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A review by n_asyikin_
The Sorrow Of War: A Novel of North Vietnam by Bảo Ninh, Frank Palmos, Phan Thanh Hảo
5.0
"The sorrow of war" depicted the life and experience of a (former) soldier, Kien, before, during and after war that ravaged through Vietnam. He begun to write stories about his own experiences about people he had met & loss during war in a compulsion. His "works" were then discovered by someone (another narrator), who'd then organised Kien's work. This book was the supposed result of the narrator's organisation.
Before going any further, I like to warn its potential readers that the accounts of war in this book were vividly brutal.
Trigger warnings include rape (gang-rape), assault, emotional abuse, sexist & misogynist languages, murder & death. Please bear in mind that a lot of these, particularly when it came to descriptions on death & murder, were horrifyingly graphic.
The graphic nature would leave you in discomfort; I found myself needing to be away from it for a while. Knowing that Bao Ninh drew inspiration from his own experience in war, you can't help but wonder if Kien was not the author's own projection of what he went through.
Kien, at times, were cruel particularly towards his enemies. A soldier's soldier, if you must. His detached nature as a platoon leader was contrasted with his following contemplative nature & melancholia when he was tasked with collecting the bodies of fallen soldiers & the subsequent trauma he faced post-war (i.e. "the sorrow" the book was named after). In his youth, he upheld an almost absolute beliefs to a sense of nationalism; he was, as I said, a soldier's soldier - willing to die for the cause. But, following the end of fighting even with the deaths of his fellow soldiers, he begun to question the logic & consequence of war. From them derived his reflections.
Written in a messy timeline (non- linear), I was taken into the state of Kien's being. The "sorrow" & "ghosts" in the story were a metaphor for trauma; the disorganized nature in Kien's writing was a clear manifestation of said trauma. In fact, the person who'd subsequently found Kien's work, stated it was intentional how they'd organised Kien's work in that way; his analysis of Kien's work at the end of the story was pretty insightful, though, I thought they failed to capture who Kien was; his state of being was not an "impasse pessimism", but rather, the consequence of a clinically traumatic mind. But I guess that was another layer added to the story; this 3rd narrator came out of war doing relatively decently while Kien was obliterated by it.
It was a common theme I noticed with the narration; the use of metaphor to indirectly addressed the toll that war had put unto its victims. Ironically, the writings were expressive & contemplative; beautiful like poetry despite the weight of the subject it carried. But I guess that was a compassion the writer extended, a form of reprieve from the cruelties.
One point of interest I wanted to point out was that Kien did talked about some aspects that were clearly culture-specific. There was a mention of a mythical creature, which was translated to a fairy, I believe. I'd loved to have the translators preserved the original Vietnamese word. White-washing one's culture (even if it was done minimally) was for me a failure in translation.
Also, central to this story was Kien's one & only love, Phuong. Through Phuong (& accounts about other women), we glimpsed into how women were subjected to added inhumanity, being treated as if they were tools for men's satisfaction - and yes, they were even subjected to it by men on their own side (i.e. their own countrymen; should be their non-enemies). Kien's account of how Phuong was before the war & throughout the years after the war exemplified how the war could changed you. Really, I believed that this was the nexus to this story.
I think this quote summed it best: "They had lost not only the capacity to live happily with others but also the capacity to be in love. The ghosts of the war haunted them & permeated their deteriorating lives."
It was a difficult read. But I guessed it reflected the reality of war. And I believed Kien's father's advise should be one we must carry from reading about such brutality:
"...a human being's duty on this earth is to live, not to kill... Taste all manner of life. Try everything. Be curious & inquire for yourself. Don't turn your back on life.. I advise...you not to die uselessly for the needs of others."
Before going any further, I like to warn its potential readers that the accounts of war in this book were vividly brutal.
Trigger warnings include rape (gang-rape), assault, emotional abuse, sexist & misogynist languages, murder & death. Please bear in mind that a lot of these, particularly when it came to descriptions on death & murder, were horrifyingly graphic.
The graphic nature would leave you in discomfort; I found myself needing to be away from it for a while. Knowing that Bao Ninh drew inspiration from his own experience in war, you can't help but wonder if Kien was not the author's own projection of what he went through.
Kien, at times, were cruel particularly towards his enemies. A soldier's soldier, if you must. His detached nature as a platoon leader was contrasted with his following contemplative nature & melancholia when he was tasked with collecting the bodies of fallen soldiers & the subsequent trauma he faced post-war (i.e. "the sorrow" the book was named after). In his youth, he upheld an almost absolute beliefs to a sense of nationalism; he was, as I said, a soldier's soldier - willing to die for the cause. But, following the end of fighting even with the deaths of his fellow soldiers, he begun to question the logic & consequence of war. From them derived his reflections.
Written in a messy timeline (non- linear), I was taken into the state of Kien's being. The "sorrow" & "ghosts" in the story were a metaphor for trauma; the disorganized nature in Kien's writing was a clear manifestation of said trauma. In fact, the person who'd subsequently found Kien's work, stated it was intentional how they'd organised Kien's work in that way; his analysis of Kien's work at the end of the story was pretty insightful, though, I thought they failed to capture who Kien was; his state of being was not an "impasse pessimism", but rather, the consequence of a clinically traumatic mind. But I guess that was another layer added to the story; this 3rd narrator came out of war doing relatively decently while Kien was obliterated by it.
It was a common theme I noticed with the narration; the use of metaphor to indirectly addressed the toll that war had put unto its victims. Ironically, the writings were expressive & contemplative; beautiful like poetry despite the weight of the subject it carried. But I guess that was a compassion the writer extended, a form of reprieve from the cruelties.
One point of interest I wanted to point out was that Kien did talked about some aspects that were clearly culture-specific. There was a mention of a mythical creature, which was translated to a fairy, I believe. I'd loved to have the translators preserved the original Vietnamese word. White-washing one's culture (even if it was done minimally) was for me a failure in translation.
Also, central to this story was Kien's one & only love, Phuong. Through Phuong (& accounts about other women), we glimpsed into how women were subjected to added inhumanity, being treated as if they were tools for men's satisfaction - and yes, they were even subjected to it by men on their own side (i.e. their own countrymen; should be their non-enemies). Kien's account of how Phuong was before the war & throughout the years after the war exemplified how the war could changed you. Really, I believed that this was the nexus to this story.
I think this quote summed it best: "They had lost not only the capacity to live happily with others but also the capacity to be in love. The ghosts of the war haunted them & permeated their deteriorating lives."
It was a difficult read. But I guessed it reflected the reality of war. And I believed Kien's father's advise should be one we must carry from reading about such brutality:
"...a human being's duty on this earth is to live, not to kill... Taste all manner of life. Try everything. Be curious & inquire for yourself. Don't turn your back on life.. I advise...you not to die uselessly for the needs of others."