Hi Do Anh, the novel just arrived. My initial reactions are that it is beautifully designed and produced, and that, from looking at the first chapter, I will enjoy reading it very slowly.
I have known several authors of doi moi well for a long time. They were all I think of your parents’ generation.
Your work reminds me of a friend born in 1976 and her friends. The story and the writing seems less condensed than those of the older authors, more expository like Zola, the tradition I most like in fiction.
So, those are my first thoughts. All I can do for an author or for other readers is to say what I think.
Congratulations on this work. More later as I read -
Dan
This was the first of 10 Viet Nam letters so far about The Renovation by Do Ngoc Hoang Anh. The second appeared on on February 23, 2022, the third on March 12, 2022, the fourth on April 2, 2022,
Viet Nam letters respects the property of others under paragraph 107 of United States Code Title 17. If we asked for permission it wouldn’t be criticism. We explain our fair use at length in the letter of September 12, 2022.
The colophon of these Viet Nam letters, directly above, shows the janitor speaking with poet David A. Willson on a Veterans Day.
