Memoirs are always hot

Books by/about famous people are no stranger to readers. Many titles still maintain interest despite being published for many years, some titles are reprinted immediately upon release and appear in the bestseller section.

Books about famous people have been printed 3 times or more - Photo: Publishing House

Books about famous people are often called by a number of specialized names depending on the perspective and writing style. They are diaries, memoirs, notes, autobiographies, character portraits...

At Phuong Nam Book, there are autobiographies - memoirs that are always bestsellers even though they have been published for a long time, such as: Tam Thanh and Loc Doi (memoirs of Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc); autobiography Le Cong Vinh - Phut 89 ; Madam Nhu Quyen Luc Ba Rong (portrait book about Mrs. Tran Le Xuan).

Fahasa Deputy General Director Pham Thi Hoa told Tuoi Tre that the memoirs of former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh are always on Fahasa's best-selling list. Representatives of Omega+ and the National Political Publishing House and Truth (the two co-publishers) said the total number of books published to date is 48,000.

Recently, veteran artists such as Huu Chau and Xuan Hinh have also released their portraits and autobiographies, respectively, and have received great attention from readers. Why is it that this genre of books never loses its popularity in the market?

This was not an easy task for two people as busy as Loc and I. In addition to my own work, I also had to search and read many articles and documents about Loc. Because this was not only Loc's story, but also the story of those who worked in the theater of the South, after the country was unified.

Writer Minh Ngoc talks about writing Thanh Loc's memoirs

Not just a personal story

Many book publishers say best-selling memoirs and autobiographies often revolve around famous people with widely known achievements.

What attracts readers in these books is not only the story of an individual, but also the many details surrounding them, related to events, historical periods, social contexts, and multi-dimensional perspectives on the character's field of activity.

At Tre Publishing House, books about famous people that have been printed three times or more include Vo Nguyen Giap - a hundred-year spirit, Nguyen Van Linh - a journey with history, Tran Van Giau - a hundred-year mark, Journey to Independence Palace...

Or the book Because Our Fathers Lied , the recently released autobiography of McNamara's son, has received the attention of readers who want to learn about the war in Vietnam through the perspective of an American family.

"In order to create valuable and attractive memoirs and autobiographies, we think it is also necessary to pay attention to expressing the tone, language, and character of each region and period. When reading the book, readers will clearly feel the dialects, typical forms of address, and cultural and lifestyle elements of that period.

As in the portrait memoir Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms , readers will not only learn about the artist's life and career, but also feel the historical and cultural context of the old Saigon.

This book still maintains stable interest from many groups of readers such as: long-time fans, young people interested in performing arts... to understand more about the artist beyond the content that the press still reports" - Phanbook media representative, the book publisher, commented.

Memoirs of Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh - Photo: Publishing House

Memoir projects take decades

According to Deputy Director of Phuong Nam Book Trinh Hai Phuong, each autobiography - memoir requires a lot of investment in time, effort, and cost because they reflect the character's entire life and career.

The Golden Cradle of Storms, memoirs of People's Artist Kim Cuong - Photo: H.LAM

"Like the memoir Living for yourself, living for others by People's Artist Kim Cuong. Writing about the life of an ordinary person is difficult, so how much more difficult would it be to write about the life of a famous person known as a "stage diva".

Surely that's why, from the time of discussion until the book was published, the project took nearly... 10 years with many pauses or times having to change writers.

After completing the manuscript, the editorial board and the artist edited and selected images for more than 8 months before it could be officially printed. This is truly a long-term and elaborate project with a lot of dedication from the artist and the team," said Mr. Phuong.

As for the book Huu Chau - The Golden Cradle of Storms, it not only simply records the story of Meritorious Artist Huu Chau but also interweaves the perspective and story of author Thanh Thuy.

Memoirs of Tam Thanh and Loc Doi by Thanh Loc, portrait notes of Huu Chau - Photo: H.LAM

The unity of content and emotional flow throughout the book is due to many meetings and conversations between Phanbook, artist Huu Chau and author Thanh Thuy.

In which, both the artist and the writer had dialogued and worked for about 1 year, before that Huu Chau and Phanbook also had nearly 3 years to prepare for this book after many years Huu Chau hesitated to decide to write a book about himself and the Thanh Minh - Thanh Nga family.

Phanbook and author Thanh Thuy have gone through a process of searching and synthesizing visual materials and content from many reputable sources. Some stories in the book are referenced from Thanh Minh Thanh Nga's Memoirs on the YouTube channel Bao Quoc - Hong Loan, some come from newspapers, specific characters...

To compile 150 images, in addition to images provided directly by artist Huu Chau and photographer Quoc Huy, Phanbook also compiled images from authors, writers, journalists, critics, researchers, and image collectors.

"This work requires great patience in every stage, from researching the story, collecting documents, interviewing characters, selecting images to editing. We play the role of connecting with relatives, colleagues, and students of artist Huu Chau to enrich the portrait of the artist from many perspectives. Behind-the-scenes stories and unpublished photos are all proposed to be included" - Phanbook media representative said.

Truth in every story

According to publishers, one of the major challenges when writing and editing memoirs is to ensure both a vivid narrative and authenticity in each narration. If the narrative is not accurate or not moderated, the effect will be diluted. Or if it is embellished or polished too much, it will lose the natural quality of the narrator.

Next, the writer must also understand the character, know how to exploit and suggest problems during the implementation process.

Having written the autobiographies of Duc Phuc and hot girl Huyen Anh, writer Vo Thu Huong said that when writing books about famous people, whether they are beloved or controversial characters, the value of the story lies in what it brings to the readers: "Like when writing about Huyen Anh, I understand that her fame comes from the noise of the "Ba Tung" image she built.

So I try not to exploit the sensational story but follow each step of your development and self-improvement to make the book more worth reading."

Lam Lake

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-hoi-ky-luon-luon-nong-20250730215447761.htm