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A review by knowmadic_369
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: An extraordinary diary of courage from the Vietnam War by Đặng Thùy Trâm
3.0
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace was suggested by my bookclub and it has been my introduction into Vietnamese literature. And even though it was definitely an insightful read, I didn't fully enjoy it.
Đặng Thùy Trâm was a young doctor who served the People's Army of Vietnam and Vietcong during the Vietnam War. She journaled all three years of her service out in central Vietnam, right in the midst of the warzone. Her journals were discovered in her belongings after she was shot down by American soldiers. Unfortunately, we only get to read about the last two years since one of her journals got captured by US forces. But those last two years gave you an intimate look into the mind of a North Vietnamese VC soldier.
I found the diary intriguing because of Trâm's sincere and raw expressions of self and the emotional turmoils she experienced trying to live up to the Party's ideals while still acknowledging her individual desires and emotions. It was actually quite heartrending to read her self-reprimands whenever she behaved in a way that didn't allign with the Party's expectations or whenever she felt any kind of emotions such as longing, despair or depression, which are perfectly normal feelings to have in the middle of a war. Her personal thoughts and also her opinions of others really give you a glimpse into the minds of the people who were pulled into a life of war and horrors. Something that you could read as quite inspirational, though, is her constant commitment to being positive and to hold on and appreciate all smiles, laughs, loves and intimicasies between comrades. Her mood might have faltered occasionally, but she always restored her faith and hope in the cause, and she never stopped loving.
My critiques are purely subjective. I struggled to fully enjoy the book because of the radical difference in viewpoints between myself and Trâm. Even though I could aim to understand her reasonings, I found very little pleasure in her thoughts and actions. Of course I understand that she never intended for the journal to be entertaining, so I don't fault her writing. My personal discontent simply stems from a clash of opinions and a disconnect between myself as a reader and Trâm as the author. I also found the journal a bit disorientating, because I struggled to identify the people mentioned in the journal entries. She refers to people quite vaguely and her focus jumps between people very abruptly from one day to the next. The English translation simply refers to 'brothers' and 'sisters', but they could mean any one of the figures you've met so far. It was difficult to understand her ideas and emotions since I couldn't identify or understand the connections and relationships. Another small annoyance was that the English translation didn't use the Vietnamese alphabet for names or locations. As someone who's currently in Vietnam and who's by now quite familiar with the different diacritics, I found it very irksome to read a name and not know how to pronounce it in my mind. Nevertheless, I can still appreciate the beauty of her composition and the overall themes and messages of hope in the book.
If you have any kind of interest in the Vietnam War, or if you enjoy reading first-hand accounts of historical events, this book would be a good choice for you. It's an easy and quick read and it will give you insight to a devastating time in history, but on a much more personal level.
Đặng Thùy Trâm was a young doctor who served the People's Army of Vietnam and Vietcong during the Vietnam War. She journaled all three years of her service out in central Vietnam, right in the midst of the warzone. Her journals were discovered in her belongings after she was shot down by American soldiers. Unfortunately, we only get to read about the last two years since one of her journals got captured by US forces. But those last two years gave you an intimate look into the mind of a North Vietnamese VC soldier.
I found the diary intriguing because of Trâm's sincere and raw expressions of self and the emotional turmoils she experienced trying to live up to the Party's ideals while still acknowledging her individual desires and emotions. It was actually quite heartrending to read her self-reprimands whenever she behaved in a way that didn't allign with the Party's expectations or whenever she felt any kind of emotions such as longing, despair or depression, which are perfectly normal feelings to have in the middle of a war. Her personal thoughts and also her opinions of others really give you a glimpse into the minds of the people who were pulled into a life of war and horrors. Something that you could read as quite inspirational, though, is her constant commitment to being positive and to hold on and appreciate all smiles, laughs, loves and intimicasies between comrades. Her mood might have faltered occasionally, but she always restored her faith and hope in the cause, and she never stopped loving.
My critiques are purely subjective. I struggled to fully enjoy the book because of the radical difference in viewpoints between myself and Trâm. Even though I could aim to understand her reasonings, I found very little pleasure in her thoughts and actions. Of course I understand that she never intended for the journal to be entertaining, so I don't fault her writing. My personal discontent simply stems from a clash of opinions and a disconnect between myself as a reader and Trâm as the author. I also found the journal a bit disorientating, because I struggled to identify the people mentioned in the journal entries. She refers to people quite vaguely and her focus jumps between people very abruptly from one day to the next. The English translation simply refers to 'brothers' and 'sisters', but they could mean any one of the figures you've met so far. It was difficult to understand her ideas and emotions since I couldn't identify or understand the connections and relationships. Another small annoyance was that the English translation didn't use the Vietnamese alphabet for names or locations. As someone who's currently in Vietnam and who's by now quite familiar with the different diacritics, I found it very irksome to read a name and not know how to pronounce it in my mind. Nevertheless, I can still appreciate the beauty of her composition and the overall themes and messages of hope in the book.
If you have any kind of interest in the Vietnam War, or if you enjoy reading first-hand accounts of historical events, this book would be a good choice for you. It's an easy and quick read and it will give you insight to a devastating time in history, but on a much more personal level.