"Light Out" and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930-1954, translated by Quan Manh Ha and Paul Christiansen, with an essay by Ngo Van Gia, 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.

About the Author

Quan Manh Ha is Professor of American Literature at the University of Montana. He is a co-translator of Other Moons, Hanoi at Midnight, The Termite Queen, and Longings.
Paul Christiansen is a former Fulbright fellow and writer and editor residing in Sai Gon, Vietnam. He is the author of Beneath Sai Gon's Cho Nau.

Reviews

With their eloquent translation and meticulous footnotes, Ha and Christensen bring a pointillist immediacy to this formative period in Vietnamese history.

(Asymptote)



Book Information
ISBN 9781501778025
Author Quan Manh Ha
Format Hardback
Page Count 277
Imprint Northern Illinois University Press
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 907g