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Summary: Interesting view of Vietnam
Review: Anyone interested in Vietnamese history and culture outside of the Vietnam War will find this book very interesting and thought provoking.Though written by a former member of the Vietnamese Communist Party and someone who fought for the communists the book is very anti-communist party and its leadership. The book gives a devestating look at the land reform campaign of the 1950's. The bottom line is the book is well translated and easy to read. And it gives us a look at Vietnam most of us have never seen before. It is a good read and makes you think!
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Summary: Past tragedy
Review: As you take the novel Paradise of the Blind off of the shelf, you cannot help but notice the picture painted on the cover of a young girl holding hands with her mother. The picture distortion gives it a blurry effect, perhaps letting the reader know that they are entering a new world where things are seen differently. Turning the story to the first page, you can hear in your mind the voice of the young girl that is talking. You can almost feel what she feels; the loneliness, the desperation, the heartache, and the pain of a long past. This is the whole basis of the novel; endless descriptions of the surroundings and culture superstitions of a Vietnamese people and a young girl growing up with it all.
"You could smell the evening smells melting into one: straw fires burning, bean shells mixed with young rice roasting, the pungent stench of fresh buffalo dung, guavas ripening in the garden" (Huong, 75), quotes Hang, from the novel Paradise of the Blind. The words envelop you, bringing the descriptions alive, giving the reader a sense of actually being where she is, of experiencing what she is experiencing. You can almost smell what she is smelling. The novel is a wonderful door to a new world that allows one to feel, from the perspective of a Vietnamese woman, the pains and pleasures of growing up and living in the Vietnamese culture.
The setting takes off in Russia where the main character, Hang, is living as an imported worker. From Russia, you jump all the way to a small town in Vietnam, Hanoi, where this young woman spent her childhood. Throughout the novel, the main character, Hang, recalls memories from her past. She reflects on these events and focuses mostly on her mother, her Aunt Tam, and her Uncle Chinh. The conflicts of the novel deal with her feelings towards each of them. She faced a mother who devoted all her love to her brother without reserving any for her daughter, an uncle that caused her father's death, and an aunt who traps Hang with her expectations and judgmental love. The story conveys Hang's struggle with growing up and discovering who she is during her childhood. As you listen to what she has to say, you understand that she is trying to overcome her past and move on from it.
If you are interested in understanding and exploring Asian culture along with its people, then Paradise of the Blind is a sure read. I recommend it to men and women past the age of 14. Younger readers may have a difficult time with the emotional context and the thematic elements. If you are someone who needs an action packed story full of violence or twisting plot, this book is not for you. If you enjoy biographies or even just entering a world different than the western one, then this book is for you.
While the stories of the protagonist may at times be slow, the whole essence of the book leaves one with a sense of compassion and understanding for a girl they don't even know. It introduces a lifestyle that one may not be used to and through this helps to build tolerance for a different way of life.
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Summary: The Struggle: Paradise of the Blind
Review: Hearing people complain about their lives and how the world treats them so unfairly will really make one think about the reality of what they are saying after they read the novel, Paradise of the Blind. Coming from a Vietnamese background, I was intrigued to read this novel because I saw a slight connection, but after just a few chapters, I realized that people from all ethnic backgrounds could appreciate this novel. Paradise of the Blind deals with the struggle of three women in Vietnam and how they try to overcome their obstacles in their communist world and make a future for themselves and their family.
Hang, the main character of the novel, is summoned in the first chapter to go attend to her sick uncle. The story takes place on the train to Russia where Hang remembers back to her life living in communist Vietnam. She reminisces about her mother, Que, who would do anything to keep her and her daughter healthy and happy. She can still remember playing the streets of Vietnam while her mother was out selling odds and ends to keep them alive. Along the way, we hear details about Hang's father and about his death that Que never wants to tell Hang about. With Hang's father, comes Aunt Tam. She is the rich aunt that won't deny Hang anything. Paradise of the Blind tells about the life of these women and how through land reforms, death, poverty, love, and hate, these women survive and make a life for themselves.
The accounts of these women left me with a sense of knowledge about the restrictive time period that they lived in. Although very profound, this novel can surely be enjoyed by all audiences. The simplicity of the language helps the reader understand the real meaning that this novel is trying to share, and a truth like this one should not be kept in the dark.
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Summary: It's not Easy to See the Meaning in Paradise of the Blind
Review: It's not Easy to See the Meaning in Paradise of the Blind
Paradise of the Blind is a novel about a young girl, Hang, and her family relations with her mother, uncle, and aunts. Hang grows up in Vietnam with her mother because her father left when she was young. Throughout the novel, Hang has flashbacks to her earlier years and how she interacted with her mother and her feelings towards life. Her mother recollected stories about her life and about Hang's father. Those images are all Hang has to live by to create a sense of a father. Hang turns to her uncle and two aunts for emotional support that she is unable to find through her close-minded mother. But when her uncle breaks that trust, she is forced to find love and strength in the mother she thought could never provide her with those emotions.
