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Novel without a Name [Paperback]

Duong Thu Huong , Phan Huy Duong , Nina McPherson
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 1, 1996
The author of Paradise of the Blind, the first novel from Vietnam ever published in America, traces a young man's experiences fighting for North Vietnam, in a novel banned in Vietnam for its subversive content. Reprint. 10,000 first printing. NYT.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Vietnamese novelist Huong, who has been imprisoned for her political beliefs, presents the story of a disillusioned soldier in a book that was banned in her native country.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

These two novelists, both of whom fought for North Vietnam, offer American readers a startlingly different perspective on the war.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (June 1, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140255109
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140255102
  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
(17)
4.5 out of 5 stars
Duong Thu Huong has written one of the best novels ever written period. Sylviastel  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
U.S. soldiers had 13 month tour of duty. Old Gringo  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
The writer did an excellent job making it very personal. Steven Green  |  3 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
72 of 76 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Disenchantment with war October 19, 1998
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is narrated by Quan, a twenty-eight year-old soldier of the North Vietnamese Army who, after spending ten years in the jungles of central Vietnam, is thoroughly disillusioned by the horrible and absurd realities of war. The narrator's tone is one of disenchantment, of wistful longing for all that has been lost--youth, life, love, family. As also shown in Paradise of the Blind, Duong Thu Huong has a skill for detailed descriptions of everyday objects and scenes, which are often made grotesquely surreal by her minute, harsh, objective observations. For example, in describing the decrepit mental and physical state of Quan's childhood friend Bien, she writes, "He sat in a pile of filth and excrement, surrounded by pools of milky, rancid urine. A torn calendar. An old tin can filled with water." Everything touched upon by the war--the natural environment, the people--is made ugly, thus adding to the war's horror. Even her flowers are drenched in red colors of blood. In such an environment of degradation and death, people struggle to retain the smallest hint human decency. This struggle is movingly portrayed in the episode when Quan spends a night in a field station, the sole personnel of which is a homely girl who heroically goes about burying her dead comrades. Though forced by duty to spend the best years of her life in a bleak environment, she tries to retain some of her youthful feminine idealism by decorating her cave-room with pictures of French singers and a paper flower, and washing and combing her hair to get rid of the stench of human corpses which never goes away. Her futile effort in trying to get Quan to make love to her expresses a tragic desperation. The book has no main conflict, other than Quan's personal, psychological, spiritual conflict. As such, the book has no central story-line, but is rather a series of dramatic episodes of the last days of the war, interspersed with reveries that are sometimes nightmarish, sometimes poetically dreamy. The book raises the question: Is ideological glory worth its heavy price paid for in the irrevocable LOSS of love, life, and innocence.
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Novel Without a Name, a very realistic book June 12, 2003
Format:Paperback
Novel Without A Name by Duong Thu Huong is a terrific novel that lets the reader into the head of a Vietnamese soldier fighting for the North Vietnam side during the Vietnam War. A twenty-eight year old man, Quan, is the narrator of Novel Without A Name. Quan's view of life is much different from what it was when he was a naive 18-year-old, enlisting in the army with his childhood friends. Back then, Quan had thought of war as a glorious time; a time when heroes and legends were made. At this point, Quan has begun to see the Vietnam War for what it really was; a brutal massacre needlessly killing his fellow Vietnamese people. Luong, once Quan's childhood friend, and now his commander who's life has become the Communist Party, sends Quan on a mission to find Bien, their childhood friend. The other task that Quan is given is one that Luong does not report to the officials, he asks Quan to go to their home village. Luong wants Quan to do this for a variety of reasons. First, he knows that the war will be going on much longer than was ever intended, and he knows that Quan misses his home. Second, Luong wants Quan to reassure all the families back home that they are doing well, even if this is partially a lie. Quan sets out on his long journey, and unfortunately is met with bad news. The war has driven Bien to insanity. This insanity was caused by the fact that Bien has a life threatening form of malaria, which he got from a mosquito; a very common occurrence during the Vietnam War. The cell that holds Bien was on par with others during the War, but was nonetheless despicable. The crazy man eats, lives, and sleeps in his own waste, and is malnourished.
After seeing Bien, Quan returns home to his village. He finds that it is not only he who has changed during the 10 years that he has been absent. His childhood girlfriend, Hoa, whom he had planned to marry, has become pregnant by a passing soldier. Her life is in shambles and there is nothing he can do to help her. In addition, Quan learns that his brother had died. This came as a shock, as Quan had not even known that his brother had enlisted. After Quan learns that it was his father who encouraged Quang to join the army, he is enraged. His father, like many other fathers during the time, had been sucked in by the Communist propaganda. He had volunteered his son as a way to attain some personal honor. The shaky relationship between the father and son grows worse, and Quang leaves his home village unhappy with his life.
During the course of the book, Quan encounters many people, all who give the reader an idea of what the society that existed in Vietnam during the war was like. Novel Without A Name by Duong Thu Huong is a great book. Because the book was told from the point of view of a boi doi, otherwise known as a soldier, the book seems so much more real. By reading Novel Without A Name I feel that I have learned so much about the Vietnam war in a way that was much more interesting than a book full of dates and facts.
Reading this book also gave me information about the Vietnam War that could never have been obtained from a textbook. No textbook could have fully expressed the horrors of the Vietnam war like Novel Without A Name did. A textbook would not have told the real life experiences people went through. For example, Quan, the narrator of the Novel Without A Name tells of a skeleton he discovered in the forest. The decomposed body was lying in a hammock hidden by trees deep in a Vietnamese forest. Quan deduces that the man must have become lost in the maze of trees, and after becoming too week from starvation to move on, made a hammock and died a painful death. After searching the area, Quan found a knapsack with items of clothing, and a letter requesting that the soldier's remains be brought to his mother. No textbook would have told this story. I never would have known about how notorious the Vietnamese forests were for being traps that easily ensnared humans passing through. Basically, Novel Without A Name took me behind the scenes of the Vietnam War. There are thousands of books on the Vietnam War, but these books cover only what occurred on the battlefields, not what was going on in the lives of the people living in Vietnam during the time of the war.
Another example of how Duong Thu Huong took me behind the scenes of the war, was her description of a woman with whom Quan came into contact on his journey. This woman who collected the bodies of the dead in her area, was beastly, but kind. She took Quan into her home because he needed food and shelter. During the course of the novel, two other families took in Quan when he was in need of food and shelter. During the Vietnam War, people throughout the country pulled together and took care of their men in action. This was a common practice during the Vietnam War that I would not have known had I not read the book.
Novel Without A Name can at times be gruesome, but thus is the nature of war. If a book about the Vietnam War did not include parts that sickened one, then that book would not be accurately be informing readers of what occurred during the Vietnam War. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Though by reading Novel Without A Name I do not know about all the battles that took place or the famous commanders that reigned during the war; I can honestly say that I understand what happened during the Vietnam War.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Full of Pain and Sorrow January 9, 2006
Format:Paperback
As an American, I have only read about the Vietnam war from a US perspective. During my visit to Vietnam this year, I went to the Vietnam War Museum in Ho Chim Minh city which provided a Vietnamese perspective on the war. I was extremely moved and so upon returning to Tokyo (where I live) I came across this Novel Without A Name. The author really captured the pain, sorrow and loss of innocence that faced young Vietnamese men during these decades of war. I can't imagine being at war for over a decade (if we include the French war) when you life can be taken-away from you and your loved ones at any moment. Admist all this, the cental character tries to find a reason for being in all that he loves. A real sad book that I would not reccommend unless you have the heart to understand the psyche of this generation of Vietnamese youth. I enjoyed it.....
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars View from other side
I found the book captivating becasue it was in the eyes of a Viet Cong

