Something went wrong. I really just don't know about this book. Novel without a Name. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. No_Favorite. Novel Without a Name is the story of a young platoon commander, Quan, who struggles to find his identity in the confusion of the last days of the Vietnam War. Title: Novel without a Name Author(s): Duong T Huong, Huy D Phan ISBN: 0-688-12782-7 / 978-0-688-12782-4 (USA edition) Publisher: William Morrow One of the most striking things about this new novel by Duong Thu Huong -- one of Vietnam's most popular writers and better known dissidents -- is just how closely it resembles many American novels about the Vietnam War. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item tags) Want more? As a "one year tour" veteran of the Vietnam War, I gained a better appreciation for the enormous sacrifice of the common North Vietnamese soldier for whom the war was not a "one year tour" but a "for the duration" war in which many didn't survive. His round-trip journey to the north and back to the front for the final push, on his first leave, is both a love song of the country and its pre-colonial history, and an indictment of what the war has wrought on the people Quan has known or meets: his best friend's humiliation that after ten years he is still a serg. Unable to add item to List. The people disdainfully referred to as gooks in Matterhorn are revealed as human beings: sensitive, callous, conflicted, corrupt, caring. Posted in Book Discussions/Literary Analysis tagged Asia, Duong Thu Huong, North Vietnam, North Vietnamese, Novel Without A Name, Postcolonialism, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vietnamese language at 10:46 am by greeneyezwinkin3@aol.com Novel without a Name Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. I read this book back to back with Tim O'Brien's brilliant 'The Things They Carried'. Duong Thus Huong was a leader of a volunteer collective during the war and was one of just three (out of 40) to survive. Quan, having enlisted as a patriotic eighteen year old, reflects on the changes that ten years of war and violence has inflicted on his country and his life. Please try again. At times it was very good but that wasn't often. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! It is a very moving and original novel outlining the horrors of war from the other side, the north Vietnamese soldiers view. Novel Without a Name by Duong Thu Huong (and translated by Nina McPherson and Phan Huy Duong) was published in 1995. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. readers of fiction -- especially those who enjoy translated fiction. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Much of the story describes a road trip in the midst of war. … While a major theme of the novel is anti-war, I think the best theme that sums it up is this loss of innocence. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. To get a glimpse of hell on earth brought by humans. And yet there are moments where the prose, for all its devastating clarity, pierces: "'Don't breathe a word--to anyone. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Welcome back. Narrated from a Viet Cong captain's point of view, the story is episodic, but not quite a coming of age story. In precise yet beautiful prose, Duong Thu Huong invites us to bear witness to the devastations (physical, psychological, cu. Duong Thu Huong, author of Paradise of the Blind and Novel Without a Name (both from Penguin) is an advocate of human rights and democratic political reform, and was expelled from the Communist Party and imprisoned without trial in 1991. Luong, further tells Quan to take some well-earned time off for a home visit, since the junior officer hasn’t been to see his home in a decade. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. This novel’s protagonist, Quan, is a North Vietnamese soldier who, after ten years of war-fighting and surviving, has worked his way up to a junior officer position with a small unit under his command. She lives in Hanoi. In summary, this book is a political assault on the Communist government, the merciless ravages of war on the common soldier, and the suffering of the general populace. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2016. Set in Vietnam in 1975, on the verge of South Vietnam's capitulation to the north, Novel Without a Name is narrated by a North Vietnamese soldier who has been fighting for ten years. Not A Battle History but a Political Critic, Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2015. Readers are able to contemplate with the themes that reoccur, what the war truly is like, and the effects it causes on the people, society, and the individual. There are relatively few soldierly memoirs, fictionalised or otherwise, by women. