Night, Again: Contemporary Fiction from Vietnam

By Linh Dinh, Lê Minh Khuê, Nguyễn Huy Thiệp, et al.

Book Overview

A couple's scheme to get rich by killing their father backfires, leaving them in charge of a cripple. In heaven, a baby, dead through neglect, tells his playmates: "Life down there is just one long sleep." A young soldier, saved by a stranger, can never again find her to thank her. A man carries a massive clock. Using a variety of techniques and styles, in this collection of twelve short stories contemporary Vietnamese writers--edited by poet, short story writer, and novelist Linh Dinh--show us Vietnam through their own eyes. Night, Again breaks with the traditional views of the Vietnamese that have focused on the Vietnam War and turns our attention to postwar life in Vietnam. These writers present impressions--at once strange and familiar--of postwar realities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1583227067
• ISBN13: 9781583227060
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

unforgettable

A perfect entry into the soul of contemporary Vietnam. I ended up doing a photo essay on the country available here: [...] It would not have been possible without Night Again's insights.

fascinating insight into contemporary vietnamese literature

I have yet to read a short story anthology that doesnt have its forgettable entries but the standouts here make "Night, Again" a truly great read. Le Minh Khue's "Scenes From an Alley" is a short, matter-of-fact account of extreme poverty and child abuse that builds to a haunting finale and Nguyan Huy Thiep's miniature epic family drama "Without a King" manages to be both sprawling and finely detailed and at the same time clock in at under twenty pages. Thiep is a talented writer who deserves major attention and it's unfortunate that "The General Retires and Other Stories," an anthology of his shorter works translated into English, is currently out of print and difficult to locate. As mentioned in other reviews Tran Vu's erotically-charged incest story "Gunboat on the Yangtze" is a particular standout. Overall, well worth the time for anyone looking for a different perspective.