Writer Nguyen The Ky: 20 years of nurturing a massive novel about President Ho Chi Minh

One morning in May, Associate Professor-Doctor-writer Nguyen The Ky completed the epic novel about the life and career of beloved Uncle Ho.

“I am with Him, He shines in me/ I suddenly grow up a little bit by His side…,” Mr. Ky said he was happy because the launching ceremony of the book series that he had been pondering and nurturing for 20 years was solemnly held at the President Ho Chi Minh Relic Site at the Presidential Palace.

20 years of struggling with a work about Uncle Ho

At the launching event, writer Nguyen The Ky expressed his respect and gratitude to those who have written many works about President Ho Chi Minh in many literary and artistic forms.

However, he always wondered why there were so many good novels about the war theme, written elaborately and seriously, but there was not a truly massive, comprehensive novel about President Ho Chi Minh - a great leader of the nation, of the Party, of our State and a great friend of the people of the world ?

Associate Professor, PhD, writer Nguyen The Ky. (Photo: Phuong Hoa/VNA)

“Uncle Ho is the beloved Father of the nation, but he is also too great and it is difficult to write about his life and career. That is why we still lack great literary works about him,” Mr. Ky explained.

During the conversation and exchange with guests and delegates attending the novel launch event, writer Nguyen The Ky mentioned writer Son Tung with special respect.

When writer Son Tung was still alive, Mr. Ky often visited his house and had many opportunities to chat intimately. He also expressed his admiration for the works about Uncle Ho that writer Son Tung left behind - especially the touching pages about his childhood, adolescence and youth.

However, in a conversation, when asked why he did not continue to write about Uncle Ho in a more comprehensive way, writer Son Tung honestly said that he no longer had the health and conditions to continue the journey of collecting documents - a journey that was inherently very difficult.

A massive epic novel about the life and career of Uncle Ho.

Writer Nguyen The Ky shared that the intention to write about national heroes, especially those he felt close to, had been brewing in him for 20 years, when he was Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper (2000-2003).

His journalism and work in the locality have given him access to many practical issues, including the history of Nam Dan - the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh. When he was assigned to work here, he began to learn more about the land that has long been considered a "spiritual land of talented people."

Writer Nguyen The Ky said that in order to write about Uncle Ho, he spent 20 years searching and preparing historical documents. During that time, he also wrote many articles and participated in scientific seminars. From those articles, the idea of ​​writing a major novel about Uncle Ho gradually took shape.

“Initially, I planned to write about 3 volumes, but the more I wrote, the more I felt I needed to fully express his life and career. To date, the novel has completed 5 volumes,” said Mr. Ky.

Continuing the fire that He lit

Talking about the advantages and disadvantages, writer Nguyen The Ky shared that one of the biggest advantages when writing about President Ho Chi Minh is the rich and profound source of information. Uncle Ho is the most studied historical figure, with thousands of books at home and abroad.

For writer Nguyen The Ky, the advantage also comes from his 20 years of working at the Central Ideology and Culture Department (now the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department), where he accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience and had the opportunity to access documents from many different channels.

Writer Nguyen The Ky and Ms. Le Thi Phuong, Director of the President Ho Chi Minh Relic Site at the Presidential Palace at the book launch on May 17. (Photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

He also visited Uncle Ho's house in Sen village, then went to the places where Uncle Ho lived and worked in the Soviet Union, England, Guangzhou (China), Thailand... to gain a deeper understanding of the man and his revolutionary journey.

However, this huge source of information has brought challenges to writers. Filtering and selecting appropriate information is an elaborate process.

Associate Professor, PhD, writer Nguyen The Ky believes that the biggest difficulty is the approach and portrayal of the character. Because writing about a great man like President Ho Chi Minh requires a comprehensive understanding, both honoring his historical stature and portraying his everyday, familiar features.

Scene of the book launch. (Photo: Contributor/Vietnam+)

He believes that Uncle Ho is a great figure but also very simple and close. We must write in a way that both shows Uncle Ho's stature and allows readers - especially the younger generation - to see a man with noble qualities that everyone can learn from, and absolutely not "deify" Uncle Ho.

“Literature about history is different from historiography. Writers do not follow in the footsteps of historians. In history, Ho Chi Minh is a historical figure. In literature, Ho Chi Minh is a literary figure. I approach him from a human perspective. To do so, I have to get really close to him, explore his inner world to best express this aspect,” the writer shared.

Instead of recreating Uncle Ho in a dry historical or propaganda style, the author tries to exploit everyday life and humane emotions, then convey them through artistic forms. Through that, history is still respected - events, timelines, and contexts are all accurate, while artistic depth and emotion are also heightened. The supporting character system is fictionalized to shed more light on the central character.

A scene from the play "Debt to the Country" based on volume 1 of the novel "Nuon non van dam" (scriptwriter: Nguyen The Ky, director: Trieu Trung Kien). (Photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

For writer Nguyen The Ky, writing about Uncle Ho is a journey back to the spiritual roots of the nation - where the will to self-reliance, compassion and the desire for independence blend together in one person. But writing about Uncle Ho is not just about recounting past events, but also about conversing with the present through the fire that he once lit. That was the fire that once warmed an entire nation during the long night of slavery. A fire that once guided millions of Vietnamese people through the suffering and loss of war.

“Write with awareness to understand that Uncle Ho is not a monument, but a human being - every moment of life and choice between paradoxes, limitations, and strong belief in the future. Write about Uncle Ho with respect, not to deify, but to pass on, so that future generations know why a person can become the soul of an entire nation,” the writer expressed./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/nha-van-nguyen-the-ky-20-nam-ap-u-bo-tieu-thuyet-do-so-ve-chu-tich-ho-chi-minh-post1039407.vnp