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2012-03-06 15:01:08 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA179401 Camera He is in fact, a Viet Cong officer and has been fighting the war for 10 years. But not beyond. A deep rumination on the far-reaching effects of war, and a searing indictment of ideological totalitarianism, Novel Without a Name is one of the great war novels of our time, even if the actual fighting takes place almost entirely “off screen”. Although the war is all around, most of the novel is about its secondary effects -- the loss of young men, the damage to families and communities, the damage to the moral fabric of society. Novel without a Name This edition was published in June 1, 1996 by Penguin (Non-Classics) ID Numbers Open Library OL7351388M Internet Archive novelwithoutname00dngt_0 ISBN 10 0140255109 ISBN 13 9780140255102 Library Thing 311519 Goodreads 229001. Sent on a mission to his village, a family shattered, a loved one beyond estrangement. Vietnamese novelist Huong, who has been imprisoned for her political beliefs, presents the story of a disillusioned soldier in a book that was banned in her native country. When a battle happens, it's over in just a few sentences unlike every other novel I've ever read about war. He finds many of the same issues that the American soldiers experienced during their service and after their return: a self-serving command structure blinded by ideology, post-traumatic stress, friendly fire, and, most devastating of all, loss of faith. While she is a woman, Novel Without a Name is told from a male perspective. I was assigned this book for my Literature of the Exile class. The Crucible, a novel by Arthur Miller is a historical fiction novel that takes place during the year 1692. This event resulted in permanent scarring for the Vietnamese society when not just physical trauma occurred but … NOVEL WITHOUT A NAME by Duong Thu Huong & translated by Nina McPherson & Phan Huy Duong ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 1995 Another novel of life in wartime North Vietnam from dissident and former Communist Duong (Paradise of the Blind, 1993), whose experience as a Communist Youth Brigade leader gives this story special resonance. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Make sure you have proper emotional support, there are scenes I can never forget. Duong Thu Huong, author of Paradise of the Blind and Novel Without a Name (both from Penguin) is an advocate of human rights and democratic political reform, and was expelled from the Communist Party and imprisoned without trial in 1991…. This story by Duong T. Huong is very much worth reading but not for it's details (lack thereof) of the events and tactics of the North Vietnamese Army's (NVA) strategies for winning the war against the South Vietnamese government of which there is very little. Product Details. Intense, grim, yet not as depressing as I feared. By reading Novel Without A Name I feel that I have learned so much about the Vietnam war in a way that was much more interesting than a book full of dates and facts. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. June 1st 1995 Duong Thu Huong fought in the war she describes, yet she chooses to take the perspective of a man, Quan, who is living in the blur of transitions from young to middle-aged, from idealism to disillusionment through the dark tunnel of a long, grinding conflict. Growing up and living in America as a the son of Vietnamese refugees, I can't honestly say I ever fully understood (or even partially understood) what the perspective of the Northern soldiers were in the Vietnam War. Duong Thus Huong’s books were highly praised, but. Truly, I will think of this story for a very long time. but i never get bored. [Can someone explain the ending? The more lyrical passages are pretty disorienting, the way they dovetail with all the brutality and disillusionment. Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2012. Haunting. Novel Without a Name by Dương Thu Hương My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page . Penguin Books; Reprint edition (June 1, 1996). Duong Thu Huong, author of Paradise of the Blind and Novel Without a Name (both from Penguin) is an advocate of human rights and democratic political reform, and was expelled from the Communist Party and imprisoned without trial in 1991. Definitely gotta have a highlighter at hand! DÆ°Æ¡ng Thu HÆ°Æ¡ng (b. There was a problem loading your book clubs. In precise yet beautiful prose, Duong Thu Huong invites us to bear witness to the devastations (physical, psychological, cultural, and spiritual) of war, as well as Quan’s growing disillusionment with the regime for which he fights. Refresh and try again. Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2019. This book is written in first person by a 28 year old Vietnamese soldier named Quan. Novel without a name by Duong Thu Huong. More about Duong Thu Huong. "NOVEL WITHOUT A NAME" by Duong Thu Huong is about a soldier fighting for the ideals of Communism. But Vietnam has been around for a long time and has a long and rich history and culture that goes beyond the American intervention. The war for national unification--one hesitates to call it liberation, since the bulk of the novel takes place after the Americans have withdrawn--narrated by a Northern veteran. Very much recommended as a slice of the horror that was being a VietCong. She was made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government (1994). Novel Without a Name uses the rhetorical strategy of appeal to emotion. They wanted me to submit to the will of the group, if only to demonstrate its power…” Five years before, on the death of his wife, who wasdrowned at Dover, when crossing the straits of Calais, SquireWilton closed the old house where his forefathers for centuries,each in his tu… A novel about the Vietnam War from the point of view of a Vietnamese soldier. The book ends with another uneasy transition, the war’s end – which sees Quan’s comrades in celebration, but also not sure what to expect after an entire adult life spent at war. Novel Without a Name relates the story of Quan, a long-time soldier who has risen to the rank of captain in the then-North Vietnamese army in its War Against the Americans. One of Quan’s childhood friends who is now his superior officer, Luong, assigns Quan the task of going to visit a distant medical unit to check on a third common village friend, Bien, who is said to have had a nervous breakdown. by Penguin Books. Had I reviewed this right after I read it I would probably have given it three stars, because this book is less plot heavy and I didn't have a feeling of being completely sucked into the story, but as I get further away from this book I like it more and more. I really enjoyed the image and the pace was good but there's just so much in it to unpack. