Nguyen Ngoc Tu: Sadness also has its beauty

Writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu signs autographs for readers - Photo: H.LAM

As a prominent female writer of contemporary Vietnamese literature, writer Nguyen Ngoc Tu is loved by many readers with titles that have touched people's hearts such as: The Light That Doesn't Go Out, New Year's Eve, Endless Field, Cold Neck, Glorious Sky Smoke, Island, River, Drifting...

After the short story collection "Floating", she has just released the essay "Call of the Horizon" , continuing to write about the shifting fates, focusing on people who are urged to move forward, always looking towards the horizon.

At the end of a book signing session with more than 100 readers, Nguyen Ngoc Tu shared with Tuoi Tre her thoughts on literature, readers, current events and writing styles.

Everyone has a desire for freedom.

* You have often gone into the topic of human destiny drifting since you started writing. When it comes to Calling the Horizon, is the choice of this name because "although human destiny is drifting, now we know there are fixed points to move towards or return to"?

- Well, actually the call of the horizon is also very vague. Listening to it, I also suspect that I will just continue to drift. Saying "horizon" is also a way of speaking, I think it is the call of deep human instinct, everyone has the desire for freedom, but some can suppress and control it, others cannot.

* Many times in The Call of the Horizon, the characters become strangers to themselves and their loved ones as they are swept away by life. What was the thing that troubled you the most when creating these characters?

- It's not that painful (laughs). I usually keep my distance from my characters, to look at them as coldly as possible. I think only when I step back far enough can I see everything. The same goes for the people in my works, they have to be far away to recognize themselves.

* In your works, the river delta appears peaceful but facing the challenges of nature, is nature also the embodiment of a human being?

- Nature, wherever it is, has a great influence on people, on their character, their way of life, and their status. A slight rise in temperature can affect and harm billions of people. A melting iceberg can sink into the plains.

Because I have free time, I often observe the sun and rain. I see that my happiness and sadness are more or less related to them, so I believe that humans are just toys of the weather and nature.

More than 100 readers came to meet Nguyen Ngoc Tu on the morning of April 26 in Ho Chi Minh City. - Photo: HO LAM

I have only one worry

* Some people say, "Reading Ms. Tu's writing makes me feel sad, miserable, and a bit depressed." What do you think?

- Although I don't really think about readers' reactions, I think sometimes I should "let it go" a little.

I think it's not okay to be manic and hyper all the time. Sadness has its own beauty. But if readers can't handle that "slack", that's okay, they have other options.

* When you publish your book, are you worried that it won't be well received?

- My only worry is that I don't fully love the work I just completed.

My feelings are the most important, because they decide how to keep the fire burning in writing, helping me have enough courage and patience to go all the way. Actually, when I first started writing, I also listened, confused, then realized that I just kept writing, and then there would be sharing, more or less.

Where you are is not important

* In the early stages of your writing and up to now, which Southern writer have you read the most, loved, and even had the most influence on your writing?

- I don't know about others, but I feel a bit offended when I'm called a writer of this or that region. I feel like I'm being locked up in a fence. The same goes for writers I love and admire, I don't discriminate between regions.

As long as it's good, it doesn't matter where the person is. And even writers I come across and find bad help me. If I can see their weaknesses, I can find ways to avoid them.

* In addition to films, many of your works have been adapted to drama and reformed opera. Will there be a stage author named Nguyen Ngoc Tu in the future?

- I think the saying "one job done well is better than nine jobs" by my grandparents is always true. Film and theater are probably not my strengths, I think. I believe my name is more important than any title. After all, they are like external, attached objects.

* In today's somewhat rushed and hurried life, from a writer's perspective, how do you think we can get a little closer and not lose the "most basic warmth and coldness" in human relationships?

- I think we should limit our use of social media. A person who doesn't use social media said (laughs). I still don't understand why a person needs thousands of friends on social media, when just one close friend in real life is enough.

I don't understand why we have to choose sides to "fight" each other, in something that has nothing to do with us, our identity, or our rice pot.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nguyen-ngoc-tu-noi-buon-cung-co-ve-dep-cua-no-20250508082926963.htm