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Lädt ... Beyond Illusions (1987)von Dương Thu Hương
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"Beyond Illusions opens with a woman named Linh staring at her sleeping husband, Nguyen, with a mixture of bewilderment and disgust. She strains to remember how she, as a young student, once linked her destiny to his. A scruffy yet romantic professor of literature, Nguyen had captivated Linh with his youthful optimism and lofty moral values. During their first years together, the couple struggled to make ends meet in the penury and deprivation of postwar Vietnam. But when Nguyen left academia to become a journalist, he confronted the harsh reality of the Party and the crushing weight of its bureaucracy. Torn between his outrage at the rampant corruption and hypocrisy of the Communist party, and the need to provide for his family, Nguyen ultimately surrendered to the propaganda machine, censoring his own articles and fabricating statistics to keep his job. Having recently discovered the truth about her husband, Linh's heroic vision of him is now shattered and she decides to leave him rather than betray their shared principles. But soon, she too must confront the realities of a country where power has corrupted even love, where fear has silenced all but the bravest, and only flatterers and opportunists survive."--BOOK JACKET. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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A dash of Anna Karenina and a sprinkle of Madame Bovary set against a changing Vietnam and Linh takes life. Like many young cadres she is given an idealistic vision for the functioning of society. Living a sheltered life, she has not had to compromise or sacrifice for her ideals. Although her affair causes a titter, she does not self destruct, and Duong Thu Huong celebrates the ability to never compromise. Linh never bends like her musician lover who will gladly fritter away ideals and morals for material comforts.
Linh’s narrow focus on ideals blinds her to the reality of her lover while her forsaken husband meanders through the novel. As a party hack he loses Linh’s love and respect as he writes articles in line with party doctrines. He gains back his love of truth by the end of the novel, and Duong Thu Huong delights in exposing corruption within the communist party while celebrating those who act according to conscience.
People who enjoy overly descriptive writing may enjoy the novel, however Beyond Illusions too often “feels like writing,” and too many windy metaphors and similes plague its pages. Although it is fairly engaging, the characters are for the most part unsympathetic. The novel’s strength however is showing the tensions of a society that is controlled and bases its legitimacy on a certain set of values dealing with issues of corruption and personal compromise. Although over twenty years old, Beyond Illusions still has relevance as issues of corruption and the state’s commitment to its revolutionary ideals remain issues of discourse.
Duong Thu Huong’s novel is highly critical of the government and although she was once celebrated by the government, she quickly fell from grace. From afar, Vietnam is often viewed through the lens of economic opportunity, with state control of society left mentioned. With several democracy activists sentenced to prison in January of this year, novels like Beyond Illusions reminds readers that there are several Vietnams – a mini economic tiger, an ever rising power in Southeast Asia, and a place where state repression, corruption, and daily cruelties play upon its population.
Originally published in my (old and suffering) blog:
http://poetsandpolicymakers.com/ ( )