Reaching towards the sun

With 16 short stories in the collection "People Riding on Smoke" (Vietnam Women's Publishing House, 2025), Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa has left the familiar setting of purely historical fiction to enter the modern era, returning to the reality of her homeland. That is Phan Rang - Thap Cham - a land of white sand, dry winds, cacti standing bare in the sun, and flocks of sheep wandering in the dry fields.

In that setting, human beings appear small, lonely, living in immense sadness and yearning to escape from invisible limitations. The short stories in the collection are mostly devoid of climaxes or drama; they are simply ordinary tales, yet they still move the reader.

The lives of the characters in "The Smoke Riders" are always precarious and fragile amidst the unexpected changes of fate. They are almost never prepared for these changes. When misfortune strikes, they can only silently endure and accept. Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa dedicates a large portion of her stories to writing about ordinary working women, small but resilient individuals who silently sacrifice for their loved ones and community. Like the mother in the story "On the Grassland," who never imagined the day she would pass away, only for her children to "no longer listen" and return the past to their father. The father – a soldier from Hanoi – suffered from severe malaria in the jungle, got separated from his unit, and was rescued in a state of amnesia. From that day on, she carefully hid all her old memories, shouldering the burden of the household and shielding him from any painful recollections.

In the story "Life in the Storm," the woman would rather reject the Chef's affections than embark on a relationship she knew would never end well. This rejection wasn't coldness, but rather a way for her to maintain a fragile peace amidst a life full of turmoil. The mother in "The Opposing Wind" sacrifices her feminine instincts, realizing that she lives not only for herself, but also for her daughter. The mother in "The Reborn Sun" sells all her land, exchanging everything to save her child...

The collection of short stories also focuses on the consciousness of young people. For example, the story "Sunshine Reborn" tells of a young man returning to his hometown, searching for memories, and trying to preserve what his ancestors left behind, such as the fields, his grandfather's grave, and his childhood... In a context where people are living pragmatically, exploiting land and sand mines for food and wealth, but forgetting the values ​​of their roots, writer Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa emphasizes the value of origins and the connection between this generation and the previous one. The image of "sunshine reborn" symbolizes the awakening of the main character. Despite experiencing much loss and suffering, the person rises up to protect what is most meaningful to them: love for family and homeland.

Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa's short stories are simple, and the characters in each story are also simple and ordinary. They don't have clear names, but are referred to by the author using evocative names such as "Ca Chon," "Nghiem Tuc," "Shen De," "Dao Mai," "Dau Phong Luoc," "Da Den,"... or familiar pronouns like "I," "he," "mother," "father," "grandmother"... This makes each character both concrete and like a shadow of the people around us, small lives, yet full of aspirations to rise up, to reach towards the sun, with faith in a better life.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/vuon-ve-phia-nang-722751.html