This was a wonderful book. Excellent story weaving together a simple tale about a family, poetry, and art with a real movement in Vietnamese history about a group of artists trying to hold on to their humanity in the complex face of communism. Its also about the life blood of a people: pho.
"Hung is the heart of this small community on the banks of a polluted pond; he is good to these poor people, keeping them fed and entertained He treats everyone with respect - from people in high places, like Miss Maggie Ly, to people without sense or legs, like his neighbor. It is humbling to have an Old Man Hung in your life It makes you want to be a better person." Pg. 79
"Having sent Tu on his way with a small packet of lotus seeds for his mother, Hung worries he has made the boy feel insecure. He understands Tus concern about the worth of one's life. . . .
He should have told Tu that a hero is just a man, a person who makes mistakes from time to time. It is natural when speaking of the dead that we tend to remember the heroic things rather than the flawed. Hung has for so long been invested in giving Binh a portrait of his father as a hero that it seems he has forgotten Tu. The boy might actually be better equipped than someone of his father's generation to understand the imperfections and contradictions that characterize a man, however great." Pg. 170
Historical movement known as the Nhan Van - Giai Pham affair after two publications, Nhan Van (Humanism) and Giai Pham (Fine Works). Came to the west through the writings of Hoang Van Chi.
Book 37
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