Paradise of the Blind is an exquisite portrait of three Vietnamese women struggling to survive in a society where subservience to men is expected and Communist corruption crushes every dream. Through the eyes of Hang, a young woman in her twenties who has grown up amidst the slums and intermittent beauty of Hanoi, we come to know the tragedy of her family as land reform rips apart their village. When her uncle Chinh‘s political loyalties replace family devotion, Hang is torn between her mother‘s appalling self–sacrifice and the bitterness of her aunt who can avenge but not forgive. Only by freeing herself from the past will Hang be able to find dignity –– and a future.

Paradise of the Blind: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Nina McPherson

DUONG, THU HUONG

Dramas & Plays

William Morrow Paperbacks

Now, at last, comes the first Vietnamese novel ever translated and published in North America. Duong Thu Huong is Vietnam's most beloved and outspoken novelist. In Paradise of the Blind she has created a devastating portrait of three women fighting to maintain their dignity in a society that expects ever greater sacrifices from them. Paradise of the Blind is a rich, sensuous journey through a Vietnam never seen before. In images of astonishing grace and power, and through her unforgettable gallery of women, Duong Thu Huong dazzles the reader with her ability to evoke the colors, the foods, the smells, and the age-old rituals of her country. At the center of the novel is Hang, a young woman forced to grow up too fast in the slums of Hanoi and the turbulence of modern Vietnam. Duong Thu Huong brilliantly captures Hang's rebellion against her mother and the loneliness of her search for self. There is Hang's mother, who watches, powerless, as her life is shattered by a fanatical political campaign led by her own brother. And there is the mysterious Aunt Tam, who has accumulated wealth and bitterness in equal parts and seeks to pass on both to her niece, Hang. The intoxicating beauty of the Vietnamese countryside, the hunger, the pride, the endurance of ordinary Vietnamese people confronted with the hypocrisy and corruption that surround them - all are here in this moving and lyrical novel. With the publication of Paradise of the Blind comes the introduction of a world-class storyteller whose extraordinary sensitivity and courage have captivated a generation of Vietnamese readers.

Paradise of the Blind

Literary

William Morrow Company

A piercing, unforgettable tale of the horror and spiritual weariness of war, Novel Without a Name will shatter every preconception Americans have about what happened in the jungles of Vietnam. With Duong Thu Huong, whose Paradise of the Blind was published to high critical acclaim in 1993, Vietnam has found a voice both lyrical and stark, powerful enough to capture the conflict that left millions dead and spiritually destroyed her generation. Banned in the author's native country for its scathing dissection of the day-to-day realities of life for the Vietnamese during the final years of the "Vietnam War, " Novel Without a Name invites comparison with All Quiet on the Western Front and other classic works of war fiction. The war is seen through the eyes of Quan, a North Vietnamese bo doi (soldier of the people) who joined the army at eighteen, full of idealism and love for the Communist party and its cause of national liberation. But ten years later, after leading his platoon through almost a decade of unimaginable horror and deprivation, Quan is disillusioned by his odyssey of loss and struggle. Furloughed back to his village in search of a fellow soldier, Quan undertakes a harrowing, solitary journey through the tortuous jungles of central Vietnam and his own unspeakable memories.

Novel Without a Name

Genre Fiction

Picador

Linh, a beautiful young woman, married her professor because she so admired his idealism. When he sells out everything he believes in so as to support her, her love goes. The book follows Linh and Nguyen through Hanoi society after their breakup as they grapple with their consciences and ideals. Huong traces with grace and intelligence how her young heroine moves "beyond illusions" about politics and love to an understanding of how she can control her own destiny. When Beyond Illusions was first published in 1987 it was immediately confiscated by government officials, but not before thousands of copies were snapped up by Vietnamese readers. Her second novel got her jailed for months without trial and brought her to the attention of the international community, where her growing reputation as writer and dissident was increased by the publication in the US and UK of Novel Without a Name and Memories of a Pure Spring (her work is still banned in Vietnam). Now Huong's debut novel has finally been translated into English; readers will find here 'one more eloquent plea for freedom and tolerance from an accomplished writer and conscience' San Francisco Chronicle.

Beyond Illusions

Pan/Macmillan

Contemporary

Through the story of Suong, a celebrated singer, and Hung, her composer husband, Memories of a Pure Spring paints an intimate portrait of modern Vietnam and its citizens as they struggle to survive under the complexities of the post-war regime. At the same time it tells a simple, universal story of love that is both haunting and riveting. `Huong takes us on an emotionally intense and exceedingly intelligent journey' New York Times `Huong, a brilliant storyteller, skillfully illuminates the human spirit's capacity for brutality and compassion, betrayal and beauty in each elegantly drawn and poignantly powerful scene in this complex and timeless novel' Booklist

Memories of a Pure Spring

This novel tells the story of a singer and her composer husband and explores their relationships passionate growth in the midst of war. Huong vividly depicts the betrayal she and a generation of Vietnamese artists and writers experienced after the war: the conditions inside re-education prison camps, and the corruption at the heart of the new regime they brought to power.

Hyperion East

Editeur : Sabine Wespieser Date de parution : 2006 Description : In-12, 794 pages, broché, occasion, très bon état. Envois quotidiens du mardi au samedi. Les commandes sont adressées sous enveloppes bulles. Photos supplémentaires de l'ouvrage sur simple demande. Réponses aux questions dans les 12h00. Librairie Le Piano-Livre. Merci. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks

Terre des oublis

SABINE WESPIESE

Au zénith

Les collines d'eucalyptus

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DUONG, THU HUONG. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by DUONG, THU HUONG

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DUONG, THU HUONG. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Paradise of the Blind: A Novel

Paradise of the Blind

Novel Without a Name

Beyond Illusions

Beyond Illusions

Memories of a Pure Spring

Memories of a Pure Spring

Terre des oublis

Au zénith

Les collines d'eucalyptus