Tran Thi Truong at home in Hanoi

A writer who started out with stars in her eyes settled down to tell timeless tales of the inner woman.

She writes piercing, haunting prose that explores the inner world of women and has left her puerile fantasies far behind.

“At first, I childishly thought a writer should aim at winning the Nobel Prize. But I soon realized that instinct or aptitude alone, without constant striving and learning, will get us nowhere.”

Truong was so overwhelmed by her initial success that she wrote carelessly for a while before her colleagues and readers “awoke” her, as she put it, and got her back on track.

“Now I think we write simply because we have something to share. I cringe when I remember that Nobel Prize thing.”

One of her many admirers is the literary critic Nguyen Thuy Kha, who describes her work thus: “One can easily feel the intricacy of life in every one of Truong’s words and find solace in her riveting, deeply touching books.”

Her debut novel, Loi cuoi cho em (Last words for you) was published in the ‘80s and is based on a real life drama.

It’s about a young woman from a rich family and her boyfriend who is too poor to invite her for a drink in a coffee shop. One day, when the man goes to his girlfriend’s house only to discover she is out, he steals a sewing machine.

Her cousin learns of the theft so the boyfriend, ashamed of his sin and terrified that everyone will know of it, brutally kills the cousin. He sells the sewing machine and uses the money to take the young woman out that very night.

Soon after he is arrested, tried and put to death. Unable to face the truth, his girlfriend commits suicide.

Ten thousand copies, a large number then, were sold in the first printing, after which the book was reprinted several times.

The novel caused a stir in literary circles and catapulted Truong, a fresh face on the local scene, to the heights of popularity.

Now a veteran of her craft, she stresses the beauty of her tragic female characters, understands their feelings and empathizes with them and their grim fate.

In her writing, women are beautiful even when tormented or abused, be they faithful or adulterous. They yearn for love and empathy and find the pressure of modern life overwhelming.

“I long to see changes for women but am not courageous enough to do anything myself. I empathize with all the suffering Vietnamese women have been through,” Truong said.

Her critically acclaimed novel Song vo man thuyen (Waves lap along the side of the boat) is a perfect example of her craft.

Loosely based on historical events, it tells of Princess Huyen Tran and her marriage to King Che Man in 1306 arranged by her brother, King Tran Anh Tong.

After her husband dies, the princess is supposed to be burned alive so that she can accompany him to the afterworld, but is rescued by a general of the Tran court.

Love blooms between the pair as they escape across the sea, at which point the story becomes pure fiction.

“My strength is the ability to empathize with women and accentuate their thoughtfulness and humor.”

On the write path

Truong was born in 1950 in the northern province of Tuyen Quang.

In her late teens, she spent three years in an art class where she fell in love with Nguyen Hung Viet, a painter who never showed his work in public. “An intellectual recluse” is how Truong describes him.

She then married Viet and continued her studies after giving birth to two children.

In 1981 and with a family hard up for money, she took a job in Bulgaria, where she went on to become one of the few successful Vietnamese expatriates in that European country.

Truong returned to Vietnam in 1986 and began to realize her long-cherished dream of being a writer. Three years later she was prominent enough to join the Vietnam Writers Association.

Her other notable works are the novel Ke mac chung dien (Lunatic) and three collections of short stories: Thoi gian ngoanh mat (Time gone), Tinh nhu chut nang (Love like sunbeams) and Hoa mua (Flowers in the rain).

She also studied journalism and is now a reporter for the Catholic newspaper Nguoi Cong giao Viet Nam, as well as deputy director of the Vietnam Writers Association’s Literary Copyright Center.

Truong’s latest accomplishment came only this month when she won second prize in the Danh thuc khong gian (Awakening spaces) art and multimedia contest held by the British Council and the newspaper The thao & Van hoa (Sport & Culture).

Her entry featured a ten-minute chorus titled Khuc roman Ha Noi (Hanoi romance), orchestral backing and a short film about Hanoi.

Reported by Nguyen Viet Chien