Description: The first English translation of several short stories by Bao Ninh, arguably the most famous writer in Vietnam.
Brief description: Bảo Ninh, Vietnam's most internationally renowned writer, is known primarily for his novel The Sorrow of War (1994), which has been translated into several languages and published in more than twenty countries, winning numerous international awards.
Review Quotes: "Bảo Ninh . . . makes a long-awaited reappearance in English
translation in this new short-story collection, speaking to literature's power
to unite people, both in the collaboration necessary for translating and
publishing it, and in its ability to speak directly to the ephemeral beauty and
terror of the human experience. Dedicated to his comrades, Hà Nội at
Midnight represents twelve of Bảo Ninh's most highly regarded stories,
published in Vietnam between 1987 and 2013, ten of which have never appeared in
English. Taken as a whole, these stories show the different ways that war
alters people but also poignantly communicates that life continues, in all its
complexity, in the midst of war." --Janet Graham, University
of Nebraska at Kearney, World Literature Today, March 2024