"In Whose Eyes" -- Tran Van Thuy's memoir now in English, praised by Maxine Hong Kingston

From: Eric Henry <henryhme@bellsouth.net>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] "In Whose Eyes" -- Tran Van Thuy's memoir now in English, praised by Maxine Hong Kingston

Date: February 8, 2017 at 8:12:58 AM PST

To: Deo Huu <deochienhuu@gmail.com>

Cc: vsg@u.washington.edu

Dear all:

First of all, thank you Del and Diane for writing so positively about the English version of Trần Văn Thủy's memoirs (co-written with Lê Thanh Dũng) that Wayne Karlin, Nguyễn Quang Dy, and I made for University of Massachusetts Press.

Also, for anyone who might be interested in this book, I would like to point out that the English version is quite sweepingly reshaped—a fact that will be at once apparent to anyone who compares it with the original. Chapters, and sections of chapters, are omitted, parts of chapters are transposed, and two chapters have additional material that Wayne, Dy, and I elicited from Trần Văn Thủy, who, with characteristic gallantry and charm, cooperated with us every step of the way. One matter for particular regret is that the English book retains only ten of the sixty-plus photos that appeared in the original book.

I am currently working with a technical expert (my son) to create a website that will have all the material that does not appear in the English book. I hope to have the website up by some time in March.

Finally I wish to mention that a highly significant new book by Trần Văn Thủy has been published in Little Saigon by Người Việt Press: Trong Đống Tro Tàn ("Amid the Heap of Dusty Ashes"). It unfolds in a series of a dozen essays on various topics, all of them concerned in various ways with the problem of creating an open, civil society in Vietnam.

Best wishes to all,

Eric

Eric Henry, PhD, senior lecturer (retired)

Asian Studies Department, UNC–Chapel Hill

home address: 106 Jones St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514-5944

tel. (919) 360 6895

On Feb 8, 2017, at 10:26 AM, Deo Huu wrote:

I recently attended a discussion of the book by the two American vets most responsible for the English version, and was generously given a copy. It is a truly outstanding work, and tells you more about the man and his ideals, his tenacity, and his unbreakable passion for truth than about the war. As I read it I was impressed by what is almost the saintliness of the man. He is the kind of person that is all too rare in human experience, with great gifts and great strength and a devotion to his ideals that is beyond inspiring. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

BTW, those two Americans, Dr. Eric Henry and Wayne Karlin, deserve great respect and appreciation for all their efforts to get this done so all the rest of us can have the benefit of experiencing Thuy’s work.

R J Del Vecchio

Independent Researcher

On Fri, Feb 3, 2017 at 3:42 PM, Diane Fox <dnfox70@gmail.com> wrote:

I know we’ve talked about this in its Vietnamese version, but I don’t know if we’ve said that it’s now available in English from U Mass Press, edited and introduced by Wayne Karlin and translated by Eric Henry and Nguyen Quang Dy.

Here is an appreciation written by Maxine Hong Kingston:

“Trần Văn Thủy records the life of the artist working under terrible conditions—war and censorship. Filming all the while, he has brought back eye-witness truths. IN WHOSE EYES tells the stories of the many people Thuy encounters. Miraculously, he finds kindness in each one, even those on "the other side.”**

Those familiar with Thuy’s work will recognize the title as a translation of one of his most controversial works, Ha Noi Trong Mat Ai. It delves into the creation of that work, as well as The Story of Kindness (Chuyen Tu Te)… as well as the work of filming during the war.

This should be a great resource for classroom teachers looking for first person accounts in English from northerners, for students of film, for those interested in the interplay of state control and artistic creativity, and for those interested in reconciliation.

Diane

Diane Fox

independent