The Stars, The Earth, The River

my parents are southern vietnamese. the stories that i am fed as a child are biases against the north. if you're mien nam you know what they are. for a long time, even till now, it is hard for me to perceive northerners as the same as me, or my parents. though vietnam is united, i think that it's a far cry to say that the wounds between northern and southern vietnamese have really healed.

for me le minh khue's short stories give me a momentary view of what life is like in post war vietnam, especially for north vietnamese people. i like that some of her stories are quite simple, i like that some of them end abruptly, and of course i like those that are beautiful and tragic, and i like that others are somewhat mediocre. what i like most is that vietnam is the quiet, nonchalant background for her characters, who go about their day to day lives in the country. even in the stories of war (some of which dealt with the women who fought for the people's army, a criminally understated point of the war!), the main idea was not so much war-torn vietnam but the fragile relationships women forge with one another.

i love this short story compilation. i don't think one should go into this with some wild preconceptions—that each short story is going to convey some clear meaning, or even a clear ending—but for one who would like to learn more about vietnamese identity, women in post war vietnam, etc, this is a wonderful place to start.