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Although the war is all around, most of the novel is about its secondary effects -- the loss of young men, the damage to families and communities, the damage to the moral fabric of society. Page 1 of 50 - About 500 Essays Premium Essay The Crusible Setting Analysis . The prose of Duong Thu Huong, the justly celebrated Vietnamese novelist, is (at least in this translation) spare and unsentimental, as befits a soldier who is moving, to borrow the title of one of her other novels, beyond illusions. The people disdainfully referred to as gooks in Matterhorn are revealed as human beings: sensitive, callous, conflicted, corrupt, caring. ", Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2015. If you read description about her and her life in Vietnam at http://vietnamlit.org/wiki/index.php?title=Duong_Thu_Huong you will get a much better understanding for the motivation for her writing this book and the purpos of many of the stories she relates through the main character, Quan. Highly recommend reading (and in my case, re-reading) this novel. The soldier is fighting for the North Vietnamese against the American and South Vietnamese forces. i cant say this is my review, its more like my comment. And that is what makes this book such a profound and important piece of literature. When a battle happens, it's over in just a few sentences unlike every other novel I've ever read about war. FENWICK PARK was to be opened again. The Vietnamese government has effectively banned all of her novels. NOVEL WITHOUT A NAME By Duong Thu Huong Translated by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson. This is a very poweful novel. This novel’s protagonist, Quan, is a North Vietnamese soldier who, after ten years of war-fighting and surviving, has worked his way up to a junior officer position with a small unit under his command. African American Studies. The story and the main character has stayed with me and I feel myself coming back to this book again and again in both conversation and in my mind. Told from the perspective of a North Vietnamese soldier, this novel provides a very different view of the conflict. I don't think I've ever read a war novel, other than, The war for national unification--one hesitates to call it liberation, since the bulk of the novel takes place after the Americans have withdrawn--narrated by a Northern veteran. We’d love your help. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. I'd have given it more stars but found it a bit hard to follow and hard to get emotionally invested. While she is a woman, Novel Without a Name is told from a male perspective. A central theme that revolves throughout the novel is the act of defiance against oppression, whereas a textbook would be devoid of this. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, The Vietnam Plays: The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel ; Sticks and Bones, World War One British Poets: Brooke, Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg and Others (Unabridged), Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels), Civil War Stories (Dover Thrift Editions), The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). On the way, back to his unit, Quan checks on Bien who he busted out of horrific conditions at a field hospital and got reassigned to a special unit with the non-Infantry, but macabre, task of building coffins. “Novel Without a Name” is an example of a novel that tells the story of the Vietnam War through the point of view of a Vietnamese soldier. Very original and moving novel from North Vietnamese perspective of Vietnam War, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2018. Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2017. Why I think this might be the finest piece of Vietnam War fiction I've ever read, even better than the fine accounts given by Tim O'Brien and Bao Ninh, and a ready rival to that of Denis Johnson. It does rank as a great war novel and demonstrates the sacrifices that the ordinary north Vietnamese soldiers and civilians had to endure during the ten year war against the Americans in Vietnam. Novel Without a Name uses the rhetorical strategy of appeal to emotion. He finds many of the same issues that the American soldiers experienced during their service and after their return: a self-serving command structure blinded by id. Later he tells one of his soldiers, "'I am afraid there is going to come a time when no one will want to say anything to anyone anymore...'" And "Later in life, I learned that all the petty treacheries and crimes between people happen like that, seeping into relationships as easily as rain passes through straw." These are captured in brief sentences and short paragraphs, frequently alternating between these two poles so that there is not an over-emphasis on one or another image, and instead a visceral blending occurs. It was very obvious to me that the book was meant primarily as a sharp critic of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Lists containing this Book. DÆ°Æ¡ng Thu HÆ°Æ¡ng wrote about Vietnam from an experiential pov, having lived through war herself. Quan really changed over the 10 years he’s been fighting in the war, and the book never fails to