Famous by his pen name Thang Sac, but this is the first time Ambassador, writer Nguyen Chien Thang has used his real pen name with his latest work "The Story of an Ambassador".
The Story of an Ambassador is considered a gift that writer Nguyen Chien Thang wants to give to readers who have loved him, from previous novels and short stories such as: Ngu Cu, Chu Tu, Who Are You, Neighbors ....
Although he came to literature in the early 90s with his first short stories published in the Hanoi People's Newspaper, due to his busy professional work and frequent moves from country to country during his tenure, he did not have time to devote to writing.
Therefore, he just writes slowly and leisurely about what he sees, thinks, and worries about...
Each face has a destiny
This is the content of the first part of the book with many notable figures such as French President Jacques Chirac, King Shihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen, former King Shihanouk...
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| Writer Nguyen Chien Thang shared at the recent book launch. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
Writer Nguyen Chien Thang explained that the reason he used his real name this time was because the book he wrote was about his years of diplomacy with many real details, people, and stories from meetings and contacts with politicians.
In addition, there are many other interesting stories such as Minister Nguyen Co Thach and the Italian journalist; Ms. Ho The Lan - daughter of Professor Ho Dac Di and also the longest-serving spokesperson in the history of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (9 years); famous French writer and journalist Madeleine Riffaud - who is considered to have had a pure love affair with poet Nguyen Dinh Thi, Mr. Vu Mao - a prisoner and a friend...
In the book, there is a very special character mentioned by the author, that is Crown Prince Bao Long, son of former Emperor Bao Dai.
It can be seen that the rich information, imbued with cultural and historical colors in the book, helps readers see part of the role of an ambassador - a representative of a country or nation in foreign affairs.
What is special is that this ambassador is a writer, so his views on all events, matters, and people have many subtle and profound associations.
Memories
Writer Nguyen Chien Thang said he had the honor of being appointed ambassador by the President three times: the first time as Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria concurrently serving in Mali and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the second time in France concurrently serving in Spain and Portugal, and the third time in neighboring Cambodia.
Thanks to that, he had the honor of presenting his credentials to the heads of state of the above countries seven times, each time deeply imbued with the mission of serving the Fatherland of an Ambassador.
With such a long career, his book is not a memoir, not an autobiography, and does not have any evaluations or reports summarizing the agency's foreign affairs activities.
The “memory land” in the book includes stories such as The First Time Presenting Credentials, Long-Remembered Delicacies, Lost in the Land of Intoxication, Once Went to Siem Reap …
The writer shared: “This is just a record of some memories from his time working. Now that he has retired, I have extracted them and printed them. I hope to share some personal thoughts, and also to express my gratitude to the people and places where he was fortunate enough to work as an Ambassador.”
Commenting on the book, writer Do Bich Thuy said, “The Story of an Ambassador” is written in a simple, leisurely style with a kind, warm, and humane perspective. The writing attitude is that of a diplomat, and inside that diplomat is a writer with a warm heart.
However, besides the funny stories, his writings are filled with emotion when telling the unfortunate story: Commercial Counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria, Bui Giang To, was murdered by terrorists.
The author wrote: "I remember when I went to present my credentials to Democratic Sahrawi, the receptionist took us to visit the desert. The desert has a strange beauty, the strangest thing is that there are red flowers, red as blood, popping up from the dry sand. I took pictures to make postcards to send to Hanoi to show off to my friends, calling them blood flowers, blood of the sand.
I asked Mr. To to take those postcards back. Among Mr. To's belongings that people still found was the card I sent, with blood on the corner. Those were the most haunting and realistic impressions I, as an Ambassador, had of terrorism at that time."
With artist Pham Ha Hai - the person in charge of the book's art, writer Nguyen Chien Thang took readers back to his years as an Ambassador, using his eyes, mind, and soul to see and feel the people, places, cultures, and histories that he encountered and experienced.
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| Cover of the book published by the Writers Association Publishing House. (Photo: Tuan Viet) |
The artist commented: “Each story is like a layer of waves, sparklingly connecting the past and the present. With a simple way of telling, there are passages where he seems to pull the reader together to calmly converse, ponder and exclaim. There are many fascinating details when reading each page of memories about old friends, high-ranking leaders, international friends, colleagues, fellow countrymen, relatives...
The book is like two processes of an Ambassador – Writer’s life: Taking the world into himself and then pouring himself into the world, where there is love for the Fatherland, national pride, the desire for peace, friendship and gratitude. And not without a bit of sadness…”.
Writer Nguyen Chien Thang concluded the book of about 300 words with a story about the Ambassador's wife and an emotional autobiography about his retirement years called The Stars.
Readers will remember the saying of the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong that he was very fond of and repeated in the book: "We, the Ambassadors, have behind us a four-thousand-year history and a heroic nation."
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