Author(s): Nguyen Thanh Hien

Translated Fiction

A fragmentary poetic novel that interweaves the legends, tragedies and histories of a fabulated village in modern-day Vietnam

Chronicles of a Village is set in an anonymous Vietnamese village based on the author's personal memories. The surrealistic narrative touches on the country's pre-modern history, the colonial era and the onslaught of modernity that irreversibly affects the mountains, rivers, soil and memories of a wretched people. Written in vibrant fragments that resemble prose poems, the novel combines the author's melodious style of oral storytelling with historical micro-narratives and mythological elements. The book takes the reader through poetic and political landscapes teeming with ancient legends, love stories, marvelous nature, war tragedies and modern alienation, which constitute the beauty and 'the fatal historical disabilities of a land'.