Author :
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501778056
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)
Book Synopsis "Light Out" and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930–1954 by :
Download or read book "Light Out" and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930–1954 written by and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2024-11-15 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Light Out" and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930–1954, translated by Quan Manh Ha and Paul Christiansen, with an essay by Ngô Văn Giá, is the first anthology in English of colonial Vietnamese literature written by canonical authors. Light Out depicts colonial exploitation, impoverished peasants at the mercy of precarious crop cycles, and institutionalized corruption that pits peasants against village officials. Set over the course of a few days, the novella presents an intimate look into the rural society in northern Vietnam during the height of French colonialism, exposing the brutal realities of the period and the impact such deprivations have on the human spirit. The eighteen short stories included in this book thematically delineate colonial abuses, class discrimination, patriarchal expectations, and livelihoods tethered to an unstable environment. Aesthetically, they illuminate the impact of French literary traditions and Western thought on Vietnamese traditions of storytelling.