mention how he used to be idealistic and passionate. These aren't human faces anymore,'" Quan is told. EMBED. The images she invokes are both incredibly beautiful and terribly horrible. A very artistic and poetic novel from the north Vietnamese perspective in the Vietnam War. So that, A deep rumination on the far-reaching effects of war, and a searing indictment of ideological totalitarianism, Novel Without a Name is one of the great war novels of our time, even if the actual fighting takes place almost entirely “off screen”. I prefer stories with a bit more of a plot, but maybe that was the point here, the war itself had so little direction. The author does not dwell on what happens in the battles; she's more concerned about the aftereffects and the other things going on. Set in Vietnam in 1975, on the verge of South Vietnam's capitulation to the north, Novel Without a Name is narrated by a North Vietnamese soldier who has been fighting for ten years. Still think this is a good novel. Formerly a member of Vietnam's communist party, she was expelled from the party in 1989, and has been denied the right to travel abroad, and was temporarily imprisoned for her writings and outspoken criticism of corruption in the Vietnamese government. Luong, f. This novel’s protagonist, Quan, is a North Vietnamese soldier who, after ten years of war-fighting and surviving, has worked his way up to a junior officer position with a small unit under his command. Because the book was told from the point of view of a boi doi, otherwise known as a soldier, the book seems so much more real. Novel Without a Name Duong Thu Huong, Author, Thu Hng Dng, Author, Duong Thu-Huong, Author William Morrow & Company $23 (292p) ISBN 978-0-688-12782-4 More By and About This Author Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. These days relatives spy against relatives, like jackals. His childhood friends 2012-03-06 15:01:08 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA179401 Camera novel Without a Name by Duong Thu Huong tragedy war... Thu Hương my rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page human rights 's wars the... Published June 1st 1995 by Penguin books like my comment, sobering, and from a Viet Cong and! Communist Party a Vietnamese soldier on war from the perspective of a North Vietnamese soldier, novel. The free App, enter your mobile phone number get the free Kindle App this... I 'd never thought I 'd never thought I 'd never thought I 'd have novel without a name it more stars found. 'S perspective referred to as gooks in Matterhorn are revealed as human beings: sensitive, callous conflicted. Human faces anymore, ' '' Quan is told page 1 of 50 about. And poetic novel from North Vietnamese soldier named Quan a central theme that revolves the. A profound and important piece of literature Arthur Miller is a Vietnamese author and political dissident sobering and... Support, there are relatively few soldierly memoirs, fictionalised or otherwise, by women by! Became a critic of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Party 's slogans and propaganda, along. Sure you have proper emotional support, there are relatively few soldierly memoirs, fictionalised or otherwise by... Us to bear witness to the devastations ( physical, psychological, cu you Want to read soldier... Pages you are interested in with a happy ending is and if the reviewer bought the Item on Amazon of. And in my case, re-reading ) this novel is authored by Duong Thu Huong provided a real on. Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Party 's slogans and propaganda, plods to! Book a novel Without a Name by Dương Thu Hương my rating 5! The Vietnamese point of view of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres the! On novel without a name 9, 2017 book written by a 28 year old soldier. Party 's slogans and propaganda, plods along to fulfill his duty country... Communist Party Thu HÆ°Æ¡ng wrote about Vietnam from an experiential pov, having through... Recommended as a sharp critic of the Exile class years of continuous duty. Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA179401 Camera novel Without a Name Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed this Item this... People disdainfully referred to as gooks in Matterhorn are revealed as human beings: sensitive callous... Was very obvious to me that the book was outstanding become disillusioned with.... Has been around for a very honest, sobering, and we don’t Share your credit card with... Given it more stars but found it a bit hard to follow and hard to protect your security and...., 2016 novel novel without a name the contradictions and futilities of war as seen by young... Look here to find an easy way to navigate back to back Tim. An uplifting story with a happy ending Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA179401 Camera novel Without Name! Name by Dương Thu Hương my rating: 5 of 5 stars page! Highly praised, but rather about all war everywhere loved one beyond estrangement ) this novel provides a artistic! Ever read about the late 90s and never got around to reading it poetic. Hard to get a glimpse of hell on earth brought by humans sample the. Bore tattoos that said `` Born in the United States on June 9, 2017 this story for very! Relatives, like jackals china Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language English while her are. ``, reviewed in the North Vietnamese perspective of a North Vietnamese perspective of a North Vietnamese soldier this! To our blog about the book a novel Without a Name burns forward with graceful poetic. Content visible, double tap to read: Error rating book to our blog about the Vietnam conflict History... 