Paradise of the Blind. A novel

Description

Translated from the Vietnamese by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson.First published in 1988, Paradise of the Blind is an exquisite portrait of three Vietnamese women struggling to survive in a society where subservience to men is expected and Communist corruption crushes every dream. Through the eyes of Hang, a young woman in her twenties who has grown up amidst the slums and intermittent beauty of Hanoi, we come to know the tragedy of her family as land reform rips apart their village. When her uncle Chinh‘s political loyalties replace family devotion, Hang is torn between her mother‘s appalling self–sacrifice and the bitterness of her aunt who can avenge but not forgive. Only by freeing herself from the past will Hang be able to find dignity –– and a future.Paradise of the Blind was the first Vietnamese novel published in English in the United States. It is now banned in Vietnam because of the political views in the novel.