To commemorate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and France, on December 3rd, the French Institute in Vietnam and Tre Publishing House organized the program "Conversations on French and Vietnamese Literature". Over 100 readers had the opportunity to listen to writer Nuage Rose Hong Van and Associate Professor Pham Van Quang share many stories surrounding the French-Vietnamese literary relationship.
For a long time, French literature has been an important part of Vietnamese literary life. Many classic works of French literature such as Les Misérables, Notre Dame de Paris, The Count of Monte Cristo, Madame Bovary, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Red and the Black, The Little Prince … with names like Victor Hugo, Flaubert, Stendhal, Jules Verne… have deeply ingrained themselves in the minds of many Vietnamese readers. Later, many contemporary names of French literature were also warmly received in Vietnam such as Romain Gary, Marc Levy, David Foenkinos, Guillaume Musso, Michel Bussi…
In particular, within the flow of French literature in Vietnam, it is impossible not to mention a group of authors of Vietnamese origin such as Linda Lê, Thuận, and Trần Minh Huy. And the writer Nuage Rose (Hồng Vân) is one of them.
Writer Hong Van was born in Hanoi during the war against the US, currently lives in Paris, and still frequently returns to Vietnam. In 2017, Tre Publishing House released her work "Three Clouds Drifting in the Land of Water Hyacinths" (reprinted a year later). This autobiographical work, with the style of a novel, recounts the years she left Hanoi with her family to evacuate. Amidst the gloom, hunger, and fear sown by war, there is a glimmer of love. Before being published in Vietnam, " Three Clouds Drifting in the Land of Water Hyacinths" became a popular work in France in 2013.
In October 2021, writer Hong Van returned with a new non-fiction work set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic: 120 Days - Clouds Whispering to the Wind . This is considered a record of the author's own struggle to fight off Covid-19.
In contrast to her first work, " 120 Days - Clouds Whispering to the Wind ," writer Hong Van wrote directly in Vietnamese, in an effort to "preserve" the beautiful words and phrases of Hanoi up to the 1980s, which have now been more or less lost.
"Actually, when I first started writing this book, I wrote it in French. But then, after rereading it, I realized that the French translation wasn't good at all; it would sound awkward and wouldn't fully convey my feelings. I decided to abandon it and write directly in Vietnamese," shared writer Hong Van.
Despite having established a certain standing in the hearts of readers, writer Hong Van remains humble and does not consider herself a writer. Initially, she had no intention of writing for publication. "I am not a writer; I don't have the ability to write captivating, technically sophisticated novels. I only write stories expressing love for my family and my country," writer Hong Van stated.
At the program, Associate Professor Pham Van Quang stated that there are currently about 180 Vietnamese authors who have written approximately 400 works in French. Of these, at least 50% are autobiographical works, similar to the two works by writer Hong Van.
According to him, beyond literature, these works are about life. People don't always have the courage to recount their lives, especially the hidden aspects. With autobiographical works, the experience extends beyond literature; we can approach and read them from many different perspectives.
“Based on personal stories like these, experts can study history, from a psychoanalytic perspective, or from a philosophical standpoint… From the reader's perspective, they not only read about the author's life but also their own questions through autobiographical works. From such personal stories, from small narratives, will contribute to larger narratives later on,” said Associate Professor Pham Van Quang.
HO SON
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