This novel was detailed, yet progressed very slowly. The flashbacks were written in the present tense, just as the novel, so it was hard to know Hang was remembering an event until it was over. But the details were strong and very deep in thought. See if you can find the color motif and what it represents! The main character was forced to fend for herself against her own will. Thus, creating conflict through opinions about typical Vietnamese women. The issues were not easily understood and were very real, something not confronted in the author's country of Vietnam.
This novel is recommended for high school students in honor classes. The issues are not for junior high students or younger because of adult relations and conflicts. If one reads this novel, they should be interested in other cultures and should understand that this is a different society than America and may be of an earlier era's thought
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Summary: Paradise of the Blind- truly a delight!
Review: Paradise of the Blind is a poignanant, deeply moving book and a beautiful portrayal of three women in 1950 era Vietnamese society. The book revolves around Hang, a 20 year old "exported worker" who recalls much of the action in a series of flashbacks. Through her memory Hang struggles to purge herself of a binding past- a family nearly destroyed by communist corruption. Only once she distances herself from her family's history, especially from the lingering emotions of hatred and loyalty towards family, can Hang move on with her life, succeed and become personally liberated.
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Summary: Reviewing Paradise of the Blind
Review: Reviewing Paradise of the Blind
The first novel, banned in its own country, from a Vietnamese woman published in the United States. Paradise of the Blind is a very insightful novel. This novel shows how much honor a woman can have and the difficulties a family could have. The woman who wrote this book, Duong Thu Huong, lived and experienced it. This woman, Hang, was raised without a father because he was forced to leave. Her mother was both mother and father to her.
Hang's life was a struggle. Her mother never talked about her father to her because it brought her a lot of painful memories and she would always end up in tears when Hang asked her about her father. The first time that her mother talked to her about her father was when she was twelve years old. She was the first in the family to graduate from high school and go to college. One of her aunts spoiled her for this. Her mother always thought about her and treated her the best she could. Hang goes to visit her only uncle, who is very sick, still alive that she knows about. Uncle Chinh is a very political man who lives in the city. Yet, she is barely recovering from an illness herself. She travels via train and meets a kind gentleman. On this train she is harassed by two men who insult her for being Vietnamese. Hang and her mother struggle to get past life because of the lack of money. Her mother was always working even after suffering a tragic accident with a car. This book teaches you a lot of things that the Vietnamese had to go through. Communism shattered many peoples dreams; Hang had to live through all of this, struggling throughout her live.
This novel will both entertain you and inform you about the life of a young Vietnamese woman. This book is recommended for people sixteen or older because it is very insightful and we would like you to catch and understand every word that you hear. The novel goes back and forth very often. It is difficult to stay with the time frame.
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Summary: Paradise of the Blind
Review: The book Paradise of the Blind describes the hardships of three young Vietnamese women. Paradise of the Blind is a very interesting and truthful book that allows readers to understand what Vietnamese go through daily. Written by Dyong Thu Huong, Paradise of the Blind goes in great depths describing the Vietnamese's idealistic hope and betrayal of Communism.
This book focuses on the life of a young lady, Hang, and her relationship with both her mothers and fathers relatives. Hang is a twenty-year-old exported worker in Russia, who has a series of flashbacks. On her train ride to Moscow, Hang recalls how her uncle Chinh tore her family apart and destroyed the relationship between her and her mother. Her mother Que moved to Hanoi and became a street vendor because of the land reforms. Hang blames her uncle Chinh for her father's departing, her Aunt Tam becoming poor, and her mother becoming a street vendor. She realizes that she can only move on with her life and succeed only if she distances herself from her family and their history. "I can't squander my life tending these faded flowers, the legacy of past crimes," (Huong 57). Her Aunt Tam is convinced and determined that her hard work will benefit Hang someday. Hang is forcefully torn between her mother Que and her Aunt Tam.
Overall, Dyong Thu Huong expresses a great deal of description of both the characters and their thoughts and feelings. One fact that really shocked and surprised me was that Paradise of the Blind was one of the first books written under Vietnamese Communist Regime ever translated into English. This book is well translated and is an easy read. It makes you think and appreciate how lucky you really are. If you truly want to understand the history of Vietnam and what life is like under communism, this is a must read.
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Summary: Vietnam under communist rule.
Review: This book gives a good picture of the atmosphere in the country: dictatorial power of corrupt party bosses, no free speech, hunger, inflation, collective suspicion, spying.
It is well constructed: a mixture of flashbacks and actual facts.
But I feel that the main characters are not integrated in the country's political and social system. There is a gap between the comments on the political and social environment and the experiences of the protagonists.
To the bargain, the novel is full of family reunions with enumerations of long lists of dishes, what makes the reading sometimes boring.
I prefer by far the work of Truong Nhu Tang 'A Vietcong Memoir'.
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Summary: A thought provoking book.
Review: This disturbing book describes how the communist regime in post war Vietnam trampled the hopes and dreams of the peasants it professed to serve. This book is beautifully written the descriptions of the land and the people are very poetic.
Rating:
Summary: good book
Review: this was an excellent book that portreyed the life and rich history of the vietnamese woman.
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