U90 writer Ma Van Khang releases collection of 10 short stories about the Northwest

Vietnam Women's Publishing House has just released the short story collection "Birds Fly Back After the Rain" by writer Ma Van Khang.

The 244-page book includes 10 short stories, with two familiar themes that have become the author's hallmark: the Northwest mountains and the changes of landscapes and people in modern life.

6 short story collections Under the Areca Shades, Bright Moon Song, Hang A Trang, Harvest in Na Lin, Min and His Children, By the Banks of Vach Stream combine to create a colorful and beautiful picture of the final period of the anti-American resistance war until after the liberation of Lao Cai land.

These works show the author's endless inspiration for the Northwest. This is where Ma Van Khang's intuition was triggered from the first time he set foot there, with his fascination with the nature, landscapes and people here.

Cover of the short story collection "Birds Return After the Rain" (Photo: Vietnamese Women Publishing House).

Choosing the period 1970 - 1980, the collection of stories focuses on the changes and fluctuations of revolutionary activities as well as the perspective on life and times of the ethnic minorities in the mountainous areas.

They exude a pure, fierce, sincere and heroic fighting spirit for the country, while aiming for post-liberation reforms with the wish for a better life.

But also in those simple people, they are discreet, hiding themselves in the most ancient customs and practices. They use that as a spiritual resource and core value to accept the new era, to proactively break down the prejudices and oppression of the past wartime.

That was the young man Hang A Trang who persistently volunteered to join the army and go to the front line for a whole year, training himself with the heaviest plowing on the most arid and difficult lands of Y Linh Ho village.

As Hoa in Under the Areca Shades , a young female employee from the lowlands comes to campaign for production tools for the Tay people. The girl gradually integrates into the life of the Tay people, feeling the love and warm care of each simple villager.

Or the love between the couple Min - Coi is imbued with endurance and hard work; the understanding and support of the wife from the husband; the strength, determination and boundless love of the Mong wife for her disabled husband...

Each story is a human fate but all connect human love, like the way the harsh, majestic and magical nature along Hoang Lien Son carved into the body and heart of each ethnic minority.

Writer Ma Van Khang (Photo: Sports and Culture Newspaper).

Leaving the Northwest mountains, writer Ma Van Khang leads readers on a journey back in time and space in the minds of people who have passed through an ancient time.

That was a period of heroic resistance, fierce bombs and bullets of the country, there were soldiers, brave sons sacrificed, the country's talents now only belong to the memory.

Floating in nostalgia is the loneliness of people who have passed through the years like Mr. Nam in Border City , who always has a desolate memory of his friend, martyr, writer, and journalist Bui Nguyen Khiet.

Or Nam, who was left behind after the war, with disabilities, struggling in the bustling city, lacking the warmth of human love in The Old Days ...

Writer Ma Van Khang indulges himself in the words describing the majestic nature of the Northwest, as well as wanting to lure readers into a colorful cultural space with Ban and Long Tong flower festivals.

Or the smallest details, arousing curiosity about costumes, labor, bloodline and the beautiful simplicity and wildness of the mountain people.

Then, his writing tone becomes quiet, sad and full of regret when he evokes contemplations about life's ups and downs, how people face all changes, sometimes optimistic, sometimes giving up and feeling resentful.

But in short, it is still hope in human love - the invisible but most durable bond of humanity, so that people can continue to live, to live for the rest of their lives.

Writer Ma Van Khang was born in 1936 in Hanoi. He is a prominent writer of contemporary Vietnamese literature in the second half of the 20th century, especially since the renovation period.

He has written more than 20 novels and nearly 200 short stories, mostly inspired by epics and personal life, dealing with the life and people of the Northwest.

His works have won many literary awards and are widely known to the public due to being cited in the general literature curriculum.

Writer Ma Van Khang has won many major domestic and international literary awards, such as: ASEAN Literature Award 1998; State Prize for Literature and Arts 2001, Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts 2012.

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