has clearly depicted the tragedy and heroism of the Truong Son Petroleum Pipeline Troops in particular, and the Truong Son Troops in general, of which he himself was an insider, to write these heartfelt lines. He wrote about the Truong Son Petroleum Troops, but I think he added a bright spot to the tradition of Uncle Ho’s Troops.

I like Ho Sy Hau's writing style because it is very real. As real as we have experienced it ourselves. For example, in a forest full of girls, a group of men came to sleep over, which was a special event. A few girls combed their hair, fixed their clothes and happily acknowledged their fellow countrymen. Then there was the story of some old cadres instigating a young engineer who had just graduated to go to some female youth volunteers to ask for some shrimp paste to dip with boiled squash. The girls were stunned for a moment and then shouted: "Oh my God! Just arrived and already asking for "shrimp paste"!" General Hau put the two words "shrimp paste" in quotation marks. This is the meaning beyond the words. I don't know if it is true or not. As a soldier, I think that this detail speaks to the desire of young people.

The author mentioned two lines of poetry that the commander heard echoing from a boat on the Quang Binh River: “My dear, come get married/ I went to 559, who knows when I will return.” Reading these two lines of poetry made me think of the farewell ceremonies for comrades who went on a mission and knew they would die: “Living funeral ceremonies.” We infantrymen often had such funeral ceremonies. The book is about fierce difficulties, but I did not feel tense when the author interwoven eternal human stories, including love between men and women.

Major General and writer Ho Sy Hau speaks at the introduction ceremony of the novel "The River of Fire", July 2025. Photo: Nguyen Trang

The book attracts readers because it is so close to former soldiers like us and I believe that the younger generation will read it to understand more about history, as the poet Vu Quan Phuong said: It is full of valuable documents like a chronicle, perhaps the most complete and rich history about the Truong Son Petroleum Corps. I believe that students will read it because the author was a student and an engineer. They will read to see how the intellectuals of the past studied, worked, fought and loved.

As for me, I have read and will read to understand more about the oil soldiers who wrote the legend of Truong Son road.

PHUNG KHAC DANG,

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/ky-uc-ve-mot-thoi-bao-lua-846198