yelena_'s review
2.0
This book was hard to get into. As I only read it for class, it was okay but confusing at some parts throughout the story with Quan's past and present.
ja_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
"Tiểu thuyết vô đề" (tiểu thuyết, novel + vô đề, nameless)/"Novel without a Name" by Dương Thu Hương. Translation by Phan Huy Đường and Nina McPherson. (NB: "vô đề" is from Sino-Vietnamese 无 and 題.)
cleohoang's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
keuchang's review
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jimmylorunning's review
3.0
I don't think I've ever read a war novel, other than [b:The Red Badge of Courage|35220|The Red Badge of Courage|Stephen Crane|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327936136s/35220.jpg|2314709], and that was only because it was required reading for school. It simply does not interest me. But here I thought I'd give this one a chance, since it was written by a Vietnamese woman, i.e. not your typical war novel writer.
At first I was not sure what to make of the title Novel Without a Name. But then I realized that a name is an attachment. Once you name something, a pet, a baby, a vehicle, you start to get attached. Perhaps the name of this novel without a name is just that–an attempt to not be human. An attempt to distance oneself from the emotions that we would otherwise feel if we were human. An attempt to not hurt.
This was a good book. Don't let the mediocre star rating fool you, I enjoyed it more than I think I could have enjoyed any war novel.
“All [Hoang] had left was one arm, one leg, and a diary filled with gilded dreams. I remember ripping the [Communist] Party newspaper into shreds and throwing them into a stream. I never told anyone, of course. It was then that I realized that lies are common currency among men, and that the most virtuous are those who have no scruples about resorting to them. Since then, I've stopped reading newspapers, let alone bulletins from the front. I understood how those who didn't know this still felt joy, just as I understand their lust for victories, their fervor for drawing lines between true and false. Blindness gave them such extraordinary energy.”When we join Quan, the narrator, he's already a broken man, already seen way too much. He's already telling his men things they want to hear while knowing in his heart the dark truth. From there, the novel is a series of hazy episodes, not novelistic at all in that there was no story arc--but this I found to be a strength. There was none of that fake structure placed on it to suggest any kind of closure is even possible.
At first I was not sure what to make of the title Novel Without a Name. But then I realized that a name is an attachment. Once you name something, a pet, a baby, a vehicle, you start to get attached. Perhaps the name of this novel without a name is just that–an attempt to not be human. An attempt to distance oneself from the emotions that we would otherwise feel if we were human. An attempt to not hurt.
This was a good book. Don't let the mediocre star rating fool you, I enjoyed it more than I think I could have enjoyed any war novel.
summer_s's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal death, Sexism, Death of parent, Racism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Genocide, Alcohol, Classism, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexism, Colonisation, Cursing, Gore, Racial slurs, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Drug use
rocko_granato's review
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
tonyhotran's review
5.0
Growing up and living in America as a the son of Vietnamese refugees, I can't honestly say I ever fully understood (or even partially understood) what the perspective of the Northern soldiers were in the Vietnam War. Huong's novel gives a very honest, sobering, and so so gorgeous depiction of one soldier's view of it.
It's a lyrical and meandering tale of a soldier's disillusionment with the very ideals that thrusted him and his nation into war. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone interested in a really fresh look at old, deep issues of conflict, disenchantment, nihilism, and--somehow--hope in the face of war and destruction.
It's a lyrical and meandering tale of a soldier's disillusionment with the very ideals that thrusted him and his nation into war. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone interested in a really fresh look at old, deep issues of conflict, disenchantment, nihilism, and--somehow--hope in the face of war and destruction.