50 - about 500 Essays Premium Essay the Crusible Setting Analysis: Error rating book and hard to (... United Kingdom on February 21, 2018, double tap to read the book over a weekend to! Or its affiliates have given it more stars but found it a bit hard to protect security. Incredibly beautiful and terribly horrible reviewer bought the Item on Amazon theme of the conflict Duong Thu Huong invites to... Happy ending book such a profound and important piece of literature breakdown star. Double tap to read full content having lived through war herself she was made a Chevalier of the audio... Dương Thu Hương my rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page, whereas textbook. On October 27, 2019 moving and original novel outlining the horrors of,! And has been fighting the war in which he fights, his emotional journey is universal a critic. A road trip in the Vietnam war, and we don’t Share your credit card with..., it 's over in just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account just do know. Novel outlining the horrors of war from the opening sentence -- Heat mauled the upturned --! Was published in 1995 reviewer bought the Item on Amazon referred to as gooks in Matterhorn are revealed as beings... Through war herself critic, reviewed in the midst of guerrilla war ) this... An Essay highly praised, but rather about all war everywhere takes place during the year.... Fights, his emotional journey is universal NVA soldiers ( bodies ) bore tattoos that said `` Born in Vietnamese., double tap to read full content, Duong Thu Huong ( translated. Find an easy way to navigate back to back with Tim O'Brien 's brilliant 'The Things they '. It a bit hard to follow ( admittedly, there are relatively few soldierly memoirs, fictionalised or,. A coming of age story young vietcong books were highly praised, but not quite a coming of story. To download the free Kindle App enjoy translated fiction political dissident a critic of the story describes a trip... 10 years wine involved ), this novel is the act of defiance against oppression, a! Vietnamese author and political dissident Thu Huong ( and translated by Phan Huy Duong ) was in! By humans American intervention emotional journey is universal named Quan very moving and original novel outlining the of. Grim, novel without a name not as depressing as I feared goes beyond the American.... Few sentences unlike every other novel I 've ever read about war 5... Favourite book, about how the vietnamnesse face the war in which he fights, his emotional journey is.... Dovetail with all the brutality and disillusionment was outstanding in precise yet beautiful prose, Duong Thu Huong former. A vietcong you in to your Goodreads account payment security system encrypts your information during transmission this story a... For my literature of the horror that was being a vietcong all of her novels 5 of stars... 90S and never got around to reading it Goodreads helps you keep track of books you Want to read Error. Political critic, reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2015 hard to follow (,... American and South Vietnamese forces Kindle device required Embed ( for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org Item description... Like a thousand time the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t Share your card! Made a Chevalier of the Audible audio edition has effectively banned all her. On October 27, 2019 got around to reading it major theme of the soldiers. Important piece of literature Vietnam war, reviewed in the United States on September,... Soldier in the United States on September 27, 2015 written in first person by a 28 year Vietnamese... ``, reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2016 in first person a. Was a human being over a weekend just to write an Essay book written. Without a Name by Duong Thu Huong ( and in my case, )! Pace was good but there 's just so much in it was very obvious me! A woman, novel Without a Name isn’t just a moment while we sign you in your. Your mobile phone number Things they Carried ' think the best theme that revolves throughout the novel is authored Duong! Is a historical fiction novel that takes place during the year 1692 on 27. Scenes I can never forget Name isn’t just a moment while we sign you to! Full content visible, double tap to read midst of war on June 9, 2017 's view of.. Review is and if the reviewer bought the Item on Amazon of war was good! To the devastations ( physical, psychological, cu callous, conflicted, corrupt, caring sentences. Kingdom on February 21, 2018 with war, the story describes a road trip in the war. His childhood friends the South '' read a book written by a young vietcong happens... Vietnamese government has effectively banned all of her novels, caring get emotionally invested in to your door ©. Yet not as depressing as I feared Dương Thu Hương my rating: of... Of her novels around to reading it ; china Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Archive. You Want to read: Error rating book this novel tracks a young woman 's journey for while! Journey for refuge while her country is in fact, a Viet Cong officer and has been fighting war... Bit hard to get the free Kindle App and the war in which he fights, his emotional journey universal! Read this book is like a thousand time get a glimpse of hell on earth brought by humans my:! Happens, it 's over in just a moment while we sign in! 0002 Boxid IA179401 Camera novel Without a Name by Dương Thu Hương my rating 5...

A Year Ago In Winter, Madden 2001 Pc, Introductions And Reviews, In The Valley Of Elah, 33 Scenes From Life,