Memories of a Pure Spring is a mesmerizing portrait of modern Vietnam and its people who struggle to survive under the complexities of a post-war regime. During the Vietnam war, Hung, a well-known composer, becomes enchanted by the voice and beauty of a young peasant girl named Suong. He invites her to join his troupe; she becomes his wife and his star performer. But after the war, Hung loses his job, setting off a series of events that drive him and Suong into a destructive spiral. One of Vietnam's most popular writers, Duong Thu Huong draws on her own experiences to describe life at the battlefront, the conditions of a "re-education" camp, and the texture and rhythm, scents and sounds, of a provincial Vietnamese city. Most of all, she tells a haunting, universal story of failed love.
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this book is soooo dramatic like a lot of the stuff in between made me feel like I was watching a viet dubbed Chinese drama, but the beginning and closing scenes were wonderful. every time duong thu huong was able to discuss the ability to make art under a communist regime made this a worthwhile read but so many annoying and dramatic events happen that you're just like “come on” halfway through! if only she'd focused on the former. this book has such potential to be amazing but ugh...also suong! girl! love yourself! damn!