soldier which I have never considered or known about before. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Steven Green
5.0 out of 5 stars from a different view point
As a Vietnam Vet this book was an eye opener for me. the way I was treated and their treatment was simular. the book was really well writen . I recomend it highy
Published 3 months ago by larry benjamin
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick delivery. As promised!
This was purchased as a Christmas gift for a relative. It came quickly and in the condition that was described. Thanks! Great condition!
Published 4 months ago by Lauren F
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it
"Novel without a Name" was very informative and stated the facts. There was no false assumptions, "Novel without a Name" was a easy read.
Published 4 months ago by mandy1220
5.0 out of 5 stars A Future Nobel Prize Winning Author! One of the Best Books Ever...
Duong Thu Huong has written one of the best novels ever written period. She is a female writer who is writing based on 28 year old Quan, A Vietnamese male's perspective. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sylviastel
5.0 out of 5 stars A Vietnamese perspective of the Vietnam War...
If you do a search in Amazon for history books about Vietnam, most of what you will find are various accounts of the Vietnam War from an American perspective. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Erik A. Bloom
5.0 out of 5 stars Those who lived in the jungle...
...when it was a jungle, and not "upgraded" to a rain forest. Duong Thu Huong has written one of the classic, most realistic accounts of the Vietnamese experience during what they... Read more
Published on December 6, 2010 by John P. Jones III
5.0 out of 5 stars History Repeating
I am a veteran of the American war in Vietnam. I served two tours as a helicopter gunship pilot. I returned in 1971 totally disillusioned with my government, the South Vietnamese... Read more
Published on September 15, 2010 by ElkoJohn
4.0 out of 5 stars Even in a People's War Some Are More Equal Than Others
Novel Without a Name relates the story of Quan, a long-time soldier who has risen to the rank of captain in the then-North Vietnamese army in its War Against the Americans. Read more
Published on June 16, 2009 by Douglas S. Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars "That ideal, well, the kids need it. And it's all we need to turn them...
Fiction possesses (among other things) the brilliant quality of putting us in somebody else's shoes, and that in a manner as moving and eye-opening as it is safe and temporary. Read more
Published on August 29, 2008 by Crazy Fox
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