The book tells the love story of more than 40 years between Major General Hoang Dan - one of the outstanding generals of the Vietnam People's Army and Ms. An Vinh - a female National Assembly delegate in the early terms, through the story of author Hoang Nam Tien, the youngest son of the two.
Letter to You begins with author Hoang Nam Tien's account of the event of General Hoang Dan's death in 2003. The author's mother, Mrs. An Vinh, asked Hoang Nam Tien to arrange for the letters and diaries of the two of them to follow Mr. Hoang Dan to the other world.
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| Cover of the book 'Letter for You' by author Hoang Nam Tien. (Source: Nha Nam) |
Hoang Nam Tien had the audacity to disobey his mother's words and kept his parents' letters for 50 years, from 1953, when they first met, until later. Over the years, each time he read the letters, he understood his parents' love, along with his memories of them...
Love Journey of "Grandparents" Time
Letter to You takes readers on a time travel back to the war years of the 20th century, when the whole country went through the resistance war against France and America.
Because of the war, the couple had very little time together. While the general fought on fierce battlefields, the wife stayed home to take care of the family, raise the children and strive for her career.
With so much longing, anger and waiting, the couple could only send it to each other through more than 400 letters, spanning many historical milestones of the nation: the Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954, the Route 9 - Khe Sanh Campaign in 1968, Quang Tri in 1972, Saigon in 1975, the battle to protect the northern border in 1979, in 1884...
Those letters also became the thread that tied their love together. The story of General Hoang Dan and Mrs. An Vinh is therefore not only the story of a young couple, a married couple, but the love of an entire generation, a period of the country.
Going back nearly a century, the pace of love also slowed down with the long days of separation between young couples, a time when there was no means of communication other than letters, few face-to-face meetings... between those times was immense longing.
Therefore, readers have the opportunity to slow down with the author, going through the days when nostalgia is sown and blossomed, the feelings of the two characters are nurtured through handwritten letters, over the years filled with expectations and gentle romance.
During the war, facing the greatest challenges of bullets, bombs and death, their love became intense, generous and forgiving. In order to ask for An Vinh's hand in marriage, Mr. Hoang Dan in 1953 boldly asked to leave his unit before the Upper Laos campaign, cycled all night to his hometown to ask for his wife's hand in marriage and then rejoined his unit.
He cycled more than 1,300 km from Dien Bien to Nghe An and then up to Lang Son to ask for his wife's hand... When they became husband and wife, he also had a strong belief that he would "survive and return to her" and carried that belief through the fierce resistance war against the US.
Mrs. An Vinh, from a young girl to a wife and mother, was both gentle and strong, helping her family overcome years of bombs and bullets.
Their love is also placed behind the love of country. Throughout his military career, for more than 30 years, Mr. Hoang Dan was hardly at home, he devoted his entire youth and life to the cause of fighting for peace. He never spent a single Tet at home.
During that time, Mrs. An Vinh suppressed her longing for the separation, worked hard, studied and developed, and raised her children... They, like many people at that time, sacrificed their own happiness for the great common task of national liberation.
It is not by chance that author Hoang Nam Tien chose a classic quote from Soviet literature as the introduction: "The years will pass, the wars will gradually quiet down, the revolutions will stop screaming, and your gentle, patient and loving heart will remain intact."
The author admits that his parents' love story was inspired by revolutionary romance.
Love together, live together, grow together
The short stories in Letter to You give readers many reflections on love and married life between couples of any generation.
Mr. Hoang Dan came from a prestigious family, received a full education and joined the revolution early. Not only did he strive to study and research Eastern and Western military arts, Mr. Hoang Dan was also passionate about literature, art, philosophy, psychology, etc.
Mrs. An Vinh was a young maid with a strong desire to change her fate. In 1954, when Mr. Hoang Dan rode his bike all the way to Lang Son to ask for her hand in marriage, she decided to… refuse, because she wanted to focus on her work.
When she got married, she was deeply aware of the need to “learn as well as her husband” to have the same awareness and education level as her spouse, so in addition to raising children and working, she finished middle school, high school, and then studied further, becoming an excellent trader and a National Assembly delegate.
According to the author, the way Mrs. An Vinh strives to “be as good as her husband” has a lot of meaning for modern youth. Without the same awareness, vision, outlook on life and experience, it will be impossible to understand and sympathize with each other.
And the happiest thing is that in her learning journey, Mrs. An Vinh always has her husband's support. In married life, there is no shortage of jealousy and anger.
Throughout the 50-year love affair, the author, through very small details, tells about how General Hoang Dan pampered his wife, encouraged her, and worried about her; how Mrs. An Vinh tolerated her husband's very manly qualities... readers will feel that they are not only husband and wife, parents, but also comrades and life partners, because of love, because of family, because of understanding and appreciating each other's good things, they have spent their whole lives cultivating and striving to live together.
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| Author Hoang Nam Tien. (Source: Nha Nam) |
Author Hoang Nam Tien: "I hope readers, especially young people, believe that love is real" Hoang Nam Tien is known to the public in many positions at FPT Corporation, as well as many impressive shares about business, technology, education, etc. to the community. But this is the first time he appears as an author. The author said that when reading the letters, he himself found many lessons from his parents' love. It is listening, understanding, companionship and sharing, love is the fulcrum that helps us perfect ourselves and overcome difficulties. He shared: “Because it is true love, it can survive the test of time. It can exist in different forms but it is still love. If only I had read my parents' letter earlier, I would have avoided many mistakes and pains in life. I write to leave a memory for myself, for my family, and for myself, I write to understand more about love. I hope readers, especially young people, believe that love is real." |
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