Indie Spotlight: Viet Nam Short Stories by Nguyễn Trong Hiền

Book Description

This is an anthology of 12 Vietnamese short stories side by side with their English translations. The stories range from the Tự Lực Văn Đoàn period in the 1930s to more recent stories written by members of the Vietnamese diaspora living abroad after the end of the war in 1975.

Review

The author/translator, Nguyễn Trong Hiền, writes in the Preface that he wanted to “introduce English speakers to stories that would otherwise be inaccessible to them, while allowing Vietnamese readers to access them in their original language.” The result is a beautiful, eye-opening, and often heartbreaking collection, presented in both languages. Each story is presented in Vietnamese first, and then followed with its English translation. I wish I could read Vietnamese so I could enjoy both versions.

The stories in this collection that recount the aftermath of the Vietnam war, when many South Vietnamese were placed in re-education camps, are so heartbreaking and at the same time, very important to read. The one that stands out for me the most, while they all do, is Baby Puppet by Ngô Viêt Trong, about a little boy who basically lived in a prison camp all or most of his short life.

Nguyễn Trong Hiền writes the forward for each story. He also provides an inspiring biographical story, The Quiet Hero, which he wrote about a corporal in the South Vietnamese military, Võ Phùng Duong, who was severely and permanently wounded but still sent to a re-education camp after the war. Later, Duong began an effort to recover the remains of his fellow soldiers who died at the Battle of An Lôc in 1972 and return them to their loved ones.

At the same time, the stories written in the 1930s are not to be missed either. They tell compelling tales and legends of love, suffering, and sacrifice.

Some tales read as memoirs, and The Purple Color of Myrtles was my favorite of those, though again they are all fantastic. In this one, Nguyễn Hűu Loan tells of his love for his wife, their short marriage, and her death which inspired his famous poem of the same title. He also talks of his opposition to the Communist Party and Hô Chí Minh, and how severely he was persecuted after he left the party.

I highly recommend this anthology, which shows Viet Nam in various time periods, all of which seem tumultuous. Many of the stories serve as an eye-opening look at the harsh realities of communism. Powerful and memorable, this translated work is a gift to those of us who haven’t read these stories and can learn from them.

About the Author

Nguyễn Trọng Hiền (or Hien T. Nguyen as he is known in the United States) was born in North Việt Nam, emigrated with his family to South Việt Nam in 1954, and came to the United States in 1975 at the end of the Việt Nam war. He lived in California and West Virginia before settling in New Jersey.

He worked for Wells Fargo Bank in California, Allied Chemical in West Virginia and New Jersey, and for Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey. He retired from J&J at the beginning of 2018 and is now spending most of his time doing his favorite activities: reading, writing, bird and landscape photography, playing with his grandchildren and Jackie, a Golden Retriever.

In 2012, using the pen name of neihtn, he published on Amazon “Village Teacher”, a love story about the final mandarin examinations in Việt Nam at the dawn of the 20th century.

In August 2020, he published “The Siege of An Lộc”, a novel based on the battle of An Lộc in 1972.

In September 2026, he published Viet Nam Short Stories, an anthology of 12 Vietnamese short stories side by side with their English translations

He is currently working on the Vietnamese and French version of the above anthology.

Purchase Links

**Click on the cover image to purchase on Amazon. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited, where subscribers can read